By LYN DESMARAIS
Until very recently, tin was mined in Cornwall and Devon, England. Tin is an element that was discovered and used since before 3000 BCE. It added strength to copper (bronze is 1/8 tin and 7/8 copper) and other metals. It could be polished, so it shone brightly in the sun. It was used to plate other metals, and it was used to create pewter (80-90% tin mixed with other metals). Pewter was used for millennia for dishes and utensils. At least one tin mine is being reopened in England in the next several years. Pure tin is lightweight, does not rust in water, and doesn’t react with most foods, so it is used to line steel food containers.
When I was a child, maple syrup was a rare treat. Our cousins brought it to Massachusetts from Vermont. It was both exotic and delicious. It came in pint sized tin cans, often highly decorated. By the 1990s everything was in plastic or glass.
This week I drove up to the Baird Farm to fill some of my containers with maple syrup. A few times each year the Baird Farm welcomes its customers to do this. Jenna Baird was outside picking flowers for fellow volunteers at a suicide prevention charity. Her gladioli, zinnias, and dahlias are gorgeous. What a thoughtful gift. She directed me to their farmstore. Jacob was busy filling bottles with syrup. While he was filling mine, I asked Jacob if anything was new, he told me their farm is launching a new product line: maple syrup in tin cans. Look for it locally at Morningside Bakery and at food sellers across the state, from Woodstock Farmers Market to Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Jenna says the cans are “soft launched.” They’ll be officially announcing it on September 10th.
The can is charming. The Bairds teamed up with illustrator Shane McFalls from Newfane, VT and designer Andrew Plotsky of Farmrun to create the tin can artwork. Their art design is whimsical and filled with images of winter: a bear on a sled, a squirrel on skis, a great blue heron on ice skates, a Holstein and dog pulling a porcupine behind a snowmobile. “Eat pure and stay wild” is stamped on the back: their tagline. This time it has a small addition underneath: “Ya Filthy Animals.”
I asked them about this new product line. The Bairds said the idea for this product was years in the making. The inspiration emerged during the long nights of boiling syrup during the early years of the pandemic. Folks traditionally have been putting maple syrup in cans for the better part of 150 years. Tin is still very popular north of the border in Quebec. Many sugarmakers still say “canning” to describe the bottling and packing of syrup. Nostalgia and retro styles are coming back. Their main challenge was finding a company that could help bring the custom cans to life. While there are one or two tin can producers still in Vermont, none does custom labels, only generic industry ones. Jenna and Jacob worked with Dominion and Grimm, based out of Canada, who were excited about custom cans. For years now, Dominion and Grimm have worked with a manufacturer in England to source cans specific for the maple industry. It’s surprisingly refreshing in a world full of microplastics to see some folks make a conscious choice for more traditional materials.
I cannot recommend enough the following drive which will end at the Baird’s Farm and farmstore. Book a tour, go buy syrup or just take a drive. Between now and November 1, it should be amazing. Take Oxbow Road in Pittsford to Adams Road (left hand turn off Oxbow.) There’s a pretty Jersey farm on the left. Then take a right onto Furnace Road, following Furnace Brook, until you reach the hamlet of Furnace Brook. There’s a hairpin turn on Stoney Hill Road to North Chittenden then a right turn onto West Road. The farm is on the left.
