Embark on a pastoral adventure with Kim, Kelly, and Deb of Justamere Tree Farm as they trade their government badges for the rustic charm of farm life. Their story isn't just about tapping maple trees; it's a symphony of passion and craftsmanship that drives their entrepreneurial spirit. Witness their journey from wildlife conservationists to artisanal syrup producers, navigating the unpredictable tides of climate change that have them boiling sap as early as January. They open up about the day-to-day life on the farm, the embrace of their local community in Worthington, and the living arrangements that keep their operations close-knit and full of heart.
Dive into the competitive cauldron of the maple syrup market where our trio stands tall against the industrial giants. They discuss the power of staying true to traditional methods and how it makes their products stand out, despite the market's push towards quantity over quality. We explore how technological advancements threaten time-honored practices, yet Kim, Kelly, and Deb's unwavering commitment to excellence ensures that each drop of their syrup tells a story of dedication and hard-earned expertise—ingredients you won't find on any supermarket shelf.
We delve into the off-season ingenuity of a syrup farm, discussing the importance of marketing, community sustainable practices, and the sheer joy of crafting a product that is truly a labor of love. Keep these enriching tales of sustainable agriculture and culinary adventure in mind, and don't forget to join the conversation with us on social media for more enlightening journeys.
Thank you Kim, Kelly and Deb!!,
https://www.justameretreefarm.com/
Thank you to our listeners!!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chef James (00:14):
Hey everyone, welcome to Chef Sense.
I'm your host, chef Massey.
Alright, so today on thepodcast, I am so excited Jackson
field trip, right yeah thisdrive was so special, wasn't it
beautiful yeah.
You know, and the colonialwalls and everything.
I mean it's New England, youknow, that never gets old.
So we are at Just a mere TreeFarm.
(00:36):
Thank you all for having us.
We can just go around andintroduce ourselves.
Our listeners you go to my lefthere.
Kim (00:42):
All right, Hi, I'm Kim and I'm one of the co-owners of Just
a Mere Tree Farm.
Chef James (00:46):
Okay.
Kelly (00:46):
I'm Kelly.
I'm another owner of Just aMere Tree Farm.
Deb (00:49):
And I'm Deb, I'm the third owner of Just a Mere Tree Farm.
Chef James (00:53):
And we have a loaded podcast.
So you know I've always enjoyedthe products that you guys
provide from your maple syrupand, I have to say, the granola.
I just love the flavor in there, the toasting and the time you
put into it Um, it makes amagical morning I mean, oh well,
(01:13):
thank you.
Kim (01:13):
Do you eat it straight up or do you put it on?
Chef James (01:15):
I just do a little bit of milk, yeah, you know, and
just go after it that way.
Um, I've actually done muffinswith it.
That's been really good.
So, yeah, just a variety there.
Kim (01:25):
Yeah, we like it on yogurt and we put a little bit of maple
cream on top, oh wow.
Kind of crunchy sweet.
Chef James (01:31):
Right.
Kim (01:32):
And I think what makes our granola a little bit unusual
from other granolas is we put insesame seeds.
Chef James (01:39):
Oh, and so you sort of taste that Right, right and
you're not quite sure what it isand you're like oh, that's a
good flavor.
Deb (01:45):
Yeah.
Kim (01:45):
And it's I don't know that I've run into many other
granolas that have sesame seedsand then a little bit of the
toasted coconut.
Deb (01:52):
Until now, and now they're all going to have sesame seeds.
Yeah, I know.
Chef James (01:58):
There goes the secret, right?
No, but we won't like what gotyou all together and what got
you into the industry.
I mean, what was the previouslife like?
I mean what was before JustinMayer.
Deb (02:16):
So we tell everybody that we all met in Alaska, and that's
mostly true.
But Kelly and I moved to Alaskatogether, where I met Kim and
Kim and I both worked for the USFish and Wildlife Service.
Chef James (02:24):
Oh, wow.
Deb (02:26):
I met Kim and Kim and I both worked for the US Fish and
Wildlife Service, so so thefederal conservation agency and
worked together for 10 years.
15 years and um, and we allsubsequently moved out of Alaska
.
But um, but Kim and I had talkedabout sort of retiring and
starting a farm together and andCOVID was um such kind of a
shock to our system that we werelike maybe we ought to think
(02:50):
about retiring a little bitsooner, and so this was
available and we just I mean,you said it yourself, it's
beautiful around here yes allfell in love with it and fell in
love with the community.
Worthington's just a awonderful place to live yeah, so
, oh, that's great.
Kim (03:05):
Okay, yeah, I was gonna ask what it's like to live out here
.
Um.
Do you all live close by or orat?
Do you live here?
Kelly (03:11):
here you can see one of the places we live and the other
one is just up through thosetrees yeah, yeah, so you're,
you're right here yeah, yeah,and in part there's a main house
and a guest house and kim livesin the guest house and the main
house is an Airbnb, oh okay.
Kim (03:28):
Nice and how far is the nearest grocery store?
Deb (03:32):
Well, what do you call a grocery?
Kim (03:34):
store.
There's like a small thingclose by.
Deb (03:38):
It's the Hilltown Market right that used to be Sawyer
Farm that provides um all sortsof produce, a lot of produce,
but also um meats and eggs andand things and from the local
and they also do do snapbenefits and have you know
double snap benefits and thingslike that for a lot of the
hilltown families but we have togo to um northampton for yeah
(04:01):
what my mom would call biggrocery shopping, and that's
about a 40 minute drive.
Chef James (04:07):
Yeah, okay, you know how has your season been this
year.
Deb (04:10):
The season since we bought the farm.
So this is our fourth season onthe farm and you know we came
in eyes wide open, knowing thatclimate change was going to have
an impact on the way thatpeople approach the sugaring
season.
But I personally have beensurprised that it's been as
quick and sort of as difficultto predict.
(04:33):
So it's not just that theseason is happening earlier.
The season's happening earlierand it sort of is like you know,
it gets cold, it gets warm, itgets cold it gets warm.
And last year we had had what acouple of days, couple of three
days, in the upper 60s, low 70s.
It just killed us we didn'thave that this year, but we
started tapping on december 30thright crazy early well, I know
(04:56):
I was watching that on instagram.
Chef James (04:57):
I'm like, well, if they're doing, I gotta get out
there on my little maple trees.
So I just well, it's funnybecause I do that with foraging
for mushrooms, because you know,you can see where it starts to
hit in the region.
So I'm like, all right, they'rethe pros, I'm going to jump in
there.
Kelly (05:10):
So we're the first um sugar bush to make syrup this
year, so okay, so that wasjanuary, 14th.
Yeah, that was our first boil,yeah yeah, and we talked to the
previous owner and he was.
Kim (05:23):
He just was shaking his head, saying yeah, he had owned
the farm for 38 years and hadnever, ever boiled that early.
Chef James (05:29):
Wow well and that's all as long as it's.
You know you can extend it.
If you start early andhopefully it ends at a relative
expected time every year, thenit's like money, you know.
It's that ability to like pushor that days of sunlight for a
farmer you Once.
You're waiting for that windowseven or eight hours or
something, but it's like whoa,it's go time.
Yeah.
Kelly (05:50):
Well, as it turns out, the season ended probably two
weeks early.
We normally are the first orsecond week of April ending.
Several of the farmers in ourarea.
There's still one trying tomake a go at it, but everyone
else was like no, this, it's notsustainable yeah it's not worth
um so our last boil was um lastsaturday, the 16th.
Chef James (06:11):
Okay, wow, okay so start early and early.
It can happen that way wellwell, and last year what
happened?
Kim (06:18):
we sort of missed the january run because we had the
same weather pattern that we hadthis year, which is why we
jumped on tapping so early thisyear.
