Maple syrup might be the sweetest trick up the Buckeye State's sleeve. While places like Vermont, New York, Maine, and Wisconsin are the leading maple-syrup makers in the U.S., Ohio *also* produces some of the finest pure maple syrup in the country. As winter thaws and the sun warms Ohio's sugar maples, the trees are lovingly prepped and tapped for the sweetest harvest of the year. Let's delve a bit deeper into the little-known story of maple syrup tapping in Ohio, and how spring brings this sweet nectar to the breakfast table.
Every year as winter turns to spring, something very sweet happens across the Buckeye State.
Ohio's myriad sugar maples take front-and-center as maple syruping season makes for a delicious "bridge" between winter and spring.
In Ohio, maple syrup season typically happens in late-February through mid-March, although winter temperature and precipitation can affect when "peak" maple harvesting happens.
Just like any other crop, geography plays a key role in maple syrup taste and color. Maple syrup produced in Northern Ohio, for example, has a different flavor than syrup produced in Southern Ohio.
(This is similar to Ohio's wine crops, with Northern Ohio's ice wines a very different experience than Southern Ohio's reds and whites.)
While you can find maple syrup tapping events across Ohio (I've been to the annual festival at the Cincinnati Nature Center, and the annual Maple Syrup Festival at Hueston Woods State Park is on my to-do list this year!), the climate of Northern Ohio is just about perfect for this sweet syrup to thrive.
In fact, Geauga County, is the top producer of maple product in the state, its sugarhouses holding a number of maple-tapping events throughout late winter and early spring, culminating in the Geauga County Maple Festival, held the last full weekend in April in Chardon Square.
Fun fact: President Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline paid a visit to Geauga County ahead of the 1960 election. While there, the couple visited the Geauga Maple Festival! So, you see, maple syrup season is a time-honored Ohio tradition that's as much a part of our state's identity as buckeyes and baseball and rock 'n roll.
Of course, if you can't make it to any of the maple syruping events and festivals in Ohio, Maple Valley Sugarbush & Apiary is beloved Chardon business with a Maple and Honey Emporium that's open year-round!
Did you know about maple syrup tapping in Ohio, or that the Buckeye State even produced maple syrup? No matter what part of the Buckeye State you hail from, you'll be delighted to learn of the myriad maple syruping events held each spring in Ohio. What a fun and delicious reason to love Ohio!
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