Renowned Michigan treat relies on key ingredient
Pipeline supports baking, manufacturing
July 13, 2022
Carriage rides, ferry tours and strolls along Main Street are synonymous with Mackinac Island, as is one treat.
Touted as America’s Fudge Capital, Mackinac Island creates the sweet treat on site –- to the tune of more than 10,000 pounds of fudge per day during the summer travel season.
As visitors enjoy fudge samples in preparation for deciding which flavors to buy, likely the last thing on their mind is one of the essential ingredients to making fudge.
Sure, there are top-secret and treasured family recipes that span generations, though making the fudge relies on energy, such as that transported by Enbridge’s Line 5 Pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.
The propane transported each day through Line 5 supplies energy to more the 65 percent of the Upper Peninsula, including Mackinac Island.
“The residents, visitors and businesses on Mackinac Island, as well as Michigan overall, rely on the propane and other natural gas liquids transported safely each day through Enbridge Line 5,” said Joe Calcaterra, Enbridge’s supervisor for pipeline services in the Great Lakes/Escanaba region.
“We are proud the energy from Line 5 has a special role in making such a treasured Michigan tradition.”
Calcaterra cites that in addition to providing the energy for heat, cooking and baking, product transported through Enbridge Line 5 provides fuel for transportation and helps in the manufacture of more than 6,000 items –- including the packaging used to hold the fudge, taffy and caramel corn Mackinac Island shops offer.
Recognizing the role of Line 5 in providing the region a reliable source of energy, Enbridge is planning to construct the Great Lakes Tunnel. Placed deep below the lakebed of the Straits, the concrete tunnel will house a replacement section of Line 5. The Tunnel, which is a reliable way to keep energy flowing while protecting the environment, will eliminate the chance of an anchor strike to it and reduce the chance of a release to near zero.
In addition to the Great Lakes Tunnel, the region is readying for the annual Mackinac Island Fudge Festival, to be held from Aug. 26 to 28.
