The Randy Boys, oops, I mean the Kettle Boys, were having a good ol’ time out at Fortune Farms near Almonte (Ontario) this weekend. Beyond the modern maple syrup operation and the free taffy on snow, through the woods and beyond the demo of an early vat system, up the hill and over the crest, you’ll find the Kettle Boys cooking up “the real stuff”. These older men in zippered overalls carry around “the good stuff” like it’s moonshine. In fact, it’s syrup from the 3 huge cast iron kettles hung over a long wood fire. After hours of boiling, it’s filtered…but you never know what’s in it: the round Kettle Boy suggests ashes, leaves and squirrel droppings as possible ingredients. It’s not for sale.
These guys laugh and letch the whole day long, feeding wood to the fire and homemade fudge to the guests who find their way up the hill. Music plays and stories are told. I eat enough syrup to send a large man into shock, but I’m Ontario-born: I need my taste of early spring. That condensed sap flows through my arteries and melts heavy winter right out of my mind.
