WESTMINSTER, Vt. – Maple sugaring is a long-standing tradition at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children. Getting started early in the morning and on weekends during the maple season, Farm Manager Real Bazin gets the sap boiling. He’s been doing this for 36 years. The equipment he uses is more than functional, but not as fast as larger farms or
commercial businesses’ equipment. Tubing and buckets are used to collect the sap. It takes a lot of sap to make the syrup. Generally the ratio of sap to syrup is 40 to 1. Every year, the children help with the sugaring process. They observe Bazin, or Assistant Farm Manager Conor Fitzgerald, do the boiling. Sampling is always fun. The conditions have been good and Bazin has made 50 gallons of syrup so far. He expects he’ll make 90-100 gallons before the season is over. There’s nothing like 100% maple syrup on pancakes and in other foods and drinks. The entire KHH campus looks forward to the delicious rewards of the maple season.