We didn't want to miss January,but you know, as Deb was saying
, historically nobody expects tobe tapping and boiling in
January.
Chef James (06:34):
Right.
So looking at the trees andlike the acreage of this farm,
what are you set at?
What are we Like?
How many acres and how manytrees we now have 400 acres.
Oh, wow.
Deb (06:47):
But we don't tap all of those.
We're mostly wooded.
We have, let's see, probably 50to 60 is in grass and hay.
And then the rest of it iswoodlands.
We lease taps from some of ourneighbors, so all told we have
about 6,500 taps out there.
Chef James (07:09):
Wow.
Deb (07:10):
So we've tried to expand a little bit to try to help
mediate those ups and downs andhelp us get a consistent crop.
It just spreads us kind of thintoo during the season.
Chef James (07:22):
I can only imagine.
Wow, okay, us kind of thin tooduring the season.
Kelly (07:26):
I can only imagine wow, okay, 6500 taps.
We try to follow the ethic ofjust one tap per tree.
If we have a really large treeover 24, 36 inches, then that
may get two taps, but for themost part there's 6500 trees out
there that are tapped right now, yeah, wow, and I know, like
it's.
Chef James (07:46):
You know I was trying to be careful with mine,
that I don't, you know, do toomany taps on there.
Do you weaken the tree when youover-tap?
Deb (07:53):
If you're on gravity, it shouldn't be that much of a
problem.
Yeah, okay, but we're, you knowwe're on vacuum, and so it's
pulling from a greater area.
Chef James (08:03):
Yeah, that's great.
Okay, wow, can you describe theseason how it starts in maple
syrup Golden to amber, to dark.
Kelly (08:13):
No, you're right, Exactly the lighter syrup comes
off first, and syrup that alsothe golden, it doesn't have a
real strong maple flavor.
In fact, I myself can't tastethe maple flavor.
Yeah, yeah, it's more of anutty flavor Nutty, thank you.
Chef James (08:26):
I thought I, that's great, there we go.
Kelly (08:28):
There's a chef here somewhere.
Chef James (08:30):
Yeah, I know, gee.
Well, it's funny Cause I'm likewhen I try it I'm like
nuttiness, like hazelnut andWell.
Kelly (08:38):
So it has to do with the sugars.
So it starts out the seasonwith one sugar molecule that has
a lower boiling point.
So when you're boiling it tomake syrup, to get to the right
concentration of sugar, youdon't have to boil it as long
yeah so it stays light.
It doesn't caramelize like you.
You know what you're makingcaramel yeah and then, as the
(09:01):
season progresses, you have more, actually, bacterial growth in
the tree that lends to theflavoring.
Oh, that's right, Okay, and thenit breaks down that one large
molecule and then it breaks itdown to two other molecules that
have different boiling points,and one of them has a high
boiling point, the firstmolecule.
(09:22):
So it comes to syrup quickerthe higher concentration quicker
and the other molecule, once itstarts getting broken down, has
a lower boiling point.
You have to boil it longer.
Chef James (09:31):
Yeah.
Kelly (09:31):
So it starts caramelizing in the pan and
changing color.
Yeah, so that's why late seasonsyrup is very dark.
Chef James (09:38):
Yeah, and it has that coffee kind of more robust
flavor Tons of different yeah.
Kim (09:45):
So we only bottle uh two of the types of syrup we bottle
dark and robust and very darkand strong oh, which are the?
Late season sap yeah lateseason sap um.
We don't make any goldendelicate.
We just don't make that okay atour farm.
Chef James (10:00):
Okay, our trees don't like it, but the lightest
stuff that we do make, we usethat to make our cream and our
candies okay, and things uh, ofthat, of that sort, and so we
save our darker syrup forbottling and so when you're
making the maple cream and thesethings, it's just continuing
that candy and process or thattemperature and time.
Kim (10:21):
Right it is yeah, there's a difference.
So when we make the cream, uh,we heat, heat it up to about 237
degrees and then we cool itdown in a cool room and then we
have a cream machine that putsair it doesn't put air, it turns
, it's more like butter oh, youwant to be creamy, right, if you
put air in it.
It'd be kind of like uh, yeah,right, okay, okay, and we want
(10:43):
it to be nice and creamy and notgrainy at all okay, wow if we
make something like candy, it'skind of the opposite process.
We heat that up too, but then weput it into a machine that has
these big paddles it has like alittle spinny pigtail thing and
that uh starts to granulate theokay, the syrup, and then that's
when we get kind of that.
You know that typicaltraditional maple sugar candy.
Chef James (11:07):
Okay, wow, quite the diverse.
You know selection and it's asmart thing.
I think it's business too.
You're like, how many ways canI use this product?
Because you know maple syrup onthe gallon is it's gold.
You know it's definitelysomething that you're rationing
out to the breakfast cooks inthe morning, you know, in front
of the house team, and can wetalk about the ratios or the
(11:30):
process in making maple syrup sopeople can really understand
the devotion to this?
Because it's it's a lot of work, patience and love.
Kelly (11:39):
Starting four years ago, but Deb and I actually made
syrup as a hobby for nine yearsbefore that.
Chef James (11:45):
Okay.
Kelly (11:46):
But to see 2% sugar or 3% sugar used to be the norm and
now are even higher in someplaces, and that has to do with
the big crown of leaves on topof the tree.
So the bigger, the healthier.
Beautiful trees would producemore sugar okay in their sap,
but oh, and environmentalfactors as well.
(12:06):
Well, and that have lent to why.
This is why it's decreasing nowokay so we started the season
this year with one point, so weback up.
So when it was two percent,that's when everyone would say,
oh, it takes 40 gallons of sapto make one gallon of syrup, and
that was the ratio.
Yeah, okay, I remember that nowso now we start with 1.7% sugar
(12:28):
in the sap.
And so that means thattranslated to 52, 51, 52 gallons
More sap to make the yeah.
So we ended the season at well.
Our chart doesn't go this low,but the lowest it goes is when
you have 1% sugar in your sap.
It was 89 gallons of sap.
Chef James (12:51):
Wow, yeah, oh my gosh, that's unbelievable, wow.
Deb (12:55):
So we have four storage tanks one, two, three.
We actually have five,including including our neighbor
that we collect from okay we.
We use that to calculate, likewhat you know.
We have a reverse osmosismachine that takes out 90 of the
water, helps us concentrate itup to about 15 before we start
the boil.
(13:15):
But it's constantly especiallyas it's the season's moving on
and you're making darker syrupand the weather's a little bit
warmer and you've got morebacteria you're trying to move
everything through.
So for us it's constantly pickit up from here and move it
there and moving everythingaround and then doing the
calculation of like when it'stime to boil and how much we're
(13:40):
going to make of like when it'swhen it's time to boil and how
much we're going to make.
Chef James (13:43):
And you're, when you're looking at it.
I mean I'm, I have myhydrometer, I use a, you know,
typically, is that what was that?
Kelly (13:48):
bricks 66 or in that range I mean, 66.9 is what they
make.
Deb (13:53):
Yeah, but we know that's a little yeah, but we we're not
going to give the full numberhere, because there's isn't that
kind of 66.
Kelly (14:00):
So let's say we make ours at 67 because, or a little
bit higher, because people lovethick syrup they do right.
Kim (14:08):
Yeah, that's a different mouthfeel, I mean you don't
think that you know, let's say66.9, you wouldn't think that
mouthfeel would be muchdifferent than 67.4.
But it really is like you getthat nice full mouthfeel yeah
and um, and it's just a littlebit extra sugar content in the
syrup, that.
Chef James (14:25):
That helps that along and so I know we were
talking about earlier.
