Quote Originally Posted by hookhill View Post
Interesting debate. We boil on outdated equipment, some sap goes through an RO, all of it comes from tubing. Now, given the choice to eat syrup made from our operation, or a non RO, bucket operation with welded stainless equipment and no diatomaceous earth.......... I don't know. Sap that is going through miles of plastic, pumps, membranes that can't be better than a traditional bucket operation on updated stainless equipment.
So why do modern operations keep winning syrup awards. I see that Glenn Goodrich just won an award for syrup flavor and quality...and his operation is large and modern as they come. The usual winners at our local ag. fair are almost always vac. tubing, ro, and even oil-fired!!. Sure there are fewer and fewer "traditional" operations every year so perhaps fewer options means people's flavor perception of maple syrup is changing.