A sweet rogue trip adventure
For the Love of Maple
When it comes to culture and heritage, maple syrup is probably the first thing people think of when they think of Canada. When tourists from other countries come to Canada, a bottle of locally-produced maple syrup is one of the most requested souvenirs to bring back. Almost every province in Canada has maple producers, churning millions of gallons of sticky sweet liquid amber yearly as the spring thaw occurs.
Maple syrup tourism
Canadians do love their maple syrup. Gallons upon gallons of maple syrup are sold in grocery stores, farm stands, local sugarbushes, and markets across Canada. Many annual festivals are dedicated to maple syrup, which draws in thousands of visitors from far and wide to small communities with high production volume.
Popular springtime activities include heading to a maple syrup farm and taking a sugar bush tour. People love to experience farm life and learn how maple syrup is harvested, distilled, and packaged. Not to mention – taste the final product and the many items made with maple syrup. It is suitable for a lot more than just pancakes.
Visit Niagara Region
Every year for Mother’s Day, we look for unique and exciting things to do with Mum. She is always happier when she is treated to time together than given just a gift. So, when it came around this year, we looked for activities & adventures that we could do with her that none of us had ever done. A Google search provided us with an answer. We discovered Maple syrup tasting boards at White Meadows Farms in Pelham, Ontario…… hmmm, fascinating.
Maple Farm Adventures
Niagara Region is well–known for their wine tasting and beer-tasting tours/ experiences, and they are very popular with tourists for a good reason. Niagara peninsula makes a lot of fantastic wine (and beer). However, Mum is not a drinker, and those activities wouldn’t be fun. However, she does LOVE real maple syrup, so we took her on a sweet rogue trip to the maple farm.
There are many great Day Trip destinations to explore around Niagara Region, and Pelham is a beautiful area to discover.
Pelham, Ontario is a rich and gorgeous landscape full of beautiful farms, orchards, and wineries. It is the perfect destination for enjoying those fantastic farm experiences, buying locally-grown produce, and picking your own fruits, vegetables, and flowers. This is a fantastic place for an Ontario Day Trip outing.
Learn more about the farm HERE
Maple Tasting boards
The maple tasting board is a maple-inspired charcuterie board featuring many of the amazing products they make at WMF. You start with a glass of refreshing maple iced tea that is not too sweet and has just a hint of maple flavour. The boards are beautifully presented on your table. They feature meats, cheeses, preserves, bbq sauce, mustards, fresh fruits, crackers, mini pancakes, and their four grades of maple syrup – golden, amber, dark, and very dark. Before you dig into your tasting board, the friendly staff give a run-down of the various items and impart some of their maple syrup knowledge.
Most of the items on the board are made right on the farm and sold in their retail store. Here, you can pick up your favourite type of syrup and the other items you enjoyed on the boar, like mini pancakes, maple summer sausage, sauces, preserves, cheeses, and dressings. They have a plethora of other maple products, tree-tapping supplies, candies, and much more to ensure you can satisfy all of your maple cravings.
Butter Tart Quest – Maple Butter Tarts
White Meadows Farms offer maple baked goods and desserts such as bread pudding, mini pancakes, apple crumble, and farm-made maple butter tarts. You will find their maple baked goods in their frozen favourites section. There was a limited supply of butter tarts the day we were there, we were still able to get a six-pack for our butter tart quest. As the tourism season ramps up, I am sure the availability will increase.
Appearance
The butter tarts from the farm have a lovely, classic appearance, are evenly formed, and are baked. The filling boiled over a bit on all the pastries, but only enough to add dimension and interest to the tarts. Each tart has a unique appearance, and based on that individuality, it is evident that the tarts are each hand-formed.
Crust:
The pastry is light, flaky, and very tasty. It tastes like maple syrup baked right into the crust of these butter tarts. The maple flavour from the filling comes through strongly in every bite of the pastry.
The filling
The farm makes the butter tarts on-site in their kitchen using their delicious maple syrup. The filling is very rich & thick. The creamy, buttery taste and smooth texture are pleasing on the tongue. These butter tarts have so much maple flavour and a lovely buttery texture. The maple tart has plenty of sweetness but doesn’t come off as ‘too sweet’, just delightful.
Crust To filling ratio
These tarts have more crust than filling due to the filling reducing during baking; I am anything but disappointed. The maple syrup filling still lines every inch of the crust. Even if the unctuousness of the filling isn’t present, that rich maple flavour is.
Overall Experience
The maple butter tarts are worth a drive through the Niagara region. The overall experience of eating these butter tarts is full-stop, a real treat. They have a well-crafted pastry and rich maple filling, and then there is that candy crust that remains on top (and sides) during baking. It is like a bit of maple taffy candy; I love the surprise elements in a butter tart. We purchased them frozen on a warm day, and they held up nicely for a long day filled with Mother’s Day activities.
White Meadow Farms is a maple producer, and not specifically a bakery. Their butter tarts are just one of the many maple-flavoured products in its line-up. These tarts are sold in packs of six orme— two, but trust you will want more than two. They are worth making a day trip to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Sweet Maple Rogue Trip Destination
The maple tasting board is a fun and unique activity perfect for a date, special occasion, or family outing. You can reserve your spot online, or walk-ins are also welcome. Maple tasting boards are available from May to December, and the farm store is open daily year-round. You can also get their delicious maple products at their stores in Niagara on The Lake and Niagara Falls Fallsview Casino arcade.
Visit the farm at 2519 Effingham St, Pelham, ON L2R 6P7.
*note: All butter tart reviews are the opinions of Roguetrippers only, based on our experiences and personal preferences. Your opinions may vary. If you know of a fantastic bakery making what you think are Ontario’s Best butter tarts, we would love to hear from you. Let us know about them, so we can plan a future road trip and include them in our #ButterTartQuest.
Contact Roguetrippers with your suggestions.
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