The process of making maple syrup may be evolving, thanks to science and technology, but the art of choosing the best syrup made in Geauga County boils down to one top-scoring category: Taste.
The process of making maple syrup may be evolving, thanks to science and technology, but the art of choosing the best syrup made in Geauga County boils down to one top-scoring category: Taste.
In early April, a handful of maple syrup producers gathered in the back room of Richards Maple Products Inc. in Chardon to sip, cogitate, compare and, finally, pick the top three samples of maple syrup in three categories.
With high-tech plastic spoons in hand, judges J.R. Blanchard and Stephanie Bartlett carefully considered hobby and novice divisions under the eye of the official judge, James Miller.
His son, Toby, 19, who also makes syrup, was observing and helping.
The golden liquid was gently poured from its numbered glass containers into the spoons and, like wine tasters, Blanchard and Bartlett rolled the syrup around their taste buds.
“Initially, a good taste, but it has a hanger-over,” Blanchard said, describing the aftertaste. “I think it’s acceptable.”
Bartlett concurs and Jen Freeman, past president of the Geauga County Maple Festival and manager of Richards Maple Products, helped them determine how many points — out of a possible 30 — the syrup rates.
The judges cleansed their palates with crackers or veggies, then moved on to the next bottle.
Freeman also cautioned the judges about being too critical, since the first batch being tasted last Wednesday morning was submitted by less-experienced contestants who have been making syrup for fewer than five years.
“They’re still getting their feet sticky,” said Dave Patterson, who has been making maple syrup most of his life and is a member of the maple festival committee.?
The range for taste is six layers deep, from outstanding to unacceptable, with Miller breaking any ties between the judges, Patterson said.
In Geauga County testing of the sweet liquid gold has been evolving since 1926 and there are strict rules for grading handed down by the International Maple Syrup Institute, he said.
The institute sets the prices for syrup, including how the judging of syrup is documented, but the Geauga organization remains fairly independent, Patterson said.
April 6, Freeman was writing down scores for the most subjective part of the judging — taste — but there are other areas scored on.
In the taste category, the top score is 30 points. The density or BRIX of the syrup can receive up to 20 points, color may receive up to 20 points and clarity of the syrup up to 25 points, according to the score sheet.
The lightest syrup is most likely to get the highest clarity score, since the test traditionally requires the judge be able to read print through the full bottle, Patterson said.
More opaque syrups lose points there, he said.
Two years ago, the maple syrup institute changed the long-standing tradition of grading the syrup as light, medium and dark. Now the grades are golden delicate, rich amber and robust dark — a shift that can require adjustment in a process steeped in tradition, Patterson said.
Robert Butler, who has won the Geauga contest for syrup producers for four of the last five years, agreed to taste in the producers category.
Miller, who was sipping beside him, has taught at the syrup grading school in New Hampshire. Butler won the producer’s class at the Lake Erie Maple Expo in Pennsylvania last year, he said.
When it comes to producing the best maple syrup, several things come into play. ?To start with, a good stand of sugar maples is essential, geography that ensures the roots enjoy good, well-drained soil while being exposed to the best sunlight and an experienced producer are all vital to the process, Miller said.
Glaciers ran out here, so there are many pockets of soil that nurture the most productive sugar maple trees, Patterson said.
Of course, Mother Nature plays a big role, every year, he said.
Except for controlling the weather, Butler has the rest in hand because he taps about 20 acres of the Ed Sobusta woods in Chardon Township, Patterson said.
Sobusta, who won the maple syrup contest eight times, is tied with the Rhodes Sisters of Huntsburg Township, Nancy Kothera and Marilyn Anderson, who no longer tap, Patterson said.
Sobusta was a top producer and a big supporter of the maple festival, leaving funds upon his death to help build the Heritage House on Chardon Square, Butler said.
Maple syrup production is its own culture in Geauga County. People get involved at a young age and compete in making maple butter, maple candy and baked goods with maple syrup as a key ingredient. Freeman encourages juniors to make maple sugar sculptures, she said.
But on April 6, the connoisseurs gathered around a low work table and studiously scored the three-dozen entries in the hobby division, where the qualities vary in accordance with the syrup-makers’ skill and luck. Patterson said there is less variation in the quality of the producer samples.
But one bottle of the novice syrup seemed to stand out.? Blanchard took a small taste, then another.
“Very tasty. I’ll take 30 gallons of this,” he said.
Once all the maple products have been tested, tasted and tied up with ribbons, the winners will be announced at the April 16 Maple Syrup Hall of Fame luncheon at Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen in Middlefield.