Can we kind of go into also thepricing and the market and you
know what your challenges arewith that?
I mean, because I was talkingabout the what was that?
The maple mafia, the maplemafia video.
I I'm like, oh, what about that, the Maple Mafia, the Maple
Mafia video?
I'm like, oh, what about that?
And that market that kind of ischallenging for you all up in
(14:47):
Canada, is that?
Kim (14:48):
Well, you know, because of that, they are mostly the
drivers of pricing the wholeindustry.
You know we and we're littleguys.
You know we, only little guyscompared to them.
They have hundreds of thousandsof taps on some of their farms
up there.
And they're a big industrial.
A lot of them are bigindustrial conglomerations and
(15:11):
they have everything automated.
We have a little wood-firedevaporator that we go down and
we're throwing wood in thereevery day.
Oh, wow, okay, and you know youcan dial in some evaporators.
You can dial in when the drawcomes off and you dial in when
your anti-foamer goes in there.
Deb (15:27):
Well, it's all automated in those big, you know, even here
in Vermont, right, and that'ssomething that we don't ever
want to do as a chef, you knowwhich is a great point want to
do as a chef, you know, which isa great point, right, but like
I, I don't know that it tastesdifferent, but I feel like it
tastes different by using woodand kind of using using your
intuition and your taste budsand your you know your eyes to
(15:50):
look at the color and stuff.
Kim (15:52):
It's like it, it's, it's a craft and I think what you're
saying, yeah, what it's like ahuman did this right exactly,
and that's what the three of us.
Do you know?
Know, during the boiling seasonwe have people out in the woods
that are chasing leaks for usand trying to keep our vacuum
tight, but the three of us aredown in the sugar house.
You?
know trying to pull it off atjust the right taste and just
the right temperature and justthe right sugar content, and
(16:14):
trying to get the fire so thatit's nice and consistent,
because maple doesn't like drama, so we don't want to fire up
our evaporator way high and thenlet it go way low and that kind
of thing.
But as far as pricing goes,just because those big
conglomerates up in Canada candrive the price of the whole
(16:36):
industry.
So we're a little bit boundedyou know by what they can charge
.
You know, if they're charging$18, $20 a quart.
Chef James (16:48):
I mean we could calculate how much it would
really cost us to make a quartof syrup, but we're still going
to be in that $20, $25 range,because you don't want to
overprice yourself and then itmoves slower and it's all tough,
yeah, and you know they've gotthat that volume opportunity and
that's where, even like lookingat you know even I mean it's
(17:10):
different than SAP.
But you know the complex agsystem where you know again my
family, we had a thousand acresalmost at one point and you know
I kind of have a history andsome things I learned and you
know coming up, you know WorldWar One when he, my great
grandfather, came back andfounded our farm and my
grandfather took it over,especially after World War Two.
(17:30):
But some of those practices youknow and that mechanized
equipment and all this, that nowyou set the tractor to a GPS
and you know it's just it'sgetting interesting how you know
the ag system is kind of movingahead and you're kind of
stepping away from really thebeauty of what you're doing.
The craft you know and that'spretty amazing, so wow.
Deb (17:54):
Well, I think we're finding in all sectors of farming right
is like the old ways may havebeen the right ways anyway like
just for our health, for theland's health for, for, for the
animal's health, for tree healthand everything else yeah to
industrialize somethingespecially food like that goes
(18:16):
in and you know something thatyou put in your body.
Sure, we just care about it andI mean we want to make really
great products, but we also wantto um, we also really believe
in the like working workinglands and working lands for
wildlife and the integrity andthe vision.
Chef James (18:35):
yeah, that's unbelievable and that's it's
inspiring.
You know, and honestly I dofeel you can taste a difference.
I mean, if we were to you know,jackson, you and I were talking
about it here but like you goand you get a chicken breast
from you know one of the bigones out there and you put it
next to you know, a chickenbreast from Mill River Farm,
(18:56):
from Jan over there, you willtaste a difference, you're going
to taste a difference andyou're going to get so much more
from it, you know.
So, anyways, that's kind of,but it's.
Kelly (19:09):
Well, that's certainly true, like so Canada, will you
know?
Because they mass produce theirsyrup and they set a price all
across Canada and that's all.
The farmers are going to getpaid for it.
But then they send it down here, literally in the big box
stores, they'll sell a quart ofsyrup for $16, $15, and we can't
(19:31):
compete with that.
But you enter that syrup into acontest and they immediately
are like oh, bad, bad syrup.
Chef James (19:40):
You're right.
Deb (19:40):
You know, they can really tell the difference between that
.
Kelly (19:44):
You know, because they do a lot of blending.
They salvage every little dropof syrup.
They can even late season syrupthat you or I would not even
put on a sweetener.
Chef James (19:56):
Yeah, yeah.
Kelly (19:57):
And they blend it and they sell it, and it's cheap,
but it tastes cheap, yeah, yeah,and they blend it and they sell
it, and it's cheap, but ittastes cheap.
Chef James (20:01):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Well, I'm looking at the tablesyrup too that a number of you
know people grew up with.
That's not even you know cornsyrup, caramel, colorina, like
when you're at the restaurant,the default is to serve like the
corn syrup.
That's stuff In a lot ofrestaurants, right, and you have
to ask oh, can I have the realsyrup?
Kim (20:19):
And then they charge you.
And then they charge you Like$30 for a little thing of real
syrup.
Deb (20:23):
Yeah exactly, we have half a pint so you can bring your own
.
Chef James (20:25):
Yeah, pocket size Perfect, always have, yeah,
maybe we should make littlesingle shots.
I'm down with that yeah, yeah,I might have to get Berkshire
Mountain Distillers involved onthat Like ketchup A little
marinated, yeah, oh, wow.
Kim (20:41):
Stop, that's awesome.
Sneak into movies, you know,with your own candy.
Yeah, yeah, right, oh, my goshRestaurant proof.
Deb (20:49):
I don't know that sounds like something else.
Chef James (20:54):
Maybe we should hold on doing this episode until you
guys get that final.
That's a part.
Yeah, that's funny, you know.
I was also curious and I'm justthrowing this thought out there
because whether it's mushroomsor produce or a lot of things
wine, do you find that theterroir has some level in making
(21:16):
your syrup taste different thanioka valley or some of these
others?
Kim (21:21):
could that play a part, or am I just being no, it's
absolutely true okay, and Ididn't realize that so I moved
out here from portland oregonand I was in the willamette
valley for a long time and and,uh, you know, you travel through
the willamette valley tastingpinot noirs that are, you know
just two or three miles awayfrom each other and, and you
know, if they're single vineyardPinots, you can absolutely
(21:44):
taste a difference and theycould come from the same
vineyard.
Yeah, but they're just from youknow separate little grape vine
or vineyards.
And so the same is true here.
You can taste, even within ourown process.
You know, as the seasonprogresses you can taste.
Each individual drum tastes alittle bit different.
Chef James (22:05):
Wow.
Kim (22:06):
And I thought I found that fascinating when we bought the
farm and we'd open up a drum andand you know it was like, wow,
this one tastes differentbecause this one was made a week
ago and it's still dark, robust, but it was made, but it's the
same but there's still flavor.
Chef James (22:18):
Wow, it's still dark , robust, but it was made over,
but it's the same, but there'sstill flavor, wow.
Kim (22:20):
And so just but we, you know, we've tried syrup from Red
Bucket, an old sugar housethat's not in business anymore.
We've tried syrup from them andthey're just what, three miles
away.
Chef James (22:35):
Yeah, and they taste different.
Kim (22:37):
Their process is different than ours but yeah, it
definitely tasted.
Chef James (22:41):
I was just curious about that.
