Soup and syrup

One of the questions on the Fulbright mid-exchange questionaire was about whether i'd undertaken any voluntary work in the community. I hadn't but decided if the opportunity arose, then I would take it. This week it did. I went along with a couple of other MIW staff to the Preble Street Soup Kitchen in Portland which runs almost entirely on volunteer help. We started by prepping enormous tubs of salad whilst others cut bread, made potatoes etc. At 6 o'clock we were assigned jobs on the serving line, mine being to give one dollop of mashed potato to anyone who wanted it and keep smiling. Anyone who wanted more would have to join the line again. Then the serving shutters were opened and we got on with the job. The line was long and mostly of men, but there were a good number of women too and a couple of children. There were some obvious down and outs and those who clearly had addictions, others were just plain poor. Some wanted to make eye contact and show grattitude, others just wanted to pretend they weren't there. Many faces reappeared in the line several times. It was amazing to see just what an important job places like that do. The food was of good quality and nutritious but not something I would want to eat (meat loaf and mashed potato, vegetarian option was a very luminous microwaved macaroni and cheese). I wondered though, if it was me in that line, whether pickiness would take second place to hunger. It was definitely a humbling experience and a reminder of just how lucky some of us are. It must be really hard to do to walk through the doors with your children, but clearly it comes down to survival and the desire to ensure they have a good hearty meal. After an hour of serving over 250 meals, the shutters were closed again and the clear-up operation began. I couldn't believe quite how tired I was after just 2 and a half hours work but I will definitely be returning to offer my services again.

It now seems obscene to talk about something as luxiorious as maple syrup but this Sunday was 'Maple Syrup Sunday' where local maple syrup producers open their sugar houses to the public. We went over to Nash Farm and had ice-cream with maple syrup for breakfast...yum! The only downside was it was chucking it down and I got chilled to the bone. Two weeks of sunshine and warmth had lulled my body into a false sense of security.

Sofie and I enjoyed sampling the wares for breakfast!

The wonders of maple sap were first discovered by the Native Americans who tapped the trees and made sugar candies by pouring syrup over snow. They showed their methods to the first white settlers. Plastic tubes and buckets now replace the wooden ones originally used. March is usually the month when sap is collected because to run best, the trees need below freezing nights and warm days. This year has been the worst for sap collection in years because the nights just haven't been cold enough. The sap is then taken to a sugar shack where it is boiled over a wood stove until the water evaporates and the sugar achieves the desired temperature and thickness.

The Sugar shack at Nash farm outside...

...and in.
The wood is burnt to boil the sap in the containers above.
The syrup eventually makes its way to the left of the bottom container where it is siphoned off and then bottled.

 

A staggering 40 gallons of sap are needed to make 1 gallon of syrup...no wonder it is quite so expensive! Apparently the lighter the grade, the better the syrup although the darker grades have a stronger maple taste. In reality, whatever the grade and whether on ice cream, in doughnuts or on pancakes, it tastes pretty darn good!