


Maple syrup connoisseurs will truly appreciate how sweet it is if the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker stick together and label the grand goo the official sweetener of Massachusetts.
A hearing on state Rep. Stephen Kulik’s proposal is scheduled for this afternoon before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight just as Winton Pitcoff of the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association tells the Herald more than 250 Bay State farmers had an 84,000-gallon, record-setting season.
One of them, Tom McCrumm of Ashfield, was this year inducted into the North American Maple Syrup Council Hall of Fame.
“You’re right in that a lot of people tend to identify Vermont and New Hampshire with maple syrup, but Massachusetts has been doing it for just as long,” Pitcoff said.
And while he admits the honor would be “a fun way to get some more attention” from foodies who are saps for syrup, Pitcoff noted, “It’s the first agricultural crop of the year. It’s a real big part of our state’s culture and history, and also a big part of our state’s economy.”
Things could get sticky, though. Maine named pure maple syrup its official sweetener two years ago.
Pitcoff said maple syrup can be used “any place you would use regular sugar,” such as coffee, marinades — even cocktails.
“It’s the taste, right?” he said. “That’s certainly the main thing for people.”
The petition by Kulik, a Worthington Democrat, would also set apart March as the official Massachusetts Maple Month.