Visit a Sugar Shack in Quebec
Erabliere le Chemin du Roy, Sucrerie Blouin, Cabane a sucre Leclerc
When Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs sang about the sugar shack way back in 1963, they might have had a hit single, but the best sugar shacks were - and are - in Quebec.
In fact, 75% of the world's maple syrup supply comes from Quebec, where the process is steeped in tradition and ceremony that defines one aspect of the French Canadian culture.
Every year in March and April, when the temperatures plummet below zero at night and rise above zero in the day, maple trees in Quebec are tapped for their sap. The end result is exported to all parts of the world and enjoyed in many forms: maple syrup, maple butter, maple candy and maple sugar. The process is an interesting one, and several Quebec venues now invite visitors to participate in the sweet experience of tapping trees and transforming sap into delicious traditional French Canadian cuisine.
The practice of collecting maple sap dates back to the Native North American Indians who funnelled the sap into a mokuk(bark container) using a wood chip as the conduit between the tree and the bucket. Today, two different methods can be used to collect sap. In the first, a bucket hangs off a funnel peg in each maple tree, sap collecting in the bucket. It’s a slow process, but the sight of acres of bucketed maple trees invokes the rustic romance of tradition. It takes 40 litres of sap (or water) to produce a single litre of maple syrup.
In the second method, the sap is drawn off the tree with a pump and tubing system. Less aesthetically pleasing, this method extracts more sap with less work.
One sugar cabin that favours the traditional extraction method and welcomes visitors is the Erabliere le Chemin du Roy. Located 15 minutes outside of Quebec City, the Erabliere le Chemain du Roy was built in 1925. Visitors to the sugar shack can take a guided tour to understand the process of maple extraction and then enjoy a ride on a horse-drawn sleigh, and end with a traditional French Canadian meal with a maple focus (split pea soup, maple-smoked ham, potatoes, baked beans, and maple crepes). Long, family-style tables encourage an all-you-can-eat mindset and the toe-tapping, thigh-slapping music of a French Canadian musician makes a perfect complement to the meal. If you find the music irresistible, there are wooden spoons available to everyone who wants to keep musical time. The entire maple sugar shack package as described costs $22.60 Canadian; less expensive packages are available. For more information, contact the Erabliere le Chemin du Roy at: 1-418-878-5085.
Don’t miss: making maple taffy on the snow. Maple syrup is poured into snow filled trenches and visitors are invited to swirl a maple sucker.
Interesting note: The Erabliere le Chemain du Roy was briefly owned by hockey legend, Guy Lafleur.
More Sugar Shacks in Quebec
Sucrerie Blouin
This sugar shack, which borders the St. Lawrence River, offers up a brunch every Sunday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more information, call 1-418-829-2903. Traditional specialities of their all-you-can-eat meal include meat pie, salted pork crackling rimes, eggs in syrup and pancakes.
Cabane a sucre Leclerc
Located 20 minutes from Quebec City, the Cabane a sucre Leclerc offers up traditional French Canadian meals, served family-style, during the sugaring off season. For more information, call 1-418-876-2812.
Cabane a sucre l’En-Taillieur
Eight generations have passed down their French Canadian heritage at the Cabane a sucre l’En-Taillieur and now share that heritage with visitors who come to experience the sugaring off season, or to enjoy a traditional meal. For more information, call 1-418-828-1269.
