Vermont Public is independent, community-supported media, serving Vermont with trusted, relevant and essential information. We share stories that bring people together, from every corner of our region. New to Vermont Public? Start here.

© 2024 Vermont Public | 365 Troy Ave. Colchester, VT 05446

Public Files:
WVTI · WOXM · WVBA · WVNK · WVTQ · WVTX
WVPR · WRVT · WOXR · WNCH · WVPA
WVPS · WVXR · WETK · WVTB · WVER
WVER-FM · WVLR-FM · WBTN-FM

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@vermontpublic.org or call 802-655-9451.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

For information about listening to Vermont Public Radio, please go here.

VPR Cafe: Embracing And Improving The Sugaring Scene

A student at the Thetford Outdoor Program chops wood to fuel an evaporator for maple sugaring.
Sarah Preistap
/
Seven Days
A student at the Thetford Outdoor Program chops wood to fuel an evaporator for maple sugaring.

When it comes to producing maple syrup in Vermont, the younger generation is not only embracing the tradition, but also trying to make it better. In this podcast, we'll hear about high schoolers just learning the classic art of sugaring as well as a couple of college students who are innovating the process. 

While a group of 10th- through 12th-graders at Thetford Academy learn the basics of Vermont's most famous export, a junior and senior from Vermont Technical College (VTC) are headed to the LaunchVT finals for innovating a key part of the tree-tapping process. Seven Days food writer, Sally Pollak, spent time with all of these students and explains how the younger set is learning sugaring skills through an outdoor program, and reveals as much as she can about a new tool created by the VTC team (they're applying for patents, you see).

Read more about this and new maple products being developed in the Seven Days story, "Vermont Maple Sugarers Tap Tradition, Technology And New Products, " co-authored by Pollak and Hannah Palmer Egan. 

Ric was a producer for Vermont Edition and host of the VPR Cafe.
Latest Stories