A New Generation Continues the Staples Syrup Tradition of Excellence

Members of the eighth generation of the Staples family of Cavan have joined the ranks of producers of award-winning syrup as 9 year old Emily submitted her first samples into this year’s Royal Winter Fair syrup competition.

Producing world class maple syrup is a long standing tradition in the Staples family, when their ancestors began producing it in 1813.  Bob and Jill continue to produce syrup at the farm on Highway 7A between Cavan and Bethany where production first began.

With 3600 trees on tap and a short season in which to capture and process all of that sweet sap potential, during the weeks of syrup season it’s all hands on deck at the Staples farm.  Bob spends the day setting up for the main event, while Mark and his family join in at the end of their work/school day to test, grade, bottle and label the finished product.

For several years, the family has used a reverse osmosis system in their syrup production.  Typically found in water purification processes, this equipment removes water from the sap.  Water is normally the primary output, but in this case, water is the by-product: it’s the highly concentrated sap that is the prize.  The osmosis process speeds up production by reducing the time required to boil down the sap, saving time and energy.  Now instead of boiling long into the night during peak syrup season, the family spends a few hours boiling and bottling at the farm and is often home for dinner.

A few years ago, Mark added more technology to their already sophisticated production process, installing electronic monitoring to the network of collection tubes gathering the sap.  Mark receives an alert on his phone whenever the sensors detect a leak.  Apparently this happens quite often thanks to nibbles from curious wildlife.  Emily relies on a more traditional technique to discover leaks.  Walking into the bush, her ears pick up the telltale hiss of a leak allowing her to track it down by sound.

Emily is comfortable helping with the syrup production, in which she has participated for many years.  At Maple events she has acted as a gracious host, handing out business cards and showing guests around the production facility.  See her in the photo below, connecting with a visitor at the tender age of four.  She is a natural ambassador for the business.

During the 2022 season, Emily took on a more critical role, screening syrup samples to select ones sent to the syrup competition at this year’s Royal Winter Fair.  Apparently the judges share her taste, as she walked away with several top prizes in specific syrup grades as well as the Youth Champion.  Congratulations!  KG

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