Thursday, April 5, 2012

Sappy Poem

The end of syrup season's here,
for all, it's a sad time of year.
We had so much fun,
but alas, sap is done,
so now the Sugarbush is clear.

We loved all of your support,
whether you bought one bottle or a quart.
And from your kind money,
we'll make tasty shrooms and honey,
of which you can make into a nice torte?

We also thank the maple trees,
for they give us products with such ease.
And if it weren't for their sap,
that they allowed us to tap,
we'd be poorer than a homeless dog's fleas.

So as we continue to move on,
to bees and other mushroom spawn,
we'll keep in our brains
the syrup and its remains,
and how we no longer have to stay up till dawn!



Sunday, April 1, 2012

Raisin' the Roof at the Open House

Yesterday, March 31, 2012 - a date which will live in infamy - the South Hill Forest Products class hosted the best maple syrup open house this world has ever seen!!

Maybe it's the maple syrup talking, but never has there been such a great mix a people enjoying some of nature's sweetest product. There was sap, there were pancakes, there were fires (that were safely contained in our fire pits)...we had it all! So this post goes out to everybody who made this event such a big success! We truly appreciate all of the support we've received from the Ithaca community. It was such a pleasure meeting/seeing you all and we hope you had as much fun as we did!

Check out some of the pictures from the event:
Two of our wonderful tour guides--guiding our guests through the Sugarbush
Another tour group checkin some buckets for sap
...but not as much as our syrup!
Our pancakes were a big hit

Please sir, can I have some more?

Friends and family came from all over...
just to have some syrupsiously sweet liquid gold.
So, as sad as we are to see the end of the syrup season, some would call it a bittersweet time--because now we have more time to focus on mushrooms and bee products!
(bee on the look out for more updates)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Now, Let's Review

South Hill Forest Products members would tell anyone that our mushrooms are the tastiest, most palatable, scrumdiddlyumptious mushrooms around, but what do our customers have to say about them? Josh Eckenrode is the owner of Ithaca's very own Cafe Dewitt and had some extremely kind words to share about the mushrooms he purchased from us:

"All of the chefs at Cafe Dewitt have been so thrilled by the quality and consistency of the oyster mushrooms from South Hill Forest Products. When I first opened the bag, I could not believe how beautiful the mushrooms were. Once I started cooking with them, I was even more pleased. We have been using the oyster mushrooms in omelette fillings, particularly with bacon, red onion and gryuere cheese. I have also used them in risotto with asiago cheese, and fresh herbs. The texture is so delicate and the flavor so full that I cannot wait to use them in more of our specials. Thank you South Hill Forest Products for the wonderful job you are doing; I cannot wait for the shiitakes!!!"
--Josh Eckenrode

Thank YOU, Josh...and everybody at Cafe Dewitt!

We are so glad that people are enjoying our products and we wouldn't be in existence if it wasn't for our beloved customers! More mushrooms are soon to come!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Double the Power!

New and exciting news! We now have 2 boiling pans which means... we can boil twice as much syrup and go 2x as fast! This means that there will be more syrup for everyone. Also, don't forget, our syrup comes in a variety of types and sizes: Light amber and medium amber in 16oz and 8.5oz containers.

Monday, March 5, 2012

A Sweet Week Ahead

Maple syrup production is in full swing, with boils happening every weekend for the past few weeks. Which means...we have lots of delicious syrup to sell, labored over for days (not kidding) and hand-bottled and labeled with love by real IC students!



We're happy to announce that we're selling our syrup out of our headquarters in CNS 282, and we will also be tabling in Campus Center this week. Starting tomorrow, Tuesday March 6th, you can stop by our syrup-selling station in front of Grand Central Cafe from 9am-3pm and buy some of our delicious syrup in pretty bottles that come in two sizes. We'll be tabling Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9-3, so come by and pick up a bottle for yourself, and another to bring home to the family for Spring Break!


Friday, March 2, 2012

Mushroom Spawn of the Dead

Alright, so "mushroom spawn of the dead" sounds like a movie about giant man-eating mushroom zombies...starring Simon Pegg.

What mushroom spawn of the dead is actually referring to is the pounds of oyster mushrooms that have recently spawned from the dead, decomposing organic matter (we use straw) in our indoor mushroom farm (in other words: we got mushrooms)!
Q: What's the most common mushroom pick-up line?
A: Baby, I'm no Fred Flintstone, but I'm a fungi who can
make your Bedrock.

They're delicious, they're nutritious, they're auspicious...and not at all fictitious! South Hill Forest products will be selling these delectable treats to the public as soon as we start getting a few more bags to fruit.

The really exciting part is that there are some wonderful restaurants in the area who want to purchase them! Some of the restaurants include: Fine Line Bistro, Cafe Dewitt, Bandwagon Brew Pub, and Felicia's Atomic Lounge (who just bought a couple pounds of our dried mushrooms!). So not only will you be served amazing food, but you will be supporting our local business!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Rochon Gets his South Hill Groove-On

When the Sugarbush was vandalized some weeks ago, one of the things that got ruined was our heavy-duty cart that we relied on to transport items to-and-from the syrup site. When Ithaca College's president, Tom Rochon heard about this, he graciously offered to pay for a replacement. This helps us out immensely because not only are we now equipped with a new cart, but it saves us a lot of money that we can now put towards ensuring more products of the utmost quality.

So this post is dedicated to President Rochon--defender of the Sugarbush--giving a new meaning to a Presidential Sweet.
Tom Rochon. What a guy.