Boiling maple sap into syrup is a time honored tradition in the Northeast, to the olfactory delight of anyone who has spent time in a steamy sugarhouse while inhaling the sweet maple scent of the season. It used to be that trees were tapped in late March, and evaporators in sugar houses fired up in early April. In recent years, however, both the timing and management of sugaring season have shifted to match the earlier onset of sap flow in the trees.
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