Maple Sugaring Days brings prairie life to Naperville
Steph Bronner likes maple syrup on just about anything -- ice cream, eggs, vegetables.
In fact, the self-described "mapleholic," carries a bottle of maple syrup in her purse wherever she goes.
Originally from the east coast, the Plano woman knows the difference between most store-bought syrups and the real thing.
"I learned to appreciate it because I know it's not easy to get," Bronner said. "Or cheap."
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Mapleholics and novice syrup lovers alike headed Saturday to Naper Settlement for the annual Maple Sugaring Days events to see how the favorite sweetener of the early 1800s was produced.
Museum educator Joseph Coleman demonstrated how sap comes out of a spout hammered into a tree. If the weather is right, it can flow at about 150 drops per minute.
"We hope they gain perspective on how #8230; weather-dependent it is and how it's hopefully changed over the years," Coleman said. "And by going from site to site (they'll learn) what really goes into making the syrup we hopefully all love."
Nearby, museum educator Patrick McGuire showed how the collected sap is boiled in a cauldron over a wood fire.
"Boiling the sap was almost like a celebration, an end-of-winter type get-together for the entire town to celebrate even though winter is not over with yet," McGuire said.
It takes 40 gallons of sap to boil down to 1 gallon of syrup. Most store-bought syrups today have 2 percent or less actual maple sap in them.
But Saturday's visitors got to taste the real thing, donated by Trader Joe's.
"You can imagine how sweet this would have been on the prairie," John Apple of Aurora said. "It's very sweet, and they didn't have sugar like we have today as a commodity as easily affordable as it is now. I'm guessing it was just like a little taste of heaven."
Maple Sugaring Days continue from 1 to 4 p.m. today at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5.50 for children.