Maple Syrup
A reddish-brown, viscous liquid with a sweet distinctive flavor, made by reducing the sap of the North American maple tree.
History of Maple Syrup
maple syrup is produced by exactly the same process.
Benefits of Maple Syrup
How to Make Maple Syrup
How to Cook Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is really versatile it can be used as topping of your dessert or you can made Maple cream by boiling it to the soft ball stage, cooling it without moving to room temperature, and whipping into a smooth, creamy spread. Candies, traditionally shaped in molds as maple leaves, are made by boiling the syrup to 243 degrees, and then stirring the syrup while it is hot and pouring into molds before it sets up. It can be used to boil the syrup, and then roll the candy into little balls, pressing in nutmeats. A wonderful treat, made from their big sugar maple in the yard.
Sources
@ Webster's New World Dictionary of Culinary Arts by Steven Labensky, Gaye G.Ingram, Sarah R.Labensky
@ http://time.com/3958051/history-of-maple-syrup/
@ http://www.cornell.edu/video/history-and-production-of-maple-syrup
@ http://vermontmaple.org/about-us/history-of-maple/
@ http://ouroneacrefarm.com/make-maple-syrup-ii-boiling-filtering-canning/
@ https://commonsensehome.com/make-maple-syrup/
A reddish-brown, viscous liquid with a sweet distinctive flavor, made by reducing the sap of the North American maple tree.
History of Maple Syrup
When you think of maple syrup, whose 2009 season is just now wrapping up, the first image that pops into your mind is probably a huge tree trunk with a few metal buckets strapped on. Maybe you picture workhorses slogging through the snow, a sleigh laden with tree sap in tow. Maybe there's a little wooden shack with a chimney emitting a plume of steam. What you might not picture are the dollar signs many are seeing around this surging agricultural commodity — maple syrup producers are celebrating high yields and record retail prices this year.
For some 300 years, however, sugaring stuck close by that rural idyll. Early settlers in the U.S. Northeast and Canada learned about sugar maples from Native Americans. Various legends exist to explain the initial discovery. One is that the chief of a tribe threw a tomahawk at a tree, sap ran out and his wife boiled venison in the liquid. Another version holds that Native Americans stumbled on sap running from a broken maple branch.
It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup because sap is about 98% water. Sugar makers boiled off most of the water over a wood fire — what they were left with was brown sweet syrup. Some sugar makers heated the sap further, turning it into crystallized sugar. Over time, the industry evolved enough that companies from Quebec to Vermont produced ready-made "evaporators," essentially giant frying pans with fire boxes built underneath.
From the 17th century onward, dairy farmers who wanted to supplement their income from milk — or who just needed a source of sweetener that was better and cheaper than sugar or molasses — drilled small holes in the trees during the brief weather window between winter and spring. (Sap typically runs out of maple trees on days when the temperature is around 40 degrees following a night when the mercury dropped below freezing.) The farmers called the maple tree stands "sugar bushes" and hung buckets under the drilled holes. Every day or two — depending on how fast the sap was running out of the trees — the farmers would empty out the buckets into larger containers or tanks and haul the watery substance to a "sugar house" usually built in the woods. Here's where the magic happened.
As quaint as this image is and as marketable — check out the old-timey drawings on the sides of plastic maple syrup jugs — this is not the face of modern maple syrup making.
These days, most serious sugar makers have foregone labor-intensive buckets, in favor of tubing systems. The holes bored in sugar maples in early spring are usually made with a cordless drill. Sugar makers insert small plastic spouts into the holes and connect the spouts to huge webs of plastic tubing that route the precious sap into large tanks. Many of these sugar bushes even have vacuum systems that suck the sap out of the trees to increase yield, along with oil-fueled furnaces and reverse osmosis filters that remove some water prior to boiling. The technology has changed dramatically, but in essence the process is virtually the same. Collect sap, reduce over heat.
As the natural foods movement has picked up steam in recent years, maple syrup has become, along with honey, an increasingly attractive alternative to processed cane sugar. If you're wondering where Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin syrup fit into this picture — these common table products are not real maple syrup. The tagline for Log Cabin, which is made with sugar, is "Authentic Maple Tasting Syrup for over 120 years." This careful wording is intentional and crafted to avoid false advertising claims. (Most brands of maple-flavored pancake toppings are made with corn syrup.)
The actual maple syrup industry has grown some 10% in each of the past four years — and no, maple syrup it not just for flapjacks. These days, some maple syrup devotees use the liquid sweetener as a substitute for sugar in everything from cakes to stir fry. And let's not forget the Master Cleanse diet — more accurately a fast — in which people eat nothing for days on end, subsisting only on a drink made of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup.
Thanks to increasing demand and poor sugaring weather in some regions over the past several years, retail prices have spiked to as much as $80 per gallon in some places. In the current sagging economy, that definitely counts as a sweet spot.
For some 300 years, however, sugaring stuck close by that rural idyll. Early settlers in the U.S. Northeast and Canada learned about sugar maples from Native Americans. Various legends exist to explain the initial discovery. One is that the chief of a tribe threw a tomahawk at a tree, sap ran out and his wife boiled venison in the liquid. Another version holds that Native Americans stumbled on sap running from a broken maple branch.
It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup because sap is about 98% water. Sugar makers boiled off most of the water over a wood fire — what they were left with was brown sweet syrup. Some sugar makers heated the sap further, turning it into crystallized sugar. Over time, the industry evolved enough that companies from Quebec to Vermont produced ready-made "evaporators," essentially giant frying pans with fire boxes built underneath.
From the 17th century onward, dairy farmers who wanted to supplement their income from milk — or who just needed a source of sweetener that was better and cheaper than sugar or molasses — drilled small holes in the trees during the brief weather window between winter and spring. (Sap typically runs out of maple trees on days when the temperature is around 40 degrees following a night when the mercury dropped below freezing.) The farmers called the maple tree stands "sugar bushes" and hung buckets under the drilled holes. Every day or two — depending on how fast the sap was running out of the trees — the farmers would empty out the buckets into larger containers or tanks and haul the watery substance to a "sugar house" usually built in the woods. Here's where the magic happened.
As quaint as this image is and as marketable — check out the old-timey drawings on the sides of plastic maple syrup jugs — this is not the face of modern maple syrup making.
These days, most serious sugar makers have foregone labor-intensive buckets, in favor of tubing systems. The holes bored in sugar maples in early spring are usually made with a cordless drill. Sugar makers