FAIRFIELD, Vt. — Nestled in a grove of sugar maples, the Branon Family’s sugar house buzzed with early activity Friday as sap boiled down to maple syrup. Inside an evaporator, golden liquid bubbled, releasing the warm aroma of syrup in the making. 

While most sugarers begin their work in February or March, the Branon Family Maple Orchards has turned on its boilers early this year, prompted by unusually warm days.

Cecile Baron, co-owner of the Fairfield, Vt., sugar house, explained that the operation only begins boiling when they’ve collected more than 20,000 gallons of sap.

“Trees have to be dormant and frozen so we started tapping,” Branon said, adding that they can make a clean hole in the wood when it’s frozen. “But we got the rain a week ago so the trees warmed up, so the sap is running from the trees.” They have now around 50,000 gallons of sap ready to be turned into syrup.

It’s not the first time a December warm spell has brought an early start to the sugaring season. 

“Last year, we also started boiling on Dec. 20,” said Branon. “We used to tap in February, but now you get to start earlier because the weather patterns are changing.” 

While the sap was boiling, Branon took a mini glass to tap a little syrup from a tube to taste it. 

“This is a dark side of medium Amber,” she said. The syrup being made that day will be sold in May to distributors, larger companies specializing in beer or granola, or bakeries that will use it for bread and pastries, said Branon.

“This is processing syrup,” said Branon, pointing to the gallons of maple syrup from an earlier batch ready to be shipped to Klinger’s bakery in Burlington. “It might smell sweet, but it’s a little off flavor, like you wouldn’t want to drink that. But it’s great when you’re cooking.” 

The sugar house still has plenty of syrup left from last April, including a large and tasty batch made during the solar eclipse, said Branon. The Branons are using this reserve to create a variety of products, from maple jelly, cream, and sugar to vinegar, candy, seasoning, and even a chipotle rub.

In the kitchen, Michelle Ryan, a teacher turned sugarer, was boiling syrup from last April to turn into jelly. 

“People started ordering for Christmas like crazy. There’s at least 60 packages in one day that left here a week and a half ago,” Ryan said. “Just so it would arrive in time for Christmas.”