The days are getting longer. The sun, warmer. Maple sap starts to move, flowing gently up the tree to the rhythm of warm days that turn into frosty nights. When the crows start to caw, sugaring time is upon us.

These days, maple syrup delights are available to us all year long. But as the weather turns milder and the aroma of evaporating maple syrup fills the air, it’s time to have fun at a sugar shack with family and friends! It’s a great opportunity to make your dreams come true and take a magical sled ride, walk in the surrounding woods, or simply breathe the fresh country air and inhale the wonderful fragrance of maple syrup before indulging your pallet.

A good number of sugar shacks have done an amazing job of recreating the charm of the past. Surrounded in country style decor resounding with the sound of time-honoured tunes, you are invited to feast on traditional fare of split pea soup, baked beans, maple ham, omelettes, pork grills, and don’t forget the most important of all - maple sugar pie, crepes and “grands-pères” (moist sponge cakes) served with syrup. And the highlight of the entire visit happens at the moment when everybody gathers outside the sugar shack to savour the hot maple taffy which is rolled off its bed of snow onto a stick.

Even if you are a diabetic, you can still treat yourself during sugaring time. In fact, a meal at the sugar shack is a delight that nobody should give up as long as they respect their diet and make the right choices during the meal. The Quebec Diabetes Association offers some practical guidance and menu samples taken from meals at the sugar shack, which feature dishes of varying levels of sugar content, and are specifically designed for diabetics.
www.diabete.qc.ca/html/alimentation/bien_alimenter/html/cabanes_suc.html

A visit to the sugar shack gratifies all the senses! And to the delight of enthusiasts, more than 400?? Maple groves will open their doors to visitors over the next weeks.

As long as spring comes and goes and our maple sap flows, the young and old alike can partake in this legendary sugar shack tradition.

Here is your chance, but remember…the season won’t last long!

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