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Local Maple
Syrup at the Prairie
After countless hours of collecting sap and boiling it down in the
Sugar Shack, the Friends of Darke County Parks’ gift shop will have a
limited supply of pure maple syrup ready for you to take home by the
March 4th festival. Believe it or not, maple syrup is a very healthy
food. Maple sugar is 3 times as sweet as cane sugar, and it has fewer
calories and a lower glycemic index. A tablespoon of maple syrup has
around 40 calories where a tablespoon of cane sugar has around 55. As
an added benefit, pure maple syrup is also an excellent source of the
minerals manganese and zinc which are important immune system allies.
Many of the commercial syrups available in the grocery store do not
contain ANY maple syrup; their main ingredient is corn syrup with added
maple flavoring.
All maple syrup available in the Nature Center’s Gift Shop was made
from sap collected from trees here in Darke County and cooked by the
staff and many volunteers of the park district in the Sugar Shack.
Prices range from $8 to $10, so come out to the Nature Center gift shop
on March 4th to purchase your pure maple syrup. Support the Darke
County Park District and its mission of education, conservation, and
preservation.
At the Maple Sugarin’ at the Prairie Festival on March 4th, The Friends
of the Parks will once again be serving up a hearty breakfast of
waffles, sausage, juice, coffee, and of course pure Ohio maple syrup!
Breakfast will be Saturday, March 4th, from 8:00am-12:00pm. Tickets are
available at the door on the day of the breakfast for only $6 for
adults and $3 for kids ages 3-12, or presale is available at the Nature
Center from 9am-5pm Monday through Saturday. Educational tours will
also be held throughout the day.
If you have any questions about this or any other program offered by
the Darke County Parks, please call the Nature Center at (937) 548-0165
or visit the website at www.darkecountyparks.org
Note: Raw sap is 98% water and only 2% sugar.
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