Sugar shack 101: what to eat, do and know about sugaring off season in Montréal

Sugar shacks are popular in the northeast because of Mother Nature, basically. You see, sugar maple trees love cold winters and in order for the sap to flow in the spring, the trees need cold nights and warm sunny days, which is exactly what we have here in Québec. The sugaring off season usually occurs between late February and early March until the end of April or early May. This sweetest of traditions has been around for generations.

Interesting maple syrup facts and numbers

Fun fact: Canada produces about 78% of the world’s 100% pure maple syrup, with Québec making about 92 % of the country’s production (78% of the world's production). In 2022, Québec’s 13000 maple producers delivered about 96 million kilograms of maple syrup. Maple syrup is local and renewable and almost half of Québec’s production is also organic. And we make the best maple syrup in the world that we export to over 70 countries. 

Did you know that Québec has a “global strategic reserve” of maple syrup? This reserve (or a part of it) can be released on the market if the yearly production isn’t fruitful. This reserve was the subject of a heist back in 2011 and 2022. You can watch all the sordid details of this Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist on Netflix.

A little maple syrup history

Let’s start with a little history lesson, shall we? Settlers observed indigenous peoples making maple sugar every spring for use as a high-caloric food that would get them through the tough winter months. With the help of their technology, the settlers improved on the process of tapping maple trees and making crystallized maple sugar, which was the preferred method of conserving the precious sap (syrup was only introduced later). The sugar was then broken down into slices or blocks and melted or shaved directly over dishes. Maple sugar was the traditional sweetener until 1875. Nowadays, maple sap (also known as maple water) is collected and boiled down until it turns into the syrup we all know and love. It is said that the first shacks were built in the 1860s and used to organise the first “sugar parties” for city dwellers who missed the country life and maple production.

In Québec, maple syrup is offered in four categories based on colour. From light to dark, these colours are Golden, Amber, Dark and Very Dark. The colour of the syrup grows darker as the season progresses and the taste increases in intensity. However, just like fine wine, maple syrup flavours depend on terroir and an Amber syrup from one region, for example, will not taste the same as one from a different region.

The maple industry also produces maple sugar, flakes, spread, water, spirits and more.

From pea soup to maple taffy, what to eat at a sugar shack

Maple is a part of every single course on a sugar shack menu, of course! Or more precisely, all the foods are drowned in maple syrup! A sugar shack meal is usually consumed for brunch or lunch and is no small affair. You have to be fully prepared to indulge in a rich, delicious, maple-laden meal that will leave you feeling full and absolutely satisfied. A word of advice: put on your stretchy pants, invite some friends and pace yourself if you want to make it to the end of the meal. This is a marathon not a sprint, so eat small quantities of each dish and don’t fill up on bread.

Every cabane à sucre meal starts with a hearty bowl of soupe aux pois, or yellow pea soup flavoured with a ham hock (and maple, of course). The soup is usually followed by a myriad of traditional savoury dishes such as maple-baked ham, omelette or scrambled eggs, sausages, tourtière (Québec’s famous meat pie), fèves au lard or baked beans, creton (a pork-based pâté of sorts) and oreilles de crisse, which translates literally into “Christ’s ears” and is actually deep-fried pork rinds. All of these dishes are either cooked with maple syrup or dowsed in the golden syrup tableside. It’s actually an absolute must to drizzle syrup on everything, including your bread and butter.

The best part of a sugar shack meal are the many maple flavoured desserts

Sugar shack desserts include items such as maple sugar pie, maple donuts, pancakes and a variety of toothachingly sweet stuff. However, the best part of the whole extravaganza is definitely the tire d’érable or maple taffy. At the end of the meal, boiled and reduced maple syrup is poured on fresh snow in perfect little rows. The idea is to let the liquid syrup set and cool a bit in the snow before rolling it around a popsicle stick and enjoying it like a lollipop. Kids and adults of all ages enjoy this ritual the best and no sugar shack meal is complete without it.

Activities and entertainment, what to do, see and experience at a sugar shack

Other than eating, what is there to do at a sugar shack, you ask? Well, it depends on the sugar shack. Many shacks in Québec are family-owned and still small to medium sized, although you will find huge commercial ones as well. Some of the more traditional things to do are horse or tractor-drawn wagon or sleigh ride tours of the property to admire all the tapped maple trees, walks or hikes in the woods, traditional music and dancing, petting zoos, snowshoeing, and spending time learning and observing the fascinating maple syrup making process. Tasting maple water is also sometimes offered. Maple water is the sap that flows from the trees. It takes 40 litres of maple water to make 1 liter of maple syrup. You can choose from a range of larger dining halls to the cozier, smaller cabins, depending on the kind of experience you are looking for and how big your group is.

Where to go for the ultimate sugar shack experience near Montréal

There are so many different kinds of sugar shacks out there that it’s sometimes hard to find one that suits your taste. Most shacks are located where the maple trees are located, obviously, so outside the city. We do have a few favourites that we can recommend from the traditional Sucrerie de la Montagne to the over-the-top Au pied de cochon, which is, unfortunately, often fully booked. For a sugaring off experience with a fresh twist, Labonté de la pomme was the first to offer an apple shack, featuring local products and baked treats prepared in their wood-fired oven. This family-run orchard in Oka, about a 45-minute drive from Montréal, offers lots of family activities year-round and a general store where you can pick up gourmet gifts. The Apple Shack is open for sugaring-off time in March and April, and for other events and occasions throughout the year.

If you can’t get out of the city come early spring, several urban sugar shacks pop up all around Montréal every year to satisfy that maple craving after a long winter. Some restaurants also choose to include a maple breakfast or brunch or a sugar shack-inspired meal on their menu. You can even order a sugar shack meal in a box from certain shacks and/or restaurants to enjoy at home. Whatever you decide, make sure you book ahead. This most-beloved gargantuan gastronomic experience is only around for a few weeks every year, from late February to April, and shacks everywhere sell out quickly.

Bon appétit!