The sweet taste of maple poured over pancakes or golden waffles is even better when you know where it came from. 

No need to travel to Vermont or New Hampshire to get New England-made maple syrup. Massachusetts producers make about 50,000-60,000 gallons of it each year, and there are more than 300 maple producers in Massachusetts, according to the state Department of Agricultural Resources.  

Massachusetts maple producers are becoming more environmentally friendly, too. Over the past six years, they have been awarded $341,785 in agricultural energy grants through the Department of Agricultural Resources to offset the costs of installing updated, environmentally friendly equipment, including high efficiency evaporators, heat recovery and reverse-osmosis equipment. 

One of my favorite ways to use maple syrup is to warm it up and pour it over vanilla ice cream. Add some walnuts and whipped cream and you’ve got a maple sundae. Maple sugar candy was about the only thing that got me through terrible morning sickness when I was pregnant (a long time ago!). I love the way the candy melts in your mouth, but has a softness hiding inside a harder, sparkly coating. And the maple leaf shape it comes in is so charming.

More:Sap to syrup: Keefe Tech students help Natick farm tap maple trees

For a listing of maple sugar houses throughout Massachusetts, visit the MassGrown website and click "maple." Most producers are west of Worcester but here’s a short list of producers near us who take the time to tap trees and boil the sap down in their own sugarhouses. 

Located at the end of scenic Quissett Road, the farm makes maple syrup and grows many different kinds of pumpkins. It also raises alpacas. Owner John Gomersall said he and his wife moved to the farm from Rhode Island seven years ago and began by collecting sap in buckets. Now they have a collection tubing system.

Nature's wonders:A visit to Concord's Gaining Ground to learn about New England maple sugaring

"It's a labor of love," Gomersall said. "The house here is over 200 years old and many of the trees are probably 200 years old, too." In addition to plain maple syrup, he makes maple syrups infused with other flavors, like vanilla and cinnamon. He also makes a whiskey barrel-aged syrup using barrels from Bully Boys Distillers in Boston that has more of a caramel-vanilla flavor that a whiskey flavor.

He anticipates producing about 200 gallons this year, but said he thinks global warming has definitely affected his yield: three or four years ago, he was able to produce about 300 gallons a season. "It's been a good but strange year," weather-wise, Gomersall said. "Southern New England weather is always tricky for sugaring." Cold weather followed by a warmup is needed, he said, and provides the pressure for trees to produce sap.

You can buy their syrup online and pick it up at the farm. Besides the website, you can find their products at a number of shops in Mendon, Holliston, Seekonk, Sutton, Westport, Wrentham, Plymouth, Upton and Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Here's the list. The farm also has store hours during some holidays and is open by appointment.

Wild Robbins Farm is run by Laura and Frank Robbins and their three sons. The farm started out raising chickens and pigs and now has sheep and turkeys, too. This year, they tapped about 30 trees, Laura Robbins said, and they were about to finish boiling when we called. The farm sells maple syrup and other products in its farm store, online and pickup is also available.

Website: https://www.wildrobbinsfarm.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildrobbinsfarm/

Visitors must make arrangements by text or email before stopping by Woodville Maples. It sounds like it had a good season: “We boiled off the last of the sweet last night,” Woodville Maples posted on its website March 20. “It was a short season, but we shattered records thanks to some improvements in the woods.” Woodville Maples (the name is taken from the Hopkinton village) started with 10 taps in 2006 and now has more than 200. In the sugarhouse, it boils the sap over a wood fire. In 2012, Woodville Maples also started keeping bees, and you can buy its honey, too. Visit its Facebook page for updates.  

Website: https://www.woodvillemaples.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoodvilleMaples 

Sales are online only, although we just missed being able to visit its sugarhouse during Mass. Maple Weekend, which was March 19-20. Owner Ron Kay has been interested in maple sugaring since he was a boy in New Hampshire, according to his website. In 1983, he moved to Maynard and tapped his trees there; then in 2007, he got serious and began doing it full time. In 2010, he built a sugarhouse and now sells to many businesses, including stores in Stow, Concord, Lexington, Boston, Littleton, Harvard and Woburn, as well as online sales. Many trees he taps belong to others in the community, and he delivers glass jars full of syrup to thank people who let him tap their trees. In additional to different sizes of syrup, Maynard Maple makes many maple products, like maple candy and maple cream, too.

Website: https://www.maynardmaple.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaynardMaple

Photos:Maynard Maple sticks to its roots

The Natick Community Organic Farm makes about 100-300 gallons a season, depending on the yield, according to its website. It only taps about 20 trees, but other landowners in Natick, Wellesley, Dover, Sherborn and Holliston hang 700-800 taps where sap is collected. If you have maple trees that you want to tap and share the wealth, let Natick Community Organic Farm know. It says on its website that it's always looking for new sites with multiple trees that are at least 15 years old. It sells syrup from its market stand. A year ago, the farm lost its 200-year-old barn, and three sows and 14 piglets were killed in a devastating fire. The farm is raising money and plans to rebuild. If it's out of syrup, check out the many other things to see and do here, including walking the trails, seeing the animals and farmers at work. 

Website: https://www.natickfarm.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natickfarm

Helping hands:Natick Community Organic Farm maple sugaring with Keefe Tech

Nancy Olesin is the features editor at the Daily News. Got a story idea? Email her at nolesin@wickedlocal.com.