You know there's a syrup thatI've tried that really I was
kind of mind blown Black walnutsyrup.
I'm like, wow, where have you?
Deb (22:51):
been all my life.
You know it's like I've got toget a little.
Chef James (22:53):
Have you tried birch syrup?
Yes, and that's really good too, but you know I'm better with a
birch soda than I am anythingelse.
Kelly (23:00):
Yeah, I don't want that on my pancakes.
I'd use it for something else.
And they're looking at beechnow using beech trees to make
syrup.
Chef James (23:07):
Yeah, it's amazing.
Kim (23:14):
They're making a big leaf maple syrup out in washington
state.
That has a very, very strongplace that you wouldn't even
know it was maple syrup.
Chef James (23:17):
Okay, so different wow um, but it's.
Kim (23:20):
They don't make a lot of it and they don't have those
really cold spells for a longperiod of time okay warms up
cold.
Chef James (23:26):
Warms up, cold warms up, okay, like throughout the
whole season, and so I thinkthey're selling it for $500 a
gallon, something like that Imean it's very expensive.
When you're looking at your offseason.
Are you working?
Kim (23:41):
That's my question there, so when is that Is there?
Chef James (23:44):
I mean, how does that work?
What is?
It's a different part of theseason, but we're not off, it's
just phases right.
Yeah.
Deb (23:51):
The different phases of things, and so we have that six
to eight week window of makingsyrup okay, and and I I mean
it's no different than you know,any other kind of a farmer,
where you have your window andyou're hoping that nature,
nature, uh is good to you andyou make a lot and because, like
(24:11):
it costs you, it costs usnothing.
It costs us no more to make 10gallons versus, you know, 2,000.
I mean it's going to cost usalmost the same amount of money
because we're we're puttingeverything into the woods and
then you know, and then the restof the year is making products
and marketing it and going tomarket and writing grants and
(24:34):
you know social media and all,all the things.
Kim (24:36):
Yeah, and taking care of the grounds and yeah, that's
constant cutting and cuttingfirewood.
Chef James (24:41):
I mean we spent well .
Yeah, I didn't realize puttingup firewood and yeah, how many
like cords of firewood do you gothrough for a season?
I mean that's between seven andten.
Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, wow,and at any one time we have at
least 15 to 20 cords set up togo.
Okay, yeah, yeah, you're in acycle, yeah.
Kelly (25:01):
And we utilize all just fallen trees.
We don't go out and harvesttrees at all.
Chef James (25:05):
Okay, nice, there's plenty of fallen trees.
Yeah, that's.
Deb (25:09):
And our community's wonderful because they're like,
hey, justam, that's.
And our community is wonderfulbecause they're like, hey, just
a mirror, we'll take our trees.
Hey, we've got it like we'vecut a bunch of trees, come get
them.
Kim (25:15):
And so we've been doing that for the last year one day
and just a flatbed with treesshowed up and said hey, somebody
said you wanted these trees.
And kelly's like yeah, sure goput them down there.
Chef James (25:25):
Oh, that's great.
Kim (25:25):
Wow, yeah, okay, please don't show up with a flatbed
full of trees.
Let us know if you're coming.
Yeah right, Give us a callfirst Geez.
Chef James (25:38):
Well, that's funny too, like growing up in Oregon
outside of Portland.
I grew up on Mount Hood as akid, so small logging town up
there, but I just rememberbecause our existence up there
was a lot of wood hauling youknow, and clearing the forest.
Our existence up there was alot of wood hauling, you know,
and clearing the forest andthat's very interesting what you
guys go through and and havingthat season keep moving through.
Kim (25:58):
So okay, um you know what I will say.
It used to be.
I mean, we used to have acouple weeks off in january,
kind of the end of the holidays,because we have an online
business as well, so during theholidays.
So january used to be our, youknow kind of down couple weeks,
but we don't even have thatanymore yeah, like I said, now
it turns out it's the end ofmarch.
Deb (26:18):
That's great.
I mean, it's exactly yeah wow,nice, all right.
Chef James (26:23):
So favorite dishes I mean you guys have favorite
dishes you like to use maplesyrup in any one that just
stands out, or well, I made ablueberry buckle for you um this
this morning and, uh, this ismy great-grandmother's recipe.
Deb (26:39):
That was always a delight my, my family's, from um an
island off the coast of maine,and so maine blueberries and and
all of that so she made thatand what I did is I.
I didn't think it could beimproved upon, but I re I
replaced the conventional sugarwith maple sugar and then use
(27:00):
maple crumbles for the streuseltopping.
That's beautiful and that'sjust been one of the one of our
favorites Cause I mean it's justwonderful and blueberries are
oh yeah, oh yeah, Personally.
Kelly (27:10):
Well, it's just wonderful when blueberries are
in season, oh yeah, butpersonally, well, there's sort
of two.
One is using syrup and acornsquash and not sugar.
Chef James (27:18):
Oh yum, Okay, and the other?
Kelly (27:20):
is our maple seasoning over there.
We use that with olive oil on achicken, on the smoker.
Chef James (27:27):
I was going to ask that Fantastic Wow, that's great
and that is amazing.
Deb (27:31):
It's also really great on root vegetables, like
unbelievable, like just brusselssprouts and other butternut
squash.
Chef James (27:38):
I bet or oh, yeah, our honey, nut squash and, yeah,
okay, a lot of squash.
Kim (27:43):
Yeah, absolutely what my favorite things to do.
So with our maple cream.
You know everybody always asksus what we can do with it.
You know it's like you can putit on toast and you can put it's
like well, you can put it ontoast and you can put it on
English muffins and you can putit in your oatmeal.
But you can also make a savorydish and you mix it with a
little bit of mustard, likeDijon mustard or Stoke-on
mustard.
And then you can put it onsalmon and roast it.
Chef James (28:05):
Oh boy, I was thinking pork, but salmon's even
better.
Deb (28:09):
Yeah, Wow, yum, salmon's even better.
Yeah, wow, yum, okay, you canalso the maple cream also, if
you cut it with cream cheese, itmakes a really nice maple cream
frosting for whatever you wantto put it on top of a carrot
cake.
It's unbelievable yeah, okaythat sounds.
Kelly (28:24):
Add that in there, that sounds really good yeah, there
you go.
Deb (28:27):
There's some homework.
Salty cheese, exactly.
Salty cheese, exactly, no,totally.
Chef James (28:34):
You know, and the funny thing too is you mentioned
this as we're talking about it,but adding maple syrup and
cutting the sugar.
I notice I enjoy that, you know, and it imparts some more
flavor into what you're doing.
It really does you know whetheryou're doing cakes or.
Deb (28:51):
And there's a lot of research going on now about um
benefits of maple.
It's got the lowest glycemicindex the lowest calorie
preserving of any sweetener,including honey, and it's got
all sorts of like minerals anduh macronutrients yeah, and in
it micronutrients yeah, yeah,kind of no.
Chef James (29:10):
it's some magical stuff that looks so good over
there.
I think it's calling our names.
Kelly (29:18):
Maybe just mine.
It's calling mine there we goDouble trouble.
Chef James (29:23):
Well, all right.
Well, I just want to thank youall for the opportunity to come
in here and share part of yourday in the inspiration that you
all provide here that goes intothose bottles and warms a day.
Deb (29:40):
Well, thanks for what you do, highlighting local producers
and local food scene and allthe organic products and
everything else oh yeah, and howgood they are for you and how
good they are to cook with right.
Chef James (29:52):
Yes, they are.
So where can the listeners Ilisteners and we've got a
variety from you know across theus and even abroad, but it best
place to locate if they want topick this up and locate you
guys and website and all there'san online website okay
justamiretreefarmcom and we'reat the great barrington farmers
market uh, the whole season.
