Walnut syrup: How an Ontario couple is tapping into a different sweet treat

Essex County, Ont., couple Leslie and Bob Meloche have been perfecting a unique delicacy for their bed and breakfast guests over the past five years: black walnut tree syrup.

Afternoon Drive6:04Black walnut trees can make syrup too

Leslie and Bob Meloche run The Walnut Grove B&B in Essex County and have crafted a sweet specialty: walnut tree syrup. It's like maple, but much more labour-intensive. Afternoon Drive's Josiah Sinanan pays them a visit to learn more and have a taste test.

"Taste-wise, it's as sweet as maple syrup, but it has a different flavour profile," Bob said.

Sitting in the sugar shack at the back of The Walnut Grove Bed and Breakfast, near Harrow, the evaporator is boiling, processing what may be the last batch of the walnut tree sap for the season. The couple also taps their maple trees, which they have fewer of on the property. 

"That's why we moved here specifically from Windsor, to run this [bed and breakfast]. And we were blessed to have this five-acre bush [in the back]," Bob said.

Like with maple trees, sap from walnut trees needs to be tapped under specific conditions: when the temperature is above zero degrees during the day and below zero at night.

But despite similar processes, creating walnut syrup requires a little more elbow grease. 

"We tap about seven times the number of walnut trees to collect the same amount of sap that the maples are spitting out. It takes about 90 litres of walnut sap to get one litre of syrup." 

Only 40 litres of sap is needed to render the same return with maple, which Bob says has a more distinct taste that people are familiar with. He describes the walnut syrup as more "sponge toffee-like." 

For his wife Leslie, the extra work is all worth it.

"We started with maple trees and then the following year decided, 'hey, we've got walnuts, let's make walnut syrup.' After all, we are The Walnut Grove." 

The couple bottles their maple syrup for $15, while the same amount of walnut syrup is priced at $45. But rather than rely on bottle sales, they use the delicacy as a special offering for their guests. 

"It is a lot more expensive and probably doesn't even really reflect the amount of work behind it," Leslie said. "Instead, we tend to incorporate the walnut syrup in our desserts in some fashion. Drizzled over ice cream, it's very nice."

Buckets still hang from maple and walnut trees alike as the season winds down for the Meloches. The walnut trees have a notably thicker bark, which the couple says needs to be chiseled away first to ensure a good tap.

"We apologize as we're doing it," Leslie said.

"It's kind of a funny thing to do in a way, but when I take a bucket off of a tree, I [also] thank them, because they're giving us some of their life blood for our enjoyment." 

It's part of the learning process the couple adapts to year after year — and while it might sound romantic, it's hard work.

"I suppose people would think that, getting out into the woods, [but] we're out here working. There's nothing romantic about this," Leslie said.

"Do we walk hand in hand through the woods? Absolutely. But not while we're schlepping buckets."