Sugar shack redirects here. For the song by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, see Sugar Shack

Sugar Shack

"Sugar Shack" is a song written in 1962 by Keith McCormack & Jimmy Torres. Jimmy then gave his song rights to aunt Fay Voss for a birth day present. The song was recorded in 1963 by Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico...

.

A sugar house, also known as sap house, sugar shack, sugar shanty or sugar cabin (French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

: cabane à sucre) is a semi-commercial establishment, prominent mainly in Eastern Canada

Eastern Canada

Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...

 (although in some of New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

's territory which is today part of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 old sugar cabins can be found on properties belonging to the first settler families). Like the name implies, sugar houses are small cabins or series of cabins, originally destined to belong to certain private or farm estates, and where sap

Plant sap

Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. It transports water and nutrients throughout the plant....

 collected from sugar maple

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...

 trees is boiled into maple syrup

Maple syrup

Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...

. Often found on the same territory is the sugar bush

Sugar bush

Sugar bush refers to a forest stand which is exploited for maple syrup. The tree canopy is dominated by sugar maple or black maple. Other tree species, if present, form only a small fraction of the total tree cover...

, that is intended for cultivation and production of maple syrup by way of craftsmanship (as opposed to global mass production factories build for that purpose in course of the 20th century).

Historically, sugar houses were a tradition introduced to New France

New France

New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

 by settlers of Swiss and Normand

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 origin throughout the 17th century. Their purpose was the production of warming and delicious syrup as for the means of trade or sale, as for personal use during the cold months of Winter. After the British conquest of 1763, the tradition carried along to the provinces of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 and New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, but remained the only family-related tradition (such as patriarchal crafts) in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

.

Today many sugar houses are commercially-run and many also offer reception halls and outdoor activities open to the general public during certain months. Many of these activities include sleigh-riding, tours of the grounds, and eating maple toffee

Maple toffee

Maple taffy is a confection made by boiling maple sap past the point where it would form maple syrup but not so long that it becomes maple butter or maple sugar...

 made in the house often in front of the clientele. The reception halls cater to large groups offering many varied dishes complemented by maple syrup. These dishes range from ham

Ham

Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...

, bacon

Bacon

Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...

, sausages, baked beans

Baked beans

Baked beans is a dish containing beans, sometimes baked but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a tomato...

, scrambled eggs

Scrambled eggs

Scrambled eggs is a dish made from beaten whites and yolks of eggs . Beaten eggs are put into a hot pot or pan and stirred frequently, forming curds as they coagulate.-Sample preparation:...

, pork rinds, and pancakes to many other breakfast type dishes. There are also specialties like homemade pickles, homemade breads, followed by desserts like sugar pie and maple taffy on the snow.

The utmost exploitation of sugar shacks roughly covers the period from late October to early April, when maple sap becomes available. However, at temperatures below 0 Celsius, it is practically impossible to extract the sap, and therefore all efforts are mainly put in the thawing period of early Spring. The activity is usually performed during the two first weeks of April, and has since become both an annual celebration of Spring and the connotation of the upcoming Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

(which can sometimes coincide with the said dates).

External links

• "Sugar house photos from the University of Vermont Library's Maple Research Collection", Published February 10, 2010, University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections.