Maple Syrup & Cream
 Making maple syrup and maple cream (“sugaring”) has been a springtime ritual at Mayval Farm for over 50 years. Order online, or stop by
149 Easthampton Rd. anytime to pick some up–we're right off Rt.
66, just minutes outside of Northampton, Massachusetts. (NOTE: from Rt. 66, you
will turn onto N. Loudville Rd., which becomes Easthampton Rd. when you cross
the Westhampton town line.)
Feel free to call or email ahead, and we
will have your order boxed and ready to take away. In addition to shipping, our online store also has a self-service
farm pick-up option. Shop and pay online, pick up at your convenience!
If there is steam billowing and a smell of sugar in the air, go straight to the sugar house to get a firsthand look at the process. and a fresh-out-of-the pan sample. We will post boiling times here so please check back often. If the weather cooperates, Saturdays and Sundays in March are safe bets. Don't forget to visit the cows while you are here!
Please call (413) 527-6274 or email margie(at)mayvalfarm(dot)com
with any questions.
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2010 Maple Syrup Inventory (updated March 10th, 2010)
- Pints: plenty in Grade A Light Amber.
- Quarts: plenty in Grade A Light Amber.
- Half-Gallons: plenty in Grade A Light Amber.
- Gallons: some in Grade A Light Amber.
- Glass leaves: 50 mL, 100 mL, and 250 mL in Grade A Light Amber.
- Maple Cream: half-pounds and pounds.
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Mayval Farm owes its name to the numerous sugar maples growing in the valley.
Our main sugar bush lies along the banks of Turkey Brook and the Manhan River
in Westhampton. These days, we set about 1000 taps every February. In the past,
we have set as many as 3000!
 Traditionalists,
we hang buckets on each tree, carry sap by the pail, and evaporate with a wood
fire. Vacuum pump, reverse osmosis, and automatic draw-off are not in our
vocabulary! Nevertheless, in a good year, we produce a few hundred gallons of
grade A maple syrup.
Our customers have always claimed that our maple syrup is second to none–likely due to the sap staying cold and fresh in the metal buckets
(we do not use any plastic tubing to collect the sap) and constant,
gallon-by-gallon, monitoring of the syrup's density with a hydrometer. Our
syrup is truly a hand-crafted, artisanal product.
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2010 maple sugaring log
- Mar 9: The farm crew gathered two more loads of sap. Total production is creeping up there. Let's hope it turns a bit colder soon!
- Mar 8: More boiling and canning. Ho-hum. Unfortunately, the weather does not look good for sugaring this week. Too warm at night.
- Mar 7: Ed, Kate, Karl W., and Ethan gathered 30 barrels or so of sap. Ed did some more boiling, and Margie and Ed canned syrup morning and evening. Most products are in stock now.
- Mar 6: Boiling today! 16° last night, 51° today: should be a real humdinger for sap! Friends and kids stopped by for sugar-on-snow and to visit Princess, the cows, the chickens, and the mud.
- Mar 5: Sap to gather today. By the looks of the weather, we will be boiling both days this weekend.
- Mar 2: Ed made almost 20 gallons of Light Amber maple syrup. Margie canned small and large leaves, quarts, and gallons before running out of containers.
- Mar 1: Ed is in the process of boiling down over 1000 gallons of sap. Margie canned a small batch of syrup. It is super light for you old-timers who aren't sold on the darker syrup!
- Feb 27: Ed, Kate, Ben, and Henry gathered sap. We'll can some syrup and update the inventory in a day or two.
- Feb 26: We're buried under some of the wettest, heaviest snow we've ever seen. Been busy digging out just so we can get regular chores done. Good thing we got the buckets set last weekend.
- Feb 21: Ed, Kate, Andrea, Ryan, and Ethan finished setting the orchard and ate hot dogs. We leveled the sand in the arch in preparation for setting the pans back down.
- Feb 20: Ed, Nelson, Kate, and Ethan set about 1/3 of the orchard.
- Feb 18: Ed got some rough-sawn oak planks and rebuilt the sled. It had just about broken in half by the end of last year. Hauling 2 tons of sap and tank over rough ground will do that. We are ready to set buckets!
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Past maple syrup production
 Stay tuned while we try to dig up memories, records, and pictures of the previous
sugar house.
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