Mountain Maple Products - a maple syrup producer based in Richards Landing - was one of many vendors on hand at a packed Soo Market on Brock Street Saturday.
The business was established in 1964 by now-deceased Ches Wallace and has been owned and operated by Don and Suzanne Manchur since 1983.
“We enjoy it. We've been at it for a long time,” Don told SooToday.
Mountain Maple Products sells not only maple syrup but also maple butter, maple candy and maple sugar drawn from the Manchur sugar bush on St. Joseph Island’s P Line Road.
Over the years the Manchur children and grandchildren have gotten involved in the business, producing and selling maple salsa and maple barbecue sauce.
Ideal sap collecting conditions consist of cold nights and warm days every spring.
“It wasn't too bad of a year for us,” Don said, reflecting on the maple syrup-producing season of early spring 2025.
“We started tapping around March 1st and the first syrup run was close to St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th. We’re basically finished now and the buds have started to form on the trees. I have one more boil, tomorrow or Monday. It was an average year for us. We made 600 gallons.”
Mountain Maple Products is at Soo Market every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. as well as Thursdays (starting May 22) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There are few things as Canadian as maple syrup and it’s important to buy local - and buy Canadian - more than ever.
A list of Sault and Algoma District maple syrup producers can be found by clicking here.
