Things were definitely steamy down at Froggy's Sap Shack (Freyenhagen Farm) in Union on Sunday. It was Maine Maple Sunday, a Maine rite of spring. Froggy's was one of many maple syrup producers all over the state opening their business doors for tours through the heavenly, maple-scented fog, as well as offering samples of the warm amber sweetness served over vanilla ice cream. 

With a seasonal window lasting only 3-5 weeks, Froggy (Jim Freyenhagen) exclaimed, "I like to collect 1000 gallons of sap before I even light a match" (to start the boiling process). Cold, collected sap is then piped into the shack where the final boiling process takes place, under Froggy's watchful eye.

Jim "Froggy" Freyenhagen at work in Froggy's Sap Shack

It's a lot of work, from tapping trees, to getting enough wood ready to keep the fire constantly going, to feeding that fire, to continually checking temperatures. It actually takes 40 gallons of sugar maple sap to produce just 1 gallon of maple syrup. "We make about 4-5 gallons here in an hour."

When asked how the outlook was for this season, Froggy quietly pondered the question for a moment before prophetically stating, "It ain't looking too bad, I guess." Like much of life working on a farm, conditions could always be better, and they could always be worse.

"I'd like the temperature during the day to be 40 degrees, though. That's when the running's best."

Just call it a sweet labor of love. And please pass the ice cream.

The Freyenhagen Family Farm, 51 Wottons Mill Road, Union, Maine. 207-785-4559

From the staff at Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.