So You Think You're a Maple Connoisseur?

So you think you know everything there is to know about savouring maple syrup? Exploring the nuances of maple syrup takes time and commitment, but it’s a sweet job if you can find it. 

The truth is all maple syrup is not alike – the flavour and colour profile varies by geographic location and individual sugarbush.  

Interestingly, it is the same scenic topography that draws thousands of visitors to Ontario’s Highlands each year that is also a contributor to the flavours found in the syrup made here.

Find out where to learn more about maple syrup production and refine your palate in Ontario’s Highlands. 

Sampling and Grades

Did you know that not all maple syrup is the same? Maple syrup is classified into grades, that reflects the flavour and colour profile, and each sugarbush produces a slightly different flavour of maple syrup, and often multiple grades. What grade of maple syrup you like depends on your personal palate, so it's best to try them all and then make up your mind!

The grades are:

• GOLDEN (Delicate Taste)
• AMBER (Rich Taste)
• DARK (Robust Taste)
• VERY DARK (Strong Taste)

Where to Find Maple Syrup

The Ontario Maple Syrup Producers' Association's website features an interactive map to help you find a sugarbush in your area. Click here to access the map and enter your location. Many sugarbushes are closed in the off-season and only re-open from January or February until the end of April. 

Maple Education

You can learn more about how maple syrup is made, from tree to table, at a sugarbush during Ontario Maple Weekend, which takes place the first Saturday in April each year. This is the perfect chance to chat with a maple syrup producer and get the sweet story behind how they produce their sweet, liquid gold. 

You can also plan a visit to Wheelers Maple Products’ Maple Heritage Museum holds the Guinness World Record for the “Largest Collection of Maple Syrup Artifacts,” and is a great opportunity to see how maple syrup production has evolved over the centuries. While you’re there, grab a full pancake breakfast at their on-site restaurant, that’s open year round.

Pancake Breakfasts

What better way to enjoy maple syrup than at a sugar shack’s pancake house, poured with a heavy hand over a steaming hot stack of pancakes? Read on to find the best spring pancake spots to savour with your favourite maple syrup.

Wintergreen Maple Syrup and Pancake Barn (Minden)

Wintergreen is open weekends in March and April from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and while they aren't offering a sit-in breakfast right now, you can still pick up a full pancake breakfast of frozen waffles, pancakes, French toast and sausages to take home for a breakfast at home in your comfy clothes.

Temple’s Sugar Bush (Lanark)

Less than one-hour drive from Ottawa, Temple's Sugar Bush is a beautifully crafted timber frame barn where you can enjoy a delicious sugarmaker's breakfast in March and April, Wednesday to Sunday. Gluten free options are also available.

Wheelers Pancake House & Sugar Camp (McDonald's Corners)

In March and April Wheelers is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and serves a full pancake breakfast using their famous (and secret) recipe. Before March they are open weekends only (reservations recommended).

O’Hara Mill Homestead (Madoc)

If you like your pancakes with a history lesson on the side, stop in to O’Hara Mill Homestead on Saturday, March 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the annual 1800s Sugar Bush event. O'Hara Mills Homestead is tucked away off Highway 7 almost halfway between Toronto and Ottawa in a historic homestead from the 1800s. Plan a visit to watch blacksmith demonstrations, see how maple used to be made, and make your own maple taffy. You'll also be able to enjoy wagon rides, entertainment, and of course, pancakes and syrup.