From Our Trees to Your Plate
A sugar shack (French: cabane à sucre), is also known as a sugar house or sap house.
These are a small building or group of buildings where sap is collected from sugar maple trees boiled into maple syrup. They are often located on the same land as the sugar bush and intended to produce maple syrup by traditional hands-on methods. Historically, sugar shacks are a product of Native American and European ingenuity. The indigenous tribes first practiced maple sugaring, which became a tradition adopted by early settlers to North America throughout the 17th century. The syrup was produced for trade or sale and personal use during the cold months of Winter.
The busiest period for sugar shacks in Maine’s Kennebec Valley region is during the thawing period of early spring. Beginning in late February or early March—depending on the weather—the sugar maples are tapped, and the smell of wood smoke fills the air as the sap boilers spring to life. Lucky for visitors to the area a wide variety of maple products are available for sale at these local producers, grocery stores, and farmers’ markets year-round.
