Sap-collecting buckets in Brome-Missisquoi, Quebec

© Roderick Chen/SuperStoc

Spring comes tapping. Sweet! It’s maple syrup season

When narrow streams of smoke spiral up from the forests, you know that maple syrup season has arrived in Quebec. Taps drilled into the maple trees collect oozing sap in buckets like these. The sap is then heated to evaporate excess water, leaving the concentrated sugary syrup—yum. And Canada takes its maple syrup very seriously. Producing about 77 percent of the world’s maple syrup, Quebec even has its own ‘maple syrup cartel,’ which works to keep prices stable and maintains the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve. Now, that’s sticky business.