Deb (30:12):
And we, we're at the great Barrington farmer's market uh,
the whole season.
And we're in at the wintermarket with Berkshire grown as
well this year.
Kim (30:17):
Okay, that's great.
We're at the Amherst farmer'smarket as well, all season long.
Chef James (30:21):
Okay, great, awesome , all right.
Well, guys, get out there, takeadvantage of this amazing farm
and, uh, have a great one.
Thank you all.
Thank you appreciate it.
Yeah, all right, everyone, thatis a wrap.
You can check us out if youlike that.
Subscribe also the instagramchef massey.
Let's keep it simple,chefmasseycom.
(30:44):
Have a good one.
Bye for now.
Hey everyone, welcome to Chef Sense.
I'm your host, chef Massey.
Alright, so today on thepodcast, I am so excited Jackson
field trip, right yeah thisdrive was so special, wasn't it
beautiful yeah.
You know, and the colonialwalls and everything.
I mean it's New England, youknow, that never gets old.
So we are at Just a mere TreeFarm.
(00:36):
Thank you all for having us.
We can just go around andintroduce ourselves.
Our listeners you go to my lefthere.
Kim (00:42):
All right, Hi, I'm Kim and I'm one of the co-owners of Just
a Mere Tree Farm.
Chef James (00:46):
Okay.
Kelly (00:46):
I'm Kelly.
I'm another owner of Just aMere Tree Farm.
Deb (00:49):
And I'm Deb, I'm the third owner of Just a Mere Tree Farm.
Chef James (00:53):
And we have a loaded podcast.
So you know I've always enjoyedthe products that you guys
provide from your maple syrupand, I have to say, the granola.
I just love the flavor in there, the toasting and the time you
put into it Um, it makes amagical morning I mean, oh well,
(01:13):
thank you.
Kim (01:13):
Do you eat it straight up or do you put it on?
Chef James (01:15):
I just do a little bit of milk, yeah, you know, and
just go after it that way.
Um, I've actually done muffinswith it.
That's been really good.
So, yeah, just a variety there.
Kim (01:25):
Yeah, we like it on yogurt and we put a little bit of maple
cream on top, oh wow.
Kind of crunchy sweet.
Chef James (01:31):
Right.
Kim (01:32):
And I think what makes our granola a little bit unusual
from other granolas is we put insesame seeds.
Chef James (01:39):
Oh, and so you sort of taste that Right, right and
you're not quite sure what it isand you're like oh, that's a
good flavor.
Deb (01:45):
Yeah.
Kim (01:45):
And it's I don't know that I've run into many other
granolas that have sesame seedsand then a little bit of the
toasted coconut.
Deb (01:52):
Until now, and now they're all going to have sesame seeds.
Yeah, I know.
Chef James (01:58):
There goes the secret, right?
No, but we won't like what gotyou all together and what got
you into the industry.
I mean, what was the previouslife like?
I mean what was before JustinMayer.
Deb (02:16):
So we tell everybody that we all met in Alaska, and that's
mostly true.
But Kelly and I moved to Alaskatogether, where I met Kim and
Kim and I both worked for the USFish and Wildlife Service.
Chef James (02:24):
Oh, wow.
Deb (02:26):
I met Kim and Kim and I both worked for the US Fish and
Wildlife Service, so so thefederal conservation agency and
worked together for 10 years.
15 years and um, and we allsubsequently moved out of Alaska
.
But um, but Kim and I had talkedabout sort of retiring and
starting a farm together and andCOVID was um such kind of a
shock to our system that we werelike maybe we ought to think
(02:50):
about retiring a little bitsooner, and so this was
available and we just I mean,you said it yourself, it's
beautiful around here yes allfell in love with it and fell in
love with the community.
Worthington's just a awonderful place to live yeah, so
, oh, that's great.
Kim (03:05):
Okay, yeah, I was gonna ask what it's like to live out here
.
Um.
Do you all live close by or orat?
Do you live here?
Kelly (03:11):
here you can see one of the places we live and the other
one is just up through thosetrees yeah, yeah, so you're,
you're right here yeah, yeah,and in part there's a main house
and a guest house and kim livesin the guest house and the main
house is an Airbnb, oh okay.
Kim (03:28):
Nice and how far is the nearest grocery store?
Deb (03:32):
Well, what do you call a grocery?
Kim (03:34):
store.
There's like a small thingclose by.
Deb (03:38):
It's the Hilltown Market right that used to be Sawyer
Farm that provides um all sortsof produce, a lot of produce,
but also um meats and eggs andand things and from the local
and they also do do snapbenefits and have you know
double snap benefits and thingslike that for a lot of the
hilltown families but we have togo to um northampton for yeah
(04:01):
what my mom would call biggrocery shopping, and that's
about a 40 minute drive.
Chef James (04:07):
Yeah, okay, you know how has your season been this
year.
Deb (04:10):
The season since we bought the farm.
So this is our fourth season onthe farm and you know we came
in eyes wide open, knowing thatclimate change was going to have
an impact on the way thatpeople approach the sugaring
season.
But I personally have beensurprised that it's been as
quick and sort of as difficultto predict.
(04:33):
So it's not just that theseason is happening earlier.
The season's happening earlierand it sort of is like you know,
it gets cold, it gets warm, itgets cold it gets warm.
And last year we had had what acouple of days, couple of three
days, in the upper 60s, low 70s.
It just killed us we didn'thave that this year, but we
started tapping on december 30thright crazy early well, I know
(04:56):
I was watching that on instagram.
Chef James (04:57):
I'm like, well, if they're doing, I gotta get out
there on my little maple trees.
So I just well, it's funnybecause I do that with foraging
for mushrooms, because you know,you can see where it starts to
hit in the region.
So I'm like, all right, they'rethe pros, I'm going to jump in
there.
Kelly (05:10):
So we're the first um sugar bush to make syrup this
year, so okay, so that wasjanuary, 14th.
Yeah, that was our first boil,yeah yeah, and we talked to the
previous owner and he was.
Kim (05:23):
He just was shaking his head, saying yeah, he had owned
the farm for 38 years and hadnever, ever boiled that early.
Chef James (05:29):
Wow well and that's all as long as it's.
You know you can extend it.
If you start early andhopefully it ends at a relative
expected time every year, thenit's like money, you know.
It's that ability to like pushor that days of sunlight for a
farmer you Once.
You're waiting for that windowseven or eight hours or
something, but it's like whoa,it's go time.
Yeah.
Kelly (05:50):
Well, as it turns out, the season ended probably two
weeks early.
We normally are the first orsecond week of April ending.
Several of the farmers in ourarea.
There's still one trying tomake a go at it, but everyone
else was like no, this, it's notsustainable yeah it's not worth
um so our last boil was um lastsaturday, the 16th.
Chef James (06:11):
Okay, wow, okay so start early and early.
It can happen that way wellwell, and last year what
happened?
Kim (06:18):
we sort of missed the january run because we had the
same weather pattern that we hadthis year, which is why we
jumped on tapping so early thisyear.
We didn't want to miss January,but you know, as Deb was saying
, historically nobody expects tobe tapping and boiling in
January.
Chef James (06:34):
Right.
So looking at the trees andlike the acreage of this farm,
what are you set at?
What are we Like?
How many acres and how manytrees we now have 400 acres.
Oh, wow.
Deb (06:47):
But we don't tap all of those.
We're mostly wooded.
We have, let's see, probably 50to 60 is in grass and hay.
And then the rest of it iswoodlands.
We lease taps from some of ourneighbors, so all told we have
about 6,500 taps out there.
Chef James (07:09):
Wow.
