Tom Shaw checks the sugar levels of his maple syrup at Shaws in Oro-Medonte, Ont., on March 11.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Tom Shaw still has the board on which his great-grandfather wrote yearly records of Shaws’ first boiling day.
Although the heart of the season – mid-March – hasn’t changed since 1904, this year the sap came the earliest it has in Shaws’ 119 years in the maple syrup business. Mr. Shaw’s first boil this year, the process of boiling sap into maple syrup, was on Feb. 15, with the sap running a few days before that.
Mr. Shaw’s great-great-grandparents Thomas and Eleanor Shaw purchased their land in Oro-Medonte, Ont., in 1893. It was an old-growth maple bush that the couple used to sell firewood. In 1904, their son James suggested they start producing maple syrup.
Mr. Shaw and his wife, Terri-Lynn Shaw, are the fifth generation of Shaws to run the business, which now includes a pancake house and a catering company. They have invested in infrastructure, allowing them to collect sap earlier than Mr. Shaw’s ancestors could. But they see new fluctuations in weather. Higher temperatures and less snow have warmed the trees enough to cause this year’s early influx of sap.
Mr. Shaw uses a reverse-osmosis machine to remove the majority of the water from the sap in an eco-friendly manner. His oil-fired evaporator removes the remaining 10 per cent of the water, creating syrup.
Mr. Shaw says that maple syrup producers have an economic reason to let the sugar maple live its full life. A healthy, large, old tree will produce more sap – and better absorb carbon from the atmosphere.
“This industry is unbelievably sustainable economically and it allows things to get to that age. We want those 350-year-old trees.”
Infrastructure investments allow the Shaws to collect sap earlier than Mr. Shaw’s ancestors could.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Shaw checks sugar levels in concentrated sap before it can move to the next stage of production.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Shaws co-owner Terri-Lynn Shaw checks orders as Madi Korzeniewski and Carley Yeoman help prepare and serve breakfast to customers at the pancake house.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Customers eat at Shaws Pancake House in March.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Tom Shaw stands among his trees. He says that maple syrup producers have an economic reason to let the sugar maple live its full life, as a healthy, large, old tree will produce more sap and better absorb carbon.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Customers arrive at the restaurant.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail