Welcome to Fulton's

Sugar Bush Gazette

February 2019 News

NOTE Off-Season Hours in effect until February 15, inclusive

The Pancake House Restaurant is now closed. The Maple Gift Shoppe remains open by appointment or chance.  Planning ahead? Call 613-256-3867 or email us at info@fultons.ca to set up a shopping date - we're always  happy to open the shoppe and help you find what you are looking for. OPENING DAY is FEBRUARY 16 and we will be open daily until April 22. See details below!

Scribbles by Shirley

I am so excited about our 50th Anniversary.  As I reflect back on 50 years, I wonder what my Dad, Len Fulton (pictured above) would think now. I know he would be very proud of the size of the Pancake House, of the number of visitors and meals we serve each year, of the improvements to the property, of the continued commitment to rural farm life and stewardship of the land, and especially of the involvement of family. All three of my children and all nine of my grands (plus spouses and boy/girlfriends) are involved in the business, now into the 6th generation.

We started off our 50 Flippin' Years celebrations with a high tea for four previous Fulton's staff. Their years of work totalled over 55 years. These four remain special friends to me.

Watch for specials, activities and events celebrating our 50 Flippin' Years. Information will be available in our monthly Sugar Bush Gazette, on our website and on our Facebook page.

 

Sweet maple wishes to you,

Shirley Fulton-Deugo

4th Generation Owner

Season Opener!

The countdown is on and we are pumped! Enjoy 2 for 1 meals in the Pancake House on Opening Day, February 16.

February 16-April 22

Open daily from Family Day weekend through Easter weekend, 9am to 3pm on weekdays and 8am to 3pm on weekends, Family Day and all four days of Easter weekend.

Bring the whole family. Enjoy a meal in the Pancake House, browse the Maple Gift Shoppe and walk/ snowshoe/ ski the trails. On weekends and holidays we will have horse-drawn sleigh rides, activities on the Heritage Maple Trail and fresh poured Maple Taffy. Best to check our website for scheduling of these activities.

Last Call for Former Fulton's Staff re

Upcoming Alumni Reunion on February 17!

Current and former Fulton's staff and their families are invited to an Alumni Reunion on Sunday February 17, starting at 3pm. If you aren't currently on the invite list and would like to be, please email marketing@fultons.ca. Deadline to RSVP is February 8.

Looking Back....

Fulton's Staff Alumni

These four lovely ladies (Ria, Jean, Karen and Anne with Shirley) have 55 years of combined service to Fulton's. Admin, candy making, baking, kitchen management, tours, office organization, signage, trail management and 'Jill of all trade' jobs. They've done it all.

I have so many funny stories.... Jean was in the office when it was in the house, dealing with all things admin for Fulton's and George Deugo Plumbing. My husband George always had his pet hens and also a rooster. With windows open on a beautiful July day Jean answered a call from Toronto about a group visit. During the call Clyde crowed outside the open office window. The Toronto client asked if she had a cassette tape playing farm sounds!

Cathy was Fulton's first cook and baker. I was so excited because I could then give away my days and days of making 250 apple, raisin and cream pies. I accomplished this sweet task at home with three little kids. They always enjoyed being the quality control team.

Before the purchase of commercial griddles our pancakes were lovingly cooked on small kitchen griddles. Utta was a key pancake flipper, BUT she wore the dry mix and batter from head to knees on her brown and white gingham apron. George, being a plumber, considered installing a shower for her. We also needed a designated staff to clean up after her.

Every year April Fool's is a favourite day. Karen outdid herself one year. She worked well into the night to erect a 'Real Estate" sign letting the world know that Fulton's was for sale. It sure created lots of questions from our customers and neighbours. Luckily there were no offers as it was an April Fool's joke.

When you visit, find RaeAnn and ask her about her funfilled April Fool's day welcoming bus after bus after busload of school kids, another joke that will go down in history and be retold time and time again.

A feature of the 'new' pancake house was a back room to make candy in. One season in the 70's my Dad became ill and was hospitalized. Uncle Johnny had been our candy maker but died in 1967 so Dad had taken on that role as well. Of course the candy making methods, temperatures and sixth sense were in his head and not on paper anywhere.

After a busy day in our 12-seat pancake house my brother Ross realized we were running low on maple sugar candy. No problem, with youthful confidence and enthusiasm we guessed and filled the 'Pig' (a huge stainless steel contraption, the current one pictured here) with extra light maple syrup. Carefully we placed it on the electric stove and hung the thermometer. Ross prepared the maple leaf shaped rubber molds to pour the hot syrup into once the correct temperature was reached. The two of us chatted and planned to go into the hospital to see Dad after we finished our first ever, made by ourselves, maple candy.

After some time I commented that it was taking longer than I thought it should to come up to the correct temperature. Another few minutes passed and I suddenly realized that the 'correct' temperature that I had in my mind was for taffy on snow, about 20F higher than needed for candy. Panic struck, as we now had about 6 litres of hot syrup in the Pig to be poured on snow as quickly as possible while it was still liquid.

I vividly remember watching Ross outside frantically finding the taffy board and filling it with clean snow. I took the Pig out and poured about six taffy sticks before the rapidly cooling syrup hardened in the Pig. Oh no! How would we get this solid mass out of the stainless Pig? Heat it on the stove? It would burn on the bottom. Soak it in a sink of hot water? It would take a month of soaking and constantly adding more hot water. Ross had the brilliant idea to set the whole pot on the back of the evaporator and when we started the fire the next day the hot sap and steam would melt the solid mass. Well the idea was good but it took 4 days of boiling to be able to reclaim our Pig for future sugar making. We drove into Almonte General Hospital to visit with Dad. His first question was, "How's it going guys?" Our reply, "Fine Dad, everything is great." At the end of the season after Dad had fully recovered, we confessed.

As told by Shirley Fulton Deugo.

Fulton's Organic Certification

You mean maple syrup isn’t naturally organic? What’s involved in organic certification? Ecocert Canada is one of the certifying bodies for organic certification in Canada. Organic certification looks at not just the actual sap, but at every facet of our maple farm, from tree care to tapping to production to labeled finished product. It means respect for the environment, trees and the ecosystems of our maple bush.

As 5th generation producers, we are very proud to have achieved certified organic status in January 2016 with our pure maple products.

  • Organic certification requires that we have a mixed forest of deciduous and coniferous trees. Other than clearing paths, we are prohibited from clearing undergrowth and brush, allowing natural composting and return of nutrients to the soil. Thinning of trees must be done carefully. Farm animals are forbidden to graze in the sugar bush. No fertilizers are used.
  • The practice of tapping trees is very specific. The pipeline network cannot wound or inhibit tree growth. We are conservative in the number of taps, and the depth/ diameter of the tap holes are closely monitored.
  • Sap is collected using food grade spouts and pipeline systems and is stored in stainless steel tanks. Reverse osmosis of sap concentration is in accordance with national guidelines. The processing is done in our stainless steel evaporator, filter press and canning tank. We use approved safflower oil for defoaming which keeps the sap from boiling over the sides of the evaporator pans and greatly reduces the clean-up time!
  • Washing and cleaning of the evaporator is done only with potable water, sap or vinegar.
  • Storage of the final product is in approved food grade containers, ranging from stainless steel drums to plastic and glass retail sized containers. Traceability of every container is documented for tapping, cleaning, packing and shipping.
  • Inspections are carried out annually to ensure high standards continue to be met.

We at Fulton’s take our organic certification seriously. It is important for us to be good stewards of our land so that future generations can continue to enjoy maple goodness.

Changes to the Property

Many of you know our long history (over 175 years of maple production and fifty flippin' years in the Pancake House). Our 400-acre sugarbush is the heart and soul of our business. Over the decades sugarbush care for future generations has always been a top priority. A large part of our organic certification is the inspection of our forest management practices. The Ecocert inspector spends time in our sugarbush checking tap holes, measuring tree size and ensuring a 10% diversification of tree species. Over the four years of organic certification we have had favourable comments from inspectors that included, "excellent forest management" and "superb forest management, very conservative tapping regime, with long term sustainability in mind". 

This summer Scott, with Triple Trouble (his sons Parker, Tyson and Logan) worked tirelessly to increase the number of taps here at Fulton's. It is exciting to reach trees in parts of our sugarbush that had been last tapped with buckets in the 1970's. With the improvement of pipeline installation we are able to connect these trees to our existing network. 

Before installing the pipeline Scott and the boys removed brush to make accessing future lines easier. They also cut any larger non-maple trees that were a threat to fall and break lines, or that provided too much shade for the pipelines to thaw on those cold spring days. Opening up the canopy allows more sunshine to reach our maple leaves. The sun is extremely important to our trees; in fact, they can't live without it, since they use the energy from sunlight for photosynthesis. The process of photosynthesis allows the plant to absorb energy through the chlorophyll in its leaves, which it then converts into food.  More sunshine equals sweeter sap! 

As well as sunshine our trees require water and nutrients from the soil in order to grow and flourish. We cut down the larger non-maple trees and underbrush and leave them on the ground where they provide warm and safe homes for animals now and will decompose over time to provide nutrients to the soil and support forest growth. Thinning trees means less competition for water and more water for our maple trees; water is important for production of volume of sap. 

So when you are skiing, snowshoeing or walking on our orange and yellow trails you will come across great heaps of brush and trees that have been cut down. Don't panic, it's all part of our plan. Sustainability is all about the circle of life.... birth, growth, decline, death and rebirth. 

When you visit this season you will find Scott busily keeping up with his expanded sap flow, making more delicious syrup for you!

'Guess the Date' Contest

Guess the date for the first bottle of maple syrup made at Fulton's in the 2019 season. Past dates have ranged from February 27 to March 31.

To enter, go to the Fulton's Facebook page and 'like' our page, share the contest post AND comment with your date. If more than one person chooses the correct date we will draw a name from that list. The lucky winner will receive a 1-litre bottle of Fulton's Organic Maple Syrup.  Prize must picked it up at Fulton's. Good luck!

Product of the Month

NEW! Spirit Of Maple  Soy Candle

Just in time for the 2019 season! We are now stocking "Spirit of Maple",  a hand made soy candle created In Ontario just for us by His & Hers Home Co. The scent is heavenly. Cost is $12 each. These 8oz. candles come in a metal container, are a soy product and have a cotton wick, which should appeal to those concerned about environment. Burn time is about 72 hours. Available in person in the Maple Gift Shoppe or online store.

Maple Leaf or Valentine Maple Shortbread Cookies

Valentine's Day is this month! Surprise your sweetie with some homemade Maple Shortbread Cookies, cut out with a heart or maple leaf shaped cookie cutter. These are melt-in-your-mouth and likely to disappear fast, so consider making a double batch.

Upcoming Local Events

February 16- April 22 - Winter Magic and Maple Harvest- Fulton's Annual Maple Season 

February 14- Valentine's Day! Treat your sweetie to a meal in a local restaurant or cook something up at home. These local eateries serve Fulton's Organic Maple Syrup in their menu items: Krave Bistro (Arnprior), Mill Street Crepe Company (Almonte), The Daily Scoop (Almonte), Equator Coffee (Almonte), The Nook Creperie (Pembroke). Visit the Fulton's Maple Gift Shoppe for some sweet treats for Valentine's Day.

399 Sugar Bush Road, Pakenham, ON, Canada
613-256-3867

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