One vendor in the Chillicothe Farmers Market specializes in products from Sugar Maple trees, and right now is the time that nature has determined that they are at their busiest.
Bob Williams told me that “Uncle Bob’s Maple Syrup” started five years ago when his nieces bought a farm with a hobby maple operation and some paid-for new equipment…so they asked their uncle to help.
The recent cold nights and warm days mean that the sap is flowing at its peak now, ahead of their open house in the first two weekends of March. Whether it’s still flowing then or lessens, they will welcome the public to their sugar grove just three miles west of the Farmers Market location.
From 10 to 5 Saturdays and 1 to 5 Sundays those weekends, you can see all that is needed to turn tree sap into syrup and sugar at 1069 Polk Hollow Road (on the hilltop close to Buzzard’s Roost preserve).
Williams admitted that they sell “designer syrup” with various natural flavors infused into them – like bourbon, cacao, coffee, jalapeño, pumpkin spice, and vanilla.
You can learn more on their website. You can also meet them at the Farmers Market – operating 10 to noon Saturdays until April at 475 Western Avenue – as well as find their products at a few other businesses.
The Ohio Maple Producers Association shows that Uncle Bob’s is the only maple producer business in Ross County and most surrounding counties (which excludes hobbyists).
Find more in the article on the Scioto Post, including a video interview.
Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture for the Scioto Post and iHeart Media Southern Ohio. For stories or questions, contact Kevin Coleman or the iHeart Southern Ohio Newsroom.