Deb (07:10):
So we've tried to expand a little bit to try to help
mediate those ups and downs andhelp us get a consistent crop.
It just spreads us kind of thintoo during the season.
Chef James (07:22):
I can only imagine.
Wow, okay, us kind of thin tooduring the season.
Kelly (07:26):
I can only imagine wow, okay, 6500 taps.
We try to follow the ethic ofjust one tap per tree.
If we have a really large treeover 24, 36 inches, then that
may get two taps, but for themost part there's 6500 trees out
there that are tapped right now, yeah, wow, and I know, like
it's.
Chef James (07:46):
You know I was trying to be careful with mine,
that I don't, you know, do toomany taps on there.
Do you weaken the tree when youover-tap?
Deb (07:53):
If you're on gravity, it shouldn't be that much of a
problem.
Yeah, okay, but we're, you knowwe're on vacuum, and so it's
pulling from a greater area.
Chef James (08:03):
Yeah, that's great.
Okay, wow, can you describe theseason how it starts in maple
syrup Golden to amber, to dark.
Kelly (08:13):
No, you're right, Exactly the lighter syrup comes
off first, and syrup that alsothe golden, it doesn't have a
real strong maple flavor.
In fact, I myself can't tastethe maple flavor.
Yeah, yeah, it's more of anutty flavor Nutty, thank you.
Chef James (08:26):
I thought I, that's great, there we go.
Kelly (08:28):
There's a chef here somewhere.
Chef James (08:30):
Yeah, I know, gee.
Well, it's funny Cause I'm likewhen I try it I'm like
nuttiness, like hazelnut andWell.
Kelly (08:38):
So it has to do with the sugars.
So it starts out the seasonwith one sugar molecule that has
a lower boiling point.
So when you're boiling it tomake syrup, to get to the right
concentration of sugar, youdon't have to boil it as long
yeah so it stays light.
It doesn't caramelize like you.
You know what you're makingcaramel yeah and then, as the
(09:01):
season progresses, you have more, actually, bacterial growth in
the tree that lends to theflavoring.
Oh, that's right, Okay, and thenit breaks down that one large
molecule and then it breaks itdown to two other molecules that
have different boiling points,and one of them has a high
boiling point, the firstmolecule.
(09:22):
So it comes to syrup quickerthe higher concentration quicker
and the other molecule, once itstarts getting broken down, has
a lower boiling point.
You have to boil it longer.
Chef James (09:31):
Yeah.
Kelly (09:31):
So it starts caramelizing in the pan and
changing color.
Yeah, so that's why late seasonsyrup is very dark.
Chef James (09:38):
Yeah, and it has that coffee kind of more robust
flavor Tons of different yeah.
Kim (09:45):
So we only bottle uh two of the types of syrup we bottle
dark and robust and very darkand strong oh, which are the?
Late season sap yeah lateseason sap um.
We don't make any goldendelicate.
We just don't make that okay atour farm.
Chef James (10:00):
Okay, our trees don't like it, but the lightest
stuff that we do make, we usethat to make our cream and our
candies okay, and things uh, ofthat, of that sort, and so we
save our darker syrup forbottling and so when you're
making the maple cream and thesethings, it's just continuing
that candy and process or thattemperature and time.
Kim (10:21):
Right it is yeah, there's a difference.
So when we make the cream, uh,we heat, heat it up to about 237
degrees and then we cool itdown in a cool room and then we
have a cream machine that putsair it doesn't put air, it turns
, it's more like butter oh, youwant to be creamy, right, if you
put air in it.
It'd be kind of like uh, yeah,right, okay, okay, and we want
(10:43):
it to be nice and creamy and notgrainy at all okay, wow if we
make something like candy, it'skind of the opposite process.
We heat that up too, but then weput it into a machine that has
these big paddles it has like alittle spinny pigtail thing and
that uh starts to granulate theokay, the syrup, and then that's
when we get kind of that.
You know that typicaltraditional maple sugar candy.
Chef James (11:07):
Okay, wow, quite the diverse.
You know selection and it's asmart thing.
I think it's business too.
You're like, how many ways canI use this product?
Because you know maple syrup onthe gallon is it's gold.
You know it's definitelysomething that you're rationing
out to the breakfast cooks inthe morning, you know, in front
of the house team, and can wetalk about the ratios or the
(11:30):
process in making maple syrup sopeople can really understand
the devotion to this?
Because it's it's a lot of work, patience and love.
Kelly (11:39):
Starting four years ago, but Deb and I actually made
syrup as a hobby for nine yearsbefore that.
Chef James (11:45):
Okay.
Kelly (11:46):
But to see 2% sugar or 3% sugar used to be the norm and
now are even higher in someplaces, and that has to do with
the big crown of leaves on topof the tree.
So the bigger, the healthier.
Beautiful trees would producemore sugar okay in their sap,
but oh, and environmentalfactors as well.
(12:06):
Well, and that have lent to why.
This is why it's decreasing nowokay so we started the season
this year with one point, so weback up.
So when it was two percent,that's when everyone would say,
oh, it takes 40 gallons of sapto make one gallon of syrup, and
that was the ratio.
Yeah, okay, I remember that nowso now we start with 1.7% sugar
(12:28):
in the sap.
And so that means thattranslated to 52, 51, 52 gallons
More sap to make the yeah.
So we ended the season at well.
Our chart doesn't go this low,but the lowest it goes is when
you have 1% sugar in your sap.
It was 89 gallons of sap.
Chef James (12:51):
Wow, yeah, oh my gosh, that's unbelievable, wow.
Deb (12:55):
So we have four storage tanks one, two, three.
We actually have five,including including our neighbor
that we collect from okay we.
We use that to calculate, likewhat you know.
We have a reverse osmosismachine that takes out 90 of the
water, helps us concentrate itup to about 15 before we start
the boil.
(13:15):
But it's constantly especiallyas it's the season's moving on
and you're making darker syrupand the weather's a little bit
warmer and you've got morebacteria you're trying to move
everything through.
So for us it's constantly pickit up from here and move it
there and moving everythingaround and then doing the
calculation of like when it'stime to boil and how much we're
(13:40):
going to make of like when it'swhen it's time to boil and how
much we're going to make.
Chef James (13:43):
And you're, when you're looking at it.
I mean I'm, I have myhydrometer, I use a, you know,
typically, is that what was that?
Kelly (13:48):
bricks 66 or in that range I mean, 66.9 is what they
make.
Deb (13:53):
Yeah, but we know that's a little yeah, but we we're not
going to give the full numberhere, because there's isn't that
kind of 66.
Kelly (14:00):
So let's say we make ours at 67 because, or a little
bit higher, because people lovethick syrup they do right.
Kim (14:08):
Yeah, that's a different mouthfeel, I mean you don't
think that you know, let's say66.9, you wouldn't think that
mouthfeel would be muchdifferent than 67.4.
But it really is like you getthat nice full mouthfeel yeah
and um, and it's just a littlebit extra sugar content in the
syrup, that.
Chef James (14:25):
That helps that along and so I know we were
talking about earlier.
Can we kind of go into also thepricing and the market and you
know what your challenges arewith that?
I mean, because I was talkingabout the what was that?
The maple mafia, the maplemafia video.
I I'm like, oh, what about that, the Maple Mafia, the Maple
Mafia video?
I'm like, oh, what about that?
And that market that kind of ischallenging for you all up in
(14:47):
Canada, is that?
Kim (14:48):
Well, you know, because of that, they are mostly the
drivers of pricing the wholeindustry.
You know we and we're littleguys.
You know we, only little guyscompared to them.
They have hundreds of thousandsof taps on some of their farms
up there.
And they're a big industrial.
A lot of them are bigindustrial conglomerations and
(15:11):
they have everything automated.
