Maple Syrup & Maple Cream
Maple syrup and maple cream (also known as “maple butter” or “maple spread”) made the old-fashioned way for the very best maple flavor. “Sugaring” has been a springtime ritual at Mayval Farm for well over 50 years. Stop by the creamery farm store at 137 Easthampton Rd. to pick some up–we're right off Rt. 66, just minutes outside of Northampton, Massachusetts. (NOTE: from Rt. 66, you will turn onto N. Loudville Rd., which becomes Easthampton Rd. when you cross the Westhampton town line.)
Our customers have always claimed that our maple syrup is second to none—likely due to our exclusive use of traditional methods. The sap stays cold and fresh in the metal buckets, and we constantly, gallon-by-gallon, monitor the syrup's density with a hydrometer. Furthermore, we produce our syrup by boiling alone; we do not use filtration to increase the sugar content before boiling. The distinct flavor of maple syrup is due to the heating process, and our syrup spends more time over the fire.
If there is steam billowing and a smell of sugar in the air, go straight to the sugar house to get a firsthand look at the process and a fresh-out-of-the pan sample. We will post boiling times on Facebook and Twitter so please check in or follow us. If the weather cooperates, Saturdays and Sundays in March are safe bets. Don't forget to visit our new creamery while you are here! We also have openings for weekend sap gatherers if you'd like to tour the orchard—no charge!
Please call (413) 527-6274 or email margie<at>mayvalfarm<dot>com with any questions or for special orders.
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 Mayval Farm owes its name to the numerous sugar maples growing in the valley. Our main sugar bush lies along the banks of Turkey Brook and the Manhan River in Westhampton. These days, we set about 1000 taps every February.
 Traditionalists, we hang buckets on each tree, carry sap by the pail, and evaporate with a wood fire. Although we use a modern stainless steel evaporator and tree-friendly taps, terms such as vacuum pump, reverse osmosis, and automatic draw-off are not in our vocabulary! Nevertheless, in a good year, we produce a few hundred gallons of pure maple syrup in a variety of grades (colors).
As the maple sugaring season progresses, the characteristics of the sugar in the sap change, causing the syrup to change color and flavor. Late season, dark syrup tastes great, but, for much of the season, the syrup should be nice and light (“Fancy” in VT lingo) if the sap is boiled fresh and cold and you are skilled around the evaporator. Traditionally, the ability to produce light syrup was the indicator of a master sugarmaker. Like his father before him, Ed keeps it light as long as the sap will allow! In fact, other sugarmakers have been known to buy our syrup so that they can make maple cream (which requires very light syrup). Light syrup is becoming increasingly rare as sugaring operations become larger and move away from the traditional methods of collecting and boiling sap.
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