Down East Books
Boiling Off: Maple Sugaring in Maine by John Hodgkins
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In 1964 three cousins tapped three thousand sugar maples deep in the Maine woods. They called themselves Jackson Mountain Maple Farm. Boiling Off is the story of making Maine maple syrup commercially in Temple, Maine, for fifty-some years, and how a thirty-year technology revolution beginning in the 1980s changed the face of Maine sugaring forever.
Woven into the story of Jackson Mountain Maple Farm is the history of Maine sugaring beginning in Farmington in 1781, when Stephen Titcomb boiled off the first official pure Maine maple syrup in a cast iron kettle. Boiling Off tracks the evolution of sugaring technology from Titcomb’s kettle to reverse osmosis and heat exchangers; follows sap gathering techniques from buckets and oxen-drawn drays to plastic tubing and vacuum pumps; and records production in Maine from 8,000 gallons of maple syrup in 1985 to 709,000 gallons in 2017. The story describes the subtleties of syrup flavor, how it is properly graded, and the art of making award-winning maple syrup. It also reveals who produces Maine maple syrup, where it is harvested, and how L. L. Bean first came to stock it on their shelves.
Woven into the story of Jackson Mountain Maple Farm is the history of Maine sugaring beginning in Farmington in 1781, when Stephen Titcomb boiled off the first official pure Maine maple syrup in a cast iron kettle. Boiling Off tracks the evolution of sugaring technology from Titcomb’s kettle to reverse osmosis and heat exchangers; follows sap gathering techniques from buckets and oxen-drawn drays to plastic tubing and vacuum pumps; and records production in Maine from 8,000 gallons of maple syrup in 1985 to 709,000 gallons in 2017. The story describes the subtleties of syrup flavor, how it is properly graded, and the art of making award-winning maple syrup. It also reveals who produces Maine maple syrup, where it is harvested, and how L. L. Bean first came to stock it on their shelves.
About this author
John Hodgkins has boiled off maple syrup commercially in the Maine woods for more than fifty years. He has served two terms as president of the Maine Maple Producers Association and has won numerous awards and ribbons for his syrup, including Best of Show in a statewide contest and third-place ribbon in an international contest. He has been interviewed on radio and television and spoken to civic groups about maple syrup. His writing has been published in Maine Times, Library Journal, Down East Magazine, and Discover Maine. He is the author of A Soldier's Son: An American Boyhood During World War II (Down East Books, 2006). He lives in Yarmouth and Temple, Maine.