While John was buying everything he sight, Tom went to the HIGH Restaurant and secured a table for us. The HIGH restaurant handled the masses just fine. The meatloaf dinner was enough to feed us all.The two block area that made up downtown Monterey was full vendors selling everything you can imagine. Melissa needed a break, so she rested on the very comfortable chairs, crafted from used whiskey barrels.By this time is was getting late so we had to head home. As you can see from the brochure there are 10 sugar orchards listed on the farm tour. We picked Puffenbarger's Sugar Orchard to stop at on our way home.I was under the misconception that to get maple syrup you tapped the tree and the syrup ran into the bucket hanging below the tap.
Boy does that show my ignorance of Maple Syrup production. I
At this location Mr Puffenbarger had 700 maple trees!! At another location he had 1000 maple trees!! All the taps have plastic tubing which sends the "soon to be syrup" to a building full of large stainless steels tanks for processing. I was just starting to get the story of LONG process of how the sap is changed to syrup when the group drug me off to go home. I will return when I have more time.
Consumer's guide to Maple Syrup
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/anr-101
Consumers are more conscious of how and where their food is produced. Increasingly they are demanding nutritious and healthy food products for their families. In a world of processed food, it is refreshing to find a product like maple syrup that not only tastes good but is good for you. In a comparison of the nutritional value of pure maple syrup to other popular sweeteners, pure maple syrup has more beneficial minerals and vitamins. Independent nutritional studies have labeled maple syrup as a super food. These studies have found that it not only has valuable minerals and vitamins, but it also has antioxidants that are beneficial to health and wellness. No matter if it is light and delicate or dark and robust, 100% pure maple syrup is the healthy all-natural choice.
I think you can tell I really enjoyed myself and so did Melissa. Good ride, good food, fun event and good friends. Thanks John.