Maple Syrup

5th Annual “Maple Syrup Day”

at Harbour House on Salt Spring Island takes place on February 10

Sweeten Family Day Weekend with home grown maple syrup from “Bigleaf Maples”…

Salt Spring Island, BC – January 15, 2013 – It takes 100 west coast bigleaf maples to produce the 1,000 litres of sap needed to keep one Salt Spring Restaurant in maple syrup. Celebrating the bounty of the maple tree is Harbour House Hotel, Restaurant and Organic Farm, launching its 5^th Annual “Maple Syrup Day” on Sunday, February 10 from 10:00-2:00pm. The Annual event attracts hundreds of visitors and features BC’s original, stainless steel, wood fired maple syrup evaporator.  The same one used by UBC to undertake an experiment to see if maple syrup could be made successfully in the province.

According to Harbour House Hotel owner, Jack Woodward, he purchased the original evaporator never realizing its full potential. “I had no idea five years ago that this would take off the way it has.” Woodward adds, “I bought it thinking that I would be a lone hermit in the woods making maple syrup, and had no idea it would be successful, let alone that anyone else would be interested.” But the idea has caught on creating a cottage industry on Vancouver Island that has led to festivals, syrup boils and tasty treats.

Already the organic farm at Harbour House, located behind the property, has amassed hundreds of litres of sap that is frozen and stored for the maple syrup boil. It takes an entire day to process the sap.  This is due to the sugar content of BC’s bigleaf maples. In Ontario the sugar content is 4% but in BC, the bigleaf maple is only 1%. ‘Bigleaf Maples’, grow naturally on the property and the event offers a rare opportunity to experience an authentic maple syrup boil while tasting award winning maple syrup from previous years. Guests are then treated to a special maple syrup menu. The restaurant chef uses maple syrup in dessert recipes from crème brulée to smoking bacon and ham to enhance the flavour.

Admission to “Maple Syrup Day” is free and so is the entertainment supplied by award winning Salt Spring fiddler Wesley Hardisty and Richard Cross. Visitors to the farm can also meet resident goats Lilly, Carly, Lucas and Yo-Yo, see a tapping demonstration, taste the finger licking maple syrup and eat pancakes while sipping on hot chocolate.