We have a little wood-firedevaporator that we go down and
we're throwing wood in thereevery day.
Oh, wow, okay, and you know youcan dial in some evaporators.
You can dial in when the drawcomes off and you dial in when
your anti-foamer goes in there.
Deb (15:27):
Well, it's all automated in those big, you know, even here
in Vermont, right, and that'ssomething that we don't ever
want to do as a chef, you knowwhich is a great point want to
do as a chef, you know, which isa great point, right, but like
I, I don't know that it tastesdifferent, but I feel like it
tastes different by using woodand kind of using using your
intuition and your taste budsand your you know your eyes to
(15:50):
look at the color and stuff.
Kim (15:52):
It's like it, it's, it's a craft and I think what you're
saying, yeah, what it's like ahuman did this right exactly,
and that's what the three of us.
Do you know?
Know, during the boiling seasonwe have people out in the woods
that are chasing leaks for usand trying to keep our vacuum
tight, but the three of us aredown in the sugar house.
You?
know trying to pull it off atjust the right taste and just
the right temperature and justthe right sugar content, and
(16:14):
trying to get the fire so thatit's nice and consistent,
because maple doesn't like drama, so we don't want to fire up
our evaporator way high and thenlet it go way low and that kind
of thing.
But as far as pricing goes,just because those big
conglomerates up in Canada candrive the price of the whole
(16:36):
industry.
So we're a little bit boundedyou know by what they can charge
.
You know, if they're charging$18, $20 a quart.
Chef James (16:48):
I mean we could calculate how much it would
really cost us to make a quartof syrup, but we're still going
to be in that $20, $25 range,because you don't want to
overprice yourself and then itmoves slower and it's all tough,
yeah, and you know they've gotthat that volume opportunity and
that's where, even like lookingat you know even I mean it's
(17:10):
different than SAP.
But you know the complex agsystem where you know again my
family, we had a thousand acresalmost at one point and you know
I kind of have a history andsome things I learned and you
know coming up, you know WorldWar One when he, my great
grandfather, came back andfounded our farm and my
grandfather took it over,especially after World War Two.
(17:30):
But some of those practices youknow and that mechanized
equipment and all this, that nowyou set the tractor to a GPS
and you know it's just it'sgetting interesting how you know
the ag system is kind of movingahead and you're kind of
stepping away from really thebeauty of what you're doing.
The craft you know and that'spretty amazing, so wow.
Deb (17:54):
Well, I think we're finding in all sectors of farming right
is like the old ways may havebeen the right ways anyway like
just for our health, for theland's health for, for, for the
animal's health, for tree healthand everything else yeah to
industrialize somethingespecially food like that goes
(18:16):
in and you know something thatyou put in your body.
Sure, we just care about it andI mean we want to make really
great products, but we also wantto um, we also really believe
in the like working workinglands and working lands for
wildlife and the integrity andthe vision.
Chef James (18:35):
yeah, that's unbelievable and that's it's
inspiring.
You know, and honestly I dofeel you can taste a difference.
I mean, if we were to you know,jackson, you and I were talking
about it here but like you goand you get a chicken breast
from you know one of the bigones out there and you put it
next to you know, a chickenbreast from Mill River Farm,
(18:56):
from Jan over there, you willtaste a difference, you're going
to taste a difference andyou're going to get so much more
from it, you know.
So, anyways, that's kind of,but it's.
Kelly (19:09):
Well, that's certainly true, like so Canada, will you
know?
Because they mass produce theirsyrup and they set a price all
across Canada and that's all.
The farmers are going to getpaid for it.
But then they send it down here, literally in the big box
stores, they'll sell a quart ofsyrup for $16, $15, and we can't
(19:31):
compete with that.
But you enter that syrup into acontest and they immediately
are like oh, bad, bad syrup.
Chef James (19:40):
You're right.
Deb (19:40):
You know, they can really tell the difference between that
.
Kelly (19:44):
You know, because they do a lot of blending.
They salvage every little dropof syrup.
They can even late season syrupthat you or I would not even
put on a sweetener.
Chef James (19:56):
Yeah, yeah.
Kelly (19:57):
And they blend it and they sell it, and it's cheap,
but it tastes cheap, yeah, yeah,and they blend it and they sell
it, and it's cheap, but ittastes cheap.
Chef James (20:01):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Well, I'm looking at the tablesyrup too that a number of you
know people grew up with.
That's not even you know cornsyrup, caramel, colorina, like
when you're at the restaurant,the default is to serve like the
corn syrup.
That's stuff In a lot ofrestaurants, right, and you have
to ask oh, can I have the realsyrup?
Kim (20:19):
And then they charge you.
And then they charge you Like$30 for a little thing of real
syrup.
Deb (20:23):
Yeah exactly, we have half a pint so you can bring your own
.
Chef James (20:25):
Yeah, pocket size Perfect, always have, yeah,
maybe we should make littlesingle shots.
I'm down with that yeah, yeah,I might have to get Berkshire
Mountain Distillers involved onthat Like ketchup A little
marinated, yeah, oh, wow.
Kim (20:41):
Stop, that's awesome.
Sneak into movies, you know,with your own candy.
Yeah, yeah, right, oh, my goshRestaurant proof.
Deb (20:49):
I don't know that sounds like something else.
Chef James (20:54):
Maybe we should hold on doing this episode until you
guys get that final.
That's a part.
Yeah, that's funny, you know.
I was also curious and I'm justthrowing this thought out there
because whether it's mushroomsor produce or a lot of things
wine, do you find that theterroir has some level in making
(21:16):
your syrup taste different thanioka valley or some of these
others?
Kim (21:21):
could that play a part, or am I just being no, it's
absolutely true okay, and Ididn't realize that so I moved
out here from portland oregonand I was in the willamette
valley for a long time and and,uh, you know, you travel through
the willamette valley tastingpinot noirs that are, you know
just two or three miles awayfrom each other and, and you
know, if they're single vineyardPinots, you can absolutely
(21:44):
taste a difference and theycould come from the same
vineyard.
Yeah, but they're just from youknow separate little grape vine
or vineyards.
And so the same is true here.
You can taste, even within ourown process.
You know, as the seasonprogresses you can taste.
Each individual drum tastes alittle bit different.
Chef James (22:05):
Wow.
Kim (22:06):
And I thought I found that fascinating when we bought the
farm and we'd open up a drum andand you know it was like, wow,
this one tastes differentbecause this one was made a week
ago and it's still dark, robust, but it was made, but it's the
same but there's still flavor.
Chef James (22:18):
Wow, it's still dark , robust, but it was made over,
but it's the same, but there'sstill flavor, wow.
Kim (22:20):
And so just but we, you know, we've tried syrup from Red
Bucket, an old sugar housethat's not in business anymore.
We've tried syrup from them andthey're just what, three miles
away.
Chef James (22:35):
Yeah, and they taste different.
Kim (22:37):
Their process is different than ours but yeah, it
definitely tasted.
Chef James (22:41):
I was just curious about that.
You know there's a syrup thatI've tried that really I was
kind of mind blown Black walnutsyrup.
I'm like, wow, where have you?
Deb (22:51):
been all my life.
You know it's like I've got toget a little.
Chef James (22:53):
Have you tried birch syrup?
Yes, and that's really good too, but you know I'm better with a
birch soda than I am anythingelse.
Kelly (23:00):
Yeah, I don't want that on my pancakes.
I'd use it for something else.
And they're looking at beechnow using beech trees to make
syrup.
Chef James (23:07):
Yeah, it's amazing.
Kim (23:14):
They're making a big leaf maple syrup out in washington
state.
That has a very, very strongplace that you wouldn't even
know it was maple syrup.
Chef James (23:17):
Okay, so different wow um, but it's.
Kim (23:20):
They don't make a lot of it and they don't have those
really cold spells for a longperiod of time okay warms up
cold.
Chef James (23:26):
Warms up, cold warms up, okay, like throughout the
whole season, and so I thinkthey're selling it for $500 a
gallon, something like that Imean it's very expensive.
When you're looking at your offseason.
Are you working?
Kim (23:41):
That's my question there, so when is that Is there?
Chef James (23:44):
I mean, how does that work?
What is?
It's a different part of theseason, but we're not off, it's
just phases right.
Yeah.
Deb (23:51):
The different phases of things, and so we have that six
to eight week window of makingsyrup okay, and and I I mean
it's no different than you know,any other kind of a farmer,
where you have your window andyou're hoping that nature,
nature, uh is good to you andyou make a lot and because, like
(24:11):
it costs you, it costs usnothing.
It costs us no more to make 10gallons versus, you know, 2,000.
I mean it's going to cost usalmost the same amount of money
because we're we're puttingeverything into the woods and
then you know, and then the restof the year is making products
and marketing it and going tomarket and writing grants and
(24:34):
you know social media and all,all the things.
Kim (24:36):
Yeah, and taking care of the grounds and yeah, that's
constant cutting and cuttingfirewood.
Chef James (24:41):
I mean we spent well .
Yeah, I didn't realize puttingup firewood and yeah, how many
like cords of firewood do you gothrough for a season?
I mean that's between seven andten.
Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, wow,and at any one time we have at
least 15 to 20 cords set up togo.
Okay, yeah, yeah, you're in acycle, yeah.
Kelly (25:01):
And we utilize all just fallen trees.
We don't go out and harvesttrees at all.
Chef James (25:05):
Okay, nice, there's plenty of fallen trees.
Yeah, that's.
Deb (25:09):
And our community's wonderful because they're like,
hey, justam, that's.
And our community is wonderfulbecause they're like, hey, just
a mirror, we'll take our trees.
Hey, we've got it like we'vecut a bunch of trees, come get
them.
Kim (25:15):
And so we've been doing that for the last year one day
and just a flatbed with treesshowed up and said hey, somebody
said you wanted these trees.
And kelly's like yeah, sure goput them down there.
Chef James (25:25):
Oh, that's great.
Kim (25:25):
Wow, yeah, okay, please don't show up with a flatbed
full of trees.
Let us know if you're coming.
Yeah right, Give us a callfirst Geez.
Chef James (25:38):
Well, that's funny too, like growing up in Oregon
outside of Portland.
I grew up on Mount Hood as akid, so small logging town up
there, but I just rememberbecause our existence up there
was a lot of wood hauling youknow, and clearing the forest.
Our existence up there was alot of wood hauling, you know,
and clearing the forest andthat's very interesting what you
guys go through and and havingthat season keep moving through.
Kim (25:58):
So okay, um you know what I will say.
It used to be.
I mean, we used to have acouple weeks off in january,
kind of the end of the holidays,because we have an online
business as well, so during theholidays.
So january used to be our, youknow kind of down couple weeks,
but we don't even have thatanymore yeah, like I said, now
it turns out it's the end ofmarch.
Deb (26:18):
That's great.
I mean, it's exactly yeah wow,nice, all right.
Chef James (26:23):
So favorite dishes I mean you guys have favorite
dishes you like to use maplesyrup in any one that just
stands out, or well, I made ablueberry buckle for you um this
this morning and, uh, this ismy great-grandmother's recipe.
Deb (26:39):
That was always a delight my, my family's, from um an
island off the coast of maine,and so maine blueberries and and
all of that so she made thatand what I did is I.
I didn't think it could beimproved upon, but I re I
replaced the conventional sugarwith maple sugar and then use
(27:00):
maple crumbles for the streuseltopping.
That's beautiful and that'sjust been one of the one of our
favorites Cause I mean it's justwonderful and blueberries are
oh yeah, oh yeah, Personally.
Kelly (27:10):
Well, it's just wonderful when blueberries are
in season, oh yeah, butpersonally, well, there's sort
of two.
One is using syrup and acornsquash and not sugar.
Chef James (27:18):
Oh yum, Okay, and the other?
Kelly (27:20):
is our maple seasoning over there.
We use that with olive oil on achicken, on the smoker.
Chef James (27:27):
I was going to ask that Fantastic Wow, that's great
and that is amazing.
Deb (27:31):
It's also really great on root vegetables, like
unbelievable, like just brusselssprouts and other butternut
squash.
Chef James (27:38):
I bet or oh, yeah, our honey, nut squash and, yeah,
okay, a lot of squash.
Kim (27:43):
Yeah, absolutely what my favorite things to do.
So with our maple cream.
You know everybody always asksus what we can do with it.
You know it's like you can putit on toast and you can put it's
like well, you can put it ontoast and you can put it on
English muffins and you can putit in your oatmeal.
But you can also make a savorydish and you mix it with a
little bit of mustard, likeDijon mustard or Stoke-on
mustard.
And then you can put it onsalmon and roast it.
Chef James (28:05):
Oh boy, I was thinking pork, but salmon's even
better.
Deb (28:09):
Yeah, Wow, yum, salmon's even better.
Yeah, wow, yum, okay, you canalso the maple cream also, if
you cut it with cream cheese, itmakes a really nice maple cream
frosting for whatever you wantto put it on top of a carrot
cake.
It's unbelievable yeah, okaythat sounds.
Kelly (28:24):
Add that in there, that sounds really good yeah, there
you go.
Deb (28:27):
There's some homework.
Salty cheese, exactly.
Salty cheese, exactly, no,totally.
Chef James (28:34):
You know, and the funny thing too is you mentioned
this as we're talking about it,but adding maple syrup and
cutting the sugar.
I notice I enjoy that, you know, and it imparts some more
flavor into what you're doing.
It really does you know whetheryou're doing cakes or.
Deb (28:51):
And there's a lot of research going on now about um
benefits of maple.
It's got the lowest glycemicindex the lowest calorie
preserving of any sweetener,including honey, and it's got
all sorts of like minerals anduh macronutrients yeah, and in
it micronutrients yeah, yeah,kind of no.
Chef James (29:10):
it's some magical stuff that looks so good over
there.
I think it's calling our names.
Kelly (29:18):
Maybe just mine.
It's calling mine there we goDouble trouble.
Chef James (29:23):
Well, all right.
Well, I just want to thank youall for the opportunity to come
in here and share part of yourday in the inspiration that you
all provide here that goes intothose bottles and warms a day.
Deb (29:40):
Well, thanks for what you do, highlighting local producers
and local food scene and allthe organic products and
everything else oh yeah, and howgood they are for you and how
good they are to cook with right.
Chef James (29:52):
Yes, they are.
So where can the listeners Ilisteners and we've got a
variety from you know across theus and even abroad, but it best
place to locate if they want topick this up and locate you
guys and website and all there'san online website okay
justamiretreefarmcom and we'reat the great barrington farmers
market uh, the whole season.
Deb (30:12):
And we, we're at the great Barrington farmer's market uh,
the whole season.
And we're in at the wintermarket with Berkshire grown as
well this year.
Kim (30:17):
Okay, that's great.
We're at the Amherst farmer'smarket as well, all season long.
Chef James (30:21):
Okay, great, awesome , all right.
Well, guys, get out there, takeadvantage of this amazing farm
and, uh, have a great one.
Thank you all.
Thank you appreciate it.
Yeah, all right, everyone, thatis a wrap.
You can check us out if youlike that.
Subscribe also the instagramchef massey.
Let's keep it simple,chefmasseycom.
(30:44):
Have a good one.
Bye for now.
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