Dan Beasley looked like he had been playing in a cumulus cloud as he passed out maple sugar cotton candy to students on the Quad. Beasley, one of the owners of family-run SweeTrees Maple Syrup Farm, had fluffs of feathery maple cotton candy clinging to his green crewneck sweater.

Beasley passed out his products during the Apple Festival, which took place Sept. 16. The treat —and many of SweeTrees’ other maple sugar products, including maple cream, lollipops, maple glazed nuts and pure maple syrup —will be available for the first time at the Syracuse University Bookstore starting Thursday. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Beasley will have a stand by Vera Bradley for students to try his products.

Beasley and his wife, Ruth, started producing maple syrup in 2004 from just one tree, three taps and a turkey fryer. This was the modest beginning of their family-owned and operated business called SweeTrees Maple Products in Berkshire, N.Y. They are aspiring to soon reach 1,000 taps and have upgraded to using a wood-fired evaporator. Beasley still works part time on a railroad and Ruth is a teacher, so the couple knows the meanings of diligence and hard work.

‘Maple is a funny thing,’ Beasley said. ‘Most of the people who buy it appreciate the work that goes into making it.’

The Beasleys usually spend their weekends throughout the year at ‘Sapland,’ the affectionate nickname for their maple tree farm. From February through March, they collect the maple tree sap and boil it into syrup. All year round they must cut, chop and stack wood. This simplistic system allows all of the Beasleys’ maple sugar products to be considered certifiably naturally grown.

In addition to pure syrup and the fluffy candy, the Beasleys sell maple cream, granulated sugar, coffee, tea, jelly, lollipops, fudge and maple-sugar-coated nuts.

‘We sell practically anything maple related,’ Beasley said with a smile.

These products will all be available in the bookstore, said Mark Visker, SU Bookstore’s market supplier. A pint of maple syrup costs $8, a 1-pound jar of maple cream sells for $13 and a 12-piece box of molded sugar candy costs $5.

Jessica Iannetta, a freshman newspaper and online journalism major, is excited about the addition of SweeTrees products to the bookstore.

‘I went to the Apple Festival and one of my friends bought maple syrup cream. I got to try it, and we both thought it was really good. It made everything taste better,’ she said.

The Beasleys’ maple sugar products are already available at many places in Syracuse, including Funk ‘n Waffles and the Downtown Syracuse Farmers’ Market. 

Visker said he was a little hesitant at first to supply the Beasleys’ sweets at the bookstore.

‘We’ve tried maple products in the past and they didn’t do too well,’ he said.

Beasley said he believes that if the benefits of pure maple products were more common knowledge students may take more interest in buying them.

 ‘Whether they are buying it from us or from somebody else, at least they are buying it.’

smhazlit@syr.edu

Published on October 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Shannon: smhazlit@syr.edu