Long before Europeans arrived, Native Americans transformed condensed maple sap into maple sugar. Instead of making syrup for pancakes and waffles, they evaporated all the moisture from the sap to create sugar. This process involved collecting maple sap and storing it in hollowed logs. They allowed the freezing nights to freeze the water, as the sugar does not freeze. The ice was then broken and removed, leaving behind a concentrated liquid. This cycle was repeated for several nights, after which hot stones from a fire would be added to the concentrated sap until only sugar remained.

Settlers adopted this practice but used more modern techniques, tapping the trees with hollow reeds and collecting sap in buckets. The sap was then transported back to the sugar shack, where it was boiled over a fire in a cast iron kettle. According to U.S. records, more maple syrup was produced in 1862 than today!

In 1930, sugar was rationed, making it scarce and costly. Many rural Kentuckians began making their own maple syrup and sugar using primitive and inefficient methods to cope with the tough times. Each generation aimed to make life easier for the next, leading to a near loss of the tradition of sugar-making in Kentucky.

Today, however, Kentucky is experiencing a resurgence in maple syrup production. Thanks to modern technology, a changing economic landscape, and an entrepreneurial spirit, farmers are harnessing the abundance of maple trees in the state to supplement their income.