Taste NY Market Moves to Horticulture Building for New York State Fair

The all-new Taste NY Market at The Great New York State Fair was announced Aug. 4 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The market is part of the governor’s $50 million plan to transform the fairgrounds and improve the experience for visitors. 

Now located inside the landmark Horticulture Building, guests of the Taste NY Market will have the opportunity to enjoy everything New York, from artisan cheeses and gourmet nuts, to local wines, craft beers, spirits and more.
Visitors to the Taste NY Market will have the chance to try free samples of food and beverages from all 76 participating New York vendors and to meet the people behind those products. If you like what you try, you’ll also have the opportunity to buy it on-site directly from the vendor. 

For the first time this year, the operators of the Taste NY store at the Broome Gateway Travel and Tourism Center will also showcase and sell an array of products from their store, including: Bjorn Popcorn, Mini Honey Bears, Emmy’s Macaroons, Field Trip Beef Jerky, Saratoga Crackers and many others.
The vendors featured at the Taste NY Market will rotate daily, during all twelve days of the Fair. A complete list of participating vendors and a schedule of the vendor rotation can be found http://nysfair.ny.gov/food-drink/taste-ny/ at this link.

Apple Association Collects Less Money at State Fair This Year

Did you have trouble finding the New York Apple Association booth at the State Fair this year?

I did. And I guess wasn't alone.

Seems state fair officials moved the association's booth to the other side of the Horticulture Building. For years, the apples have been across from the New York Maple Producers exhibit.

But this year, the maple producers exhibit expanded and took up that space with its education center. But there was no sign letting people know the apple folks moved to a new site.

“The New York Apple Association booth is a popular one for fairgoers. This year we moved it to equivalent space within the Horticulture Building, next to the most popular exhibit in the building, the Baked Potato booth, in order to provide space for an expanded, interactive display from the New York State Maple Producers," said fair spokesman David Bullard.. 

"It’s not uncommon to move the location of vendors and booths to accommodate various factors, including new or expanded displays,”  Bullard said.

Apple Association President Jim Allen said one reason why he believes people had difficulty finding the apple booth is less money was brought in through the sale of apple products at the exhibit.

He said the money raised through the sale of apples and apple products at the exhibit usually is more than $10,000. This year, it was less than $9,000.

All the money goes to the American Cancer Society.

New York Still Number 2 in Maple Production

New York again is the second largest maple syrup producer in the country.

Figures released Friday June 27 show New York producers in 2014 made 546,000 gallons of syrup with 2.2 million taps. New York edged out Maine for the number 2 spot – Maine syrup makers made 545,000 gallons in 2014.

Number 1 is still held by Vermont, with 1,320,000 gallons of syrup made.

Production this year is down a bit from 2013 when producers made 574,000 gallons. The weather was challenging this year because the cold weather held on longer this late winter and early spring, resulting in a late start to the sap flow.

Producers with newer vacuum equipment had an easier time of it as they were able to get more sap out of the maple trees than those producers who rely on regular sap flow into buckets.

“Every year, we are reminded that Mother Nature is in charge and the percentages of maple syrup colors produced in largely determined by environmental factors,” said Dwayne Hill, president of the New York State Maple Producers Association. “This was, there was a low percentage of light amber syrup, with most of the crop comprising medium and dark colors. This is a good thing for consumers as the most popular flavors of maple are medium and dark amber.”

The maple association always has a large booth inside the Horticulture Building at the New York State Fair. The association announced this week it will have two new exhibits in its booth this summer.

For more information, go to www.nysmaple.com

New Exhibits Planned for Maple at New York State Fair

Buckets hang from maple trees collecting sap.

The New York State Maple Producers Association will have a new exhibit at the New York State Fair this summer.

Association Executive Director Helen Thomas said the exhibit, in the Horticulture Building, will feature a working tubing system with water (representing sap) so people can see how the sap moves from the tree into a collection releaser. The releaser will periodically fill and dump, creating a noise and splash.

The association also is designing a cutaway of a tree to show how the sap flows up and down in the maple tree as the temperature changes.

“These two features will highlight a brand new interactive display that will make folks feel like they are standing in the maple woods,” Thomas continued. “This display will also provide fairgoers with free samples of maple syrup. We hope that these new features will entice people to stop at the maple center where we make all sorts of confections on the premises, and where they can meet and talk with the hard working maple producers of the Great State of New York.”

New York state ranks second nationwide in maple syrup production (Vermont is number 1) and accounts for 18 percent of the nation’s output with 574,000 gallons produced in 2013.  

“This year, we want fairgoers to encounter the mystery of maple’s sweet sap,” Thomas said. “How does the maple tree share its tasty sweetness?  How do they get all that sap out of the woods and over to the sugarhouse?  How does the sap become the great sweetener we know as maple syrup?  You can experience these mysteries first hand by stopping by the new maple display in the Horticulture Building at the New York State Fair beginning Aug. 21.”

 “Maple syrup is such a hugely important agricultural industry here in the state,” said state Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball.  “The primary focus of the Great New York State Fair is to educate fairgoers about the breadth of New York agriculture and we are pleased that the New York State Maple Producers Association will be ramping up their educational efforts at this year’s fair.”    

For more information about New York’s huge maple industry, please visit www.nysmaple.com.