The thick, amber-colored syrup is the sticky stuff of legend. Its smoky, nutty flavor is less sweet than maple, more complex, and hauntingly unique. And the thousands of chefs and home gourmets who count themselves among the converted can tell you that Gordon Jones is definitely not barking up the wrong tree. Jones and wife Sherrie Yarling, the countrys sole producers of Shagbark Hickory Syrup, live and work on 64-acres of land in Brown County, Indiana that boasts a six-acre lake, and rich groves of hickory, ash, oak and poplar trees. But it is the shagbark hickory-specifically the bark-that provides Jones and Yarling their livelihood in the form of the luscious condiment that has palates panting for more. Each bottle of the filtered and aged syrup (like fine wine, says Jones) is like liquid Americana. The process of distilling the extract from the bark dates back to the Native Americans indigenous to the region. The origins of the exact recipe are at least 200 years old, passed on to them by a mysterious elderly man buying firewood. He remarked that his great-great-grandmother had made syrup from the bark of the hickory trees. When the man returned for more firewood, Jones-undaunted by a few botched batches-offered to trade the wood for the recipe. The couple spent countless hours tweaking the recipe, working out the packaging and distribution. It was definitely a labor of love, remarked Jones, who moved with Yarling in 1990 from Palm Beach, Florida to cultivate Shiitake mushrooms on the acreage.

Website: http://hickoryworks.homestead.com/