SKOWHEGAN, Maine — Tasting maple syrup is a lot like tasting wine. Sniff the aroma, take a sip, hold it on your tongue, and savor it for a moment to register the sensation.
At the International Maple Grading School, held this year in Skowhegan, syrup is serious stuff. At a time when syrup production has boomed to its highest levels in decades, students here learn the sappy, sweet nuances of the trade, such as how syrup flavor can be affected by soil type, weather, tree health, production practices and numerous other factors.
“If you think about all the variables that go into producing syrup, it’s not surprising there are so many possibilities,” Debra Hartford, who owns the Thur ston and Peters Sugarhouse in Newfield, Maine, said after swirling and swallowing a sip of syrup to test her tasting abilities.
This unique school is a two-day session of instruction where syrup buyers, producers, inspectors and educators came together to learn the ins and outs of syrup regulations and the equipment used to measure a syrup’s color, clarity and density.
They also learned about the complex regulations governing syrup, which vary among syrup-producing locales.
But the most important thing about syrup, as anyone will tell you, is flavor.
