Historical Context for Kids
Saw "Grade A Dark Amber" maple syrup in Genuardi's today and remembered one of the things I learned along with the cub scouts last week. Did you know that the lighter the color of maple syrup, the more difficult it is to make? A darker color means the sap was cooked longer to become syrup. Grade A Light Amber "Fancy" has a more delicate flavor, but it is only possible with short evaporation times, which requires sweeter sap.
During our maple syrup tour, one of our guides explained to us that the Native Americans knew how to make maple sugar. She tried to get the second graders to understand that this was a long time ago:
"This was before TVs and Gameboys," she said.
"Was it before cars?" asked one scout.
"Yes, before cars."
"Was it before dinosaurs?" asked another.
"No, it was after dinosaurs but before cars." Disappointment.
Then another scout raised his hand and started hopping up and down: "Was it before carriages?"
"Yes, it was before carriages."
"Whoaahhh..." Twenty boys let out a gasp. "It was before carriages!"
Posted by David at March 4, 2006 04:10 PM