Pure maple syrup is a natural sweetener, made by boiling down and concentrating the sap of maple trees. We harvest the syrup from our farm's forest of maple trees and boil it at our sugarhouse in Vermont. It typically takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. Click here for more details.

Maple syrup will go bad if stored under improper conditions. To prevent spoilage, maple syrup should be stored in a cool, dark location such as a cupboard, refrigerator, or freezer. In this manner, maple syrup can be safely kept for a year or more. Upon opening, store your syrup container in the freezer or refrigerator, consume within a year from the date of opening. Read more here!

For your convenience, the short concise guide on the different maple syrup grades is as follows:

• Golden Delicate Taste: Maple syrup made from early-season sap, producing a light golden color that transmits greater than or equal to 75% of light through the syrup. You can expect a delicate and subtle maple flavor with hints of vanilla, baked apple, praline, and fresh butter.
• Amber Rich Taste: Maple syrup made from early to mid-season which transmits 50.0 to 74.9% of light through this light amber-colored syrup. Look for hints of bourbon, nutmeg, crème brûlée, oats, and rich maple when tasting this popular grade of pancake syrup. 
• Dark Robust Taste: A dark amber maple syrup with a more robust maple flavor made from mid to late season which by law must transmit 25.0 to 49.9% of light. This robust pancake syrup delivers hints of prunes, butterscotch, and cinnamon.
• Very Dark Strong Taste: Produced late in the sugaring season, this very dark syrup must transmit less than 25% of light. This powerful maple syrup is known by its fans for use in baking, look for overtones of toffee, apricot, and coffee when tasting this syrup.

For more details on the Vermont maple syrup grading system click here.

Maple syrup has long been considered a healthier alternative to industrially processed sweeteners such as refined sugars. Not only does it contain essential minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and antioxidants which help to protect tooth enamel, but it also has a lower glycemic index than most other sweeteners, making it an excellent choice for those looking to maintain a healthy diet.

Although maple syrup is a popular natural sweetener, it can still be harmful if consumed in excessive amounts due to its high sugar content. Moderation of all sweets is highly recommended by not only us at the farm but likely your doctor as well! Always check with your doctor about your personal situation related to health and diet.

Read more about the qualities of maple syrup and comparing it to processed white sugar here.

The short answer is yes, real maple syrup contains nothing but tree sap, and our maple sap here at Carman Brook Farm is harvested on-site from the sugarbush surrounding the fields of our retired dairy farm. Over the years society's understanding of gluten allergies has improved and folks have finally diagnosed their ailments. We've had many customers reach out about difficulties in finding alternatives to their favorite foods, namely pancakes and waffles. Maple syrup is a great natural and gluten-free product, but many of the traditional items we pour it over contain a hearty helping of gluten. Read more about the lack of gluten in maple products here.

At its most basic, this question can be answered rather simply, during the spring months in the northern hemisphere you drill a hole no deeper than 1.5 inches in a sugar maple tree and collect the sap that runs when temperatures freeze at night and thaw during the day.

There's a little more to it than that, so follow the link to learn all the ins and outs of tapping a maple tree.

Yes, we adhere to all of the latest guidelines on drop-line length, small tap diameter, only harvesting mature healthy trees, and never using more than two taps per tree to ensure our trees are healthy long into the future. You can read more about the science of sustainable practices on our farm here.

Yes, we've recently upgraded our reverse osmosis machine which removes about 75% of the water using electricity rather than the fossil fuels that fire our evaporator. This has cut our fossil fuel usage by almost 40%. Read more about how reverse osmosis is used on our farm here.

Maple cream is a delicious maple spread that can be used in many ways to add sweetness and flavor to your meals. It has a velvety texture, similar to creamy peanut butter, making it perfect for spreading on toast, muffins, donuts, or sugar cookies.

Maple cream is made from a single ingredient, pure maple syrup. The only ingredients are time, temperature manipulation, and stirring at critical points. Born of just a few simple steps, this spreadable maple syrup can be used as a topping for your favorite desserts, or all on its own.

Read more about how we produce maple cream from our farm's maple syrup here.

The only thing I, and really any vendor, can guarantee is when we will prepare a package for shipment and get it in the hands of a mail service. Once it leaves the sugarhouse, our software sends tracking information so that you can track the progress of your package.

We typically get your order into the shipping service's hands within 1-2 business days. If it exceeds that time then we will reach out to you personally to explain the reason why. Read more about our store policies here.

Maple cream is made fresh with no preservatives, so if you order later in the week we want to avoid it sitting in a hot holding facility and truck over the weekend, so we'll ship your product the following Monday. If we're going to hold it longer than 3 days we will contact you. Read more about our store policies here.

We don't have a selection at checkout for international shipping. However, if you reach out we can figure out a solution on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, we can fix this if you notify us before it ships from our farm. As per our store policy, we will no longer replace or refund products that are sent to the wrong address. You mustn't rely 100% on auto-fill functions and verify your confirmation email to ensure your package gets to the right location. Read our store policy for more details.

If you are unsatisfied with our maple products contact us within 14 days of receiving your items so we can initiate the return process. We also want to hear from you, call us, email us, or send a smoke signal. Check out our store policies for more information on returning your maple products.