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As
an all-natural sweetener for pancakes, ice cream or baked
beans, it’s hard to beat the pure maple syrup that
Dean and Carol Dohner have been making for 23 years at
Dohner’s Maple Camp in West Milton. They
own 12 acres of woods and are currently “tapping”
750 sugar maple trees for syrup, which they sell at the
National City Second Street Public Market in Dayton and
area festivals.
The process has changed little over
the decades. An inch-deep hole is drilled into the tree,
a spigot called a spile is placed in the hole, and the
tree’s sap drips into a closed tubing system,
which keeps the sap fresher and cleaner than the traditional
tin bucket. Water is boiled off in an evaporator and
what’s left is maple syrup. No chemicals, preservatives
or artificial flavorings are used in the processing
of the syrup—the flavor comes solely from the
maple tree.
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