Springtime is sugaring time?
The sweet-toothed will find it impossible to resist Vermont.

Why's that?
It's time to tap the maple trees once more, gather the rising sap and boil it down into the well-known syrup.

Is it like milking a tree?
The old-fashioned way, using buckets to collect the drips.

Sounds labour-intensive?
For every gallon produced, the sugarer must boil down and evaporate up to 40 gallons of sap.

Only in springtime?

Freezing nights and warm days are essential for sugaring, otherwise the sap remains locked in one position and cannot be bled.

Can I watch?
Feel free. Many sugar houses have survived only by opening their doors to tourists.

What's America without saccharine?
This sugar is pure. Even the Maple Festival will be free of chemical flavourings and harmful additives.

Non-stop tastings?
Take a huge appetite to St Albans in northern Vermont from April 21-23.

And a decent toothbrush?
Especially if you're also planning a visit to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory near Stowe.

Yes please. Is it easy to travel around?
A piece of cake. Or, rather, muffin. Seven-night packages to The Siebness Country Inn, for example, come with a car and cost £677 with New England Vacations (01727 837100).

Mm, those country antiques and homemade quilts.
Spilling out of most Vermont hotels. As the Discover New England information line (0906 5588555, £1 a minute) will tell you.

I may prefer to pour my own syrup.
Self-catering is easy. A New England Country Homes (01798 869020) property sleeps four and costs around £520pp for a week, including flights and car.

Can I find out more?
Any gaps can be patched up at the New England Maple Museum, which relates the syrup's history from its native American origins to today's hi-tech export industry.