Field trip to Maple Moose
Special to the Star-Herald
On Friday, March 26, a group of local homeschoolers braved the below-freezing temperatures and high winds to tour The Maple Moose in Easton. The owners of The Maple Moose are CJ and Jodi King. They have been making maple syrup for four years with the help of their oldest son, Joe King. The operation of making maple syrup is a hobby the family enjoys doing together.
“This is a hobby you have to enjoy or we wouldn’t be doing it,” CJ said.
The homeschooling group, consisting of eight children and seven adults, learned the entire process of refining maple syrup, from selecting the trees to be tapped to boiling down the sap to make syrup. The attendees were guided to the woods to view the maple trees that have been tapped. The Kings have a total of 320 trees tapped with poly tubing, and the sap gravity feeds into 300-gallon tanks. CJ explained the process of how he selects the trees to be tapped and the equipment he uses to tap the trees and collect the sap.
“The quality and quantity of sap varies from tree to tree, day to day and year to year.” CJ stated.
Due to this year’s warm temperatures in late February and early March, the Kings were able to get an early start boiling sap in late February.
After viewing the tapped trees and collection process of the operation, the homeschoolers headed to the sugar shack to warm up and learn how the sap is transformed into the sweet end product, maple syrup. CJ upgraded his evaporator this year, and this enables him and his son to process 40 gallons of sap an hour, which equates to one gallon of syrup an hour.
The process of boiling down the sap, monitoring the temperatures and filtering the liquid prior to the final step of boiling the liquid down into syrup were all explained and demonstrated for the group by CJ and Joe. Numerous questions were asked and answered in detail throughout the tour.
All attendees were given a taste of pure maple syrup and a maple lollipop, which was in the shape of a moose, of course. Maple taffy in the snow was another treat sampled by the group. Everyone certainly enjoyed their visit to The Maple Moose, and all the maple syrup treats were appreciated. Now we are all well-educated on the process of making maple syrup and other sweet treats.
If you would like to visit The Maple Moose located at 28 Bowers Road in Easton, contact CJ and Jodi King at 488-6824 to schedule an appointment.
Photos courtesy of Michele Kauppila
A GROUP OF HOME-SCHOOLED children visited The Maple Moose in Easton in March to see how maple syrup is produced. Pictured, from left, first row: Julia Bartley. Second row: Sarah Beaulieu, Claire Hopkins, Jason Bartley, Max Bartley, Wesley Kauppila and Christopher Kauppila. Third row: Priscilla Fields, Scott Fields, company owner CJ King, Jen Hopkins, Kyle Bartley and Heidi Bartley. Attendees not in view: Stephanie Beaulieu, Josh Hopkins and Michele Kauppila.
ENJOYING SOME MAPLE CANDY during a recent field trip in Easton are, from left, front row: Sarah Beaulieu, Julia Bartley, Claire Hopkins, Jason Bartley and Josh Hopkins. Second row: Christopher Kauppila, Wesley Kauppila and Max Bartley.
JOE KING demonstrates part of the process of making maple syrup during a March visit by a home-schooled group of students to The Maple Moose in Easton. Pictured, from left: Joe King, operating the machine. Students, from left, front row: Josh Hopkins, Sarah Beaulieu and Wesley Kauppila. Second row: Jason Bartley, Christopher Kauppila and Claire Hopkins. Third row: Max Bartley and Priscilla Fields.
