Maple sap harvest season in Canada
The maple mills are opening to the public for the first time since the pandemic began.
In March and April, when temperatures rise above freezing, Canadians celebrate the arrival of spring by visiting sugar maple huts. They are especially numerous in Quebec, where 90% of Canada's maple juice is extracted.
A traditional visit to a sugar shack might include:
- maple toffee — sap poured hot on the snow and picked up with a wooden skewer;
- different dishes with maple syrup: ham, bacon, pork rinds, baked beans, scrambled eggs;
- sleigh rides or tractor rides.
Owners of maple mills in Quebec say that before the pandemic, their business gradually declined, with fewer and fewer people visiting their establishments. Ten years ago, there were about 200 maple mills in Quebec; by 2020, 140 remained.
But the forced isolation breathed new life into a long-standing tradition: It turned out that people were willing to pay for traditional maple syrup meals if they were delivered to their homes. Even people who wouldn't normally visit maple mills in the spring began ordering takeout from there — and thanks to the pandemic, maple mall owners found they could sell traditional meals and sweets online year-round. In 2022, the sugar shacks opened to the public, but they retained the option to buy takeout.
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