Photos

A sleigh that I saw during my trip to the cabane a sucre.

"« Cabane à sucre » literarily means “sugar cabin” and it’s a Quebecer tradition. In Quebec, during springtime, maple trees start to secrete their sap which is then made into sweet syrup. The syrup is produced for the market, but first, it is consumed directly on the spot, in “sugar cabins”, which nowadays are more like restaurants built in the woods. Yet, ideally, such restaurants should have a rustic, “pioneer” look to them. The traditional menu is equally “pioneer” and consists of potatoes, various meats, pea-soup, beans, etc. You should add some maple syrup to your meal – especially the pancakes. Besides food, sugar cabins often offer other sorts of activities such as sleigh-rides, walking in the woods, folklore music, social dance, etc. Sugar cabins are a good pretext for going out of the city during Canadian spring…"