All Mount Cabot Maple products are Single-Sourced from the southwest shoulder of Mount Cabot, where two ancient geologic plates form a unique hydrology that feeds our trees the minerals they need. To preserve the sanctity of what flows from these slopes, we do not buy any other syrups to blend with our own, meaning every drop in the bottle is one we made ourselves. We clean everything with hot water and elbow grease, and minimize human intervention in the forest.
To make our syrup, we buck and split about 8 cords of locally cut hardwood each summer to feed our wood-fired evaporator in the spring boil. Flush with runoff from the melting snow, our neighbor’s small hydroelectric turbine just over the ridge powers our reverse osmosis machines, which in turn reduce our wood usage by about 70%. With the vast majority of our work being done on foot and with hand tools, our fossil fuel usage in the production of syrup is largely confined to the log splitter and chain saw.
Maple cream is made by heating and further concentrating the sugars in syrup, and churning the substance as it cools into the small crystals that form this creamy spread. Each jar is hand-filled from a very silly looking churning machine, so some jars may contain slightly more than 4oz, but none will contain less.
Dry Maple Sugar is made by heating and further concentrating our best pure maple syrup, then beating the sugar as it cools to form small powdery crystals and some large chunks. The sugar mixture is then worked through a grate by hand to form an evenly granulated finished product, which is then hand-packed into each hand-labeled jar.
Want to learn more about each product in our Suite? Check out the info below!
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Tasting Notes: Mount Cabot Maple Syrup ranges from a light to thick mouthfeel, a tangy to earthy profile, and full-bodied to dry finish. We’ve noted nuts, oats, peaches, cantaloupe, buttercream, pine, pretzels, cotton candy, creme brulee, and brown sugar.
Color & Grade: There is a certain amount of je ne sais quois in the ultimate color of maple syrup, but the factors we can control to preserve the highest quality of incoming sap are the cleanliness of our equipment and the storage time. So, we do a lot of scrubbing, and we process sap as soon as possible. Sap doesn’t sit around getting chewed up by ambient yeast and bacteria which would require more fuel to turn into syrup, a slower caramelization over the fire, and a darker syrup. We sample each barrel we fill for luminosity (the new and more objective grading standard) which lands nearly every time within the 50-74% medium amber range. That’s why our labels say “Grade A Medium Amber Rich” - because it’s what we tend to make.
Ingredients: Pure Maple Syrup, concentrated from USDA Certified Organic maple sap, produced solely on the slopes of Mount Cabot. Vegan. Free of gluten, dairy, and preservatives. No added sugars.
Shelf Life: If unopened and well stored, maple syrup will last decades in its original packaging. We fill bottles with syrup at 190 degrees, which both sterilizes and vacuum seals the contents. Once opened, syrup should be refrigerated and consumed within 4 months. Maple syrup does not expand or congeal when frozen, so the freezer is another great option for long term opened-container storage.
Recommended Uses: In your coffee, cocktails, marinades, dressings, dumpling sauces, glazes, over ice cream and yogurt, or just like we do next to the evaporator - slightly warmed in a shot glass.
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Tasting Notes: Mount Cabot Maple Cream has a rich carmel maple profile with a confectionery texture that sublimates from semi-solid to liquid flavor on the tongue.
Ingredients: Pure Maple Syrup, concentrated from USDA Certified Organic maple sap, produced solely on the slopes of Mount Cabot. Vegan. Free of gluten, dairy, and preservatives. No added sugars.
Shelf Life: Since it cannot be packaged at our usual sterile high temperature and maintain its crystalline structure, we keep maple cream in the refrigerator or freezer for long term storage. Over time the different sizes of crystals will stratify like peanutbutter, which can be easily recombined with a little warmth and mixing. After 2-3 months at room temperature, a small amount of mold may appear. Freezing will prevent stratification.
Recommended uses: Spread it on freshly baked goods, slather on a bite of sharp cheese, or center it in the dappled still-life light of your latest charcuterie board. Blend with melted butter for a truly outrageous toast topping. Warm it up and coat your popcorn in maple cream. Be careful with a loose spoon around it as you risk consuming mouthfuls at a time.
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Tasting Notes: Mount Cabot Dry Maple Sugar is always made from our finest early season syrup, which contains the optimal invert sugar ratio to crystallize into these fine granules. Dry sugar has a light mouthfeel and sweetness that offers nuanced flavor without the overpowering saturation of processed white sugar or brown cane sugar.
Ingredients: Pure Maple Syrup, concentrated from USDA Certified Organic maple sap, produced solely on the slopes of Mount Cabot. Vegan. Free of gluten, dairy, and preservatives. No added sugars.
Shelf Life: Dry Maple sugar is just that - a dry, shelf-stable granulated sugar similar to but lighter than brown cane sugar. It may cake or harden over time, and is best kept out of direct sunlight.
Recommended uses: Use it as a 1:1 brown sugar substitute in any recipe, from pancake batter to cookie dough. Use it in the dry rub on your meat cuts destined for the slow-cooker, or sprinkle it evenly as a topping on any desert. The light granulated form lends itself to even distribution.
