Ferns Country Store - Warren Farm Sugar House

When we opened Ferns, we made a commitment to carry only the finest products we could find. We also made a commitment to work with local and Massachusetts companies as our first choice. When our customers constantly asked for pure maple syrup we searched across the state for a suitable vendor partner. When we discovered the family-owned, Warren Farm & Sugarhouse in central Massachusetts, we knew we had a winner. In fact, not only are Co-Proprietors Dale & Janice Wentworth nice folks, they're such advocates for maple sugaring that they led the charge to establish the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association.

Located in beautiful North Brookfield, The Warren Farm specializes in the production of pure maple syrup, maple confections, and specialty food items made with maple syrup. They grow many of the ingredients - fruits, berries, vegetables, and herbs - used in their unique line of gourmet preserves, vinegars and dipping oils. And their maple sugar confections are made the traditional way - with all natural ingredients, no added sugars, corn syrups, colors or preservatives.

We thought you'd enjoy learning more about the fantastic syrups we carry at Ferns! Like the fact that the tree's sap flow mechanisms depend on temperatures which alternate back and forth past the freezing point (32 degrees F.). The best sap flows come when nighttime temperatures are in the low 20's and daytime temperatures are in the 40's. The longer it stays below freezing at night, the longer the sap will run during the warm day to follow. If the weather gets too cold and stays cold, sap flow will stop. If the weather gets too warm and stays warm, sap flow will also stop. The cold weather at night allows the tree to cool down and absorb moisture from the ground via the roots. During the day, the tree warms up, the tree's internal pressure builds up, and the sap will run from a taphole or even a broken twig or branch. You should also know that proper tapping does not harm the tree, and the amount of sap taken from the tree is a mere fraction of the volume of sap in the tree on any given day. Trees must be about a foot in diameter before they can be tapped, and most trees can have one or two taps per season. Larger trees may have more. Many of the big maple trees in New England have been tapped yearly for well over 100 years.

So how much sap does it take to make a gallon of syrup? Well, depending on the sweetness of the sap, it can take anywhere from 25-75 gallons of raw sap to make a gallon of finished syrup. The usual amount is about 40 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup. Each tap into a tree will yield about 10 gallons of slightly sweet sap over a period of the 4-5 week sugaring season. This 10 gallons of sap, when boiled down, will yield approximately one quart of finished maple syrup.

When it comes to grades of syrup, Federal Law dictates that pure maple syrup must be graded according to color and flavor. The grades are: Grade A light amber, Grade A medium amber, Grade A dark amber, and Grade B. As a rule of thumb, the lighter the color, the more delicate the flavor; the darker the color, the stronger the flavor. Grade B is a very dark and strongly flavored syrup. One is not better than the other, its a matter of personal taste preference.

How long will maple syrup keep? Unopened, maple syrup will keep indefinitely. Because it is an all natural product with no preservatives, once opened, a container of maple syrup must be kept refrigerated. If any harmless mold should form on the surface, merely bring the syrup to a slight boil, skim the surface, and pour into a clean container and refrigerate.

What you'll find at Ferns
At Ferns Country Store you'll find a nice variety of products produced by Dale and Janice including:

There you go… Maple Syrup 101. And as always, we back everything we sell with Ferns Unconditional 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. How's that for confidence in our products?!