This was one of our field trips this spring. Apparently, Québec produces most of the *world* supply of maple syrup and it's a big tradition here. The "sortie" (or outing) began with a traditional brunch type meal with maple-glazed ham, eggs, bacon, sausages, beans, crêpes, coffee and juice! We then took a quiz and learned about the maple process and history. After that, we visited an actual site where they produce the syrup.
What you do when you get there is take a spatula, grab some maple syrup and pour it out on top of the snow and let it start cooling. Then take the spatula and roll it across the syrup and voilà! you have a syrup covered spatula. We also took a walk through the woods to actually see the harvesting pots.
It's almost comical...Ok, maybe I should back up a little bit first....The Quebecois people are very, very, very...very proud of their heritage and their traditions. Did I mention they're super proud of them? Well, this tradition is no exception. They claim that the syrup has incredible amounts of essential vitamins and minerals, and if eaten in large enough quantities, will boost your immune system so high that you'd probably never get sick again. I had just one spatula's worth, most others had 2 or 3, and a few dared to have twice that amount. At any rate, it was a fun time and a good break from the classroom as it's starting to warm up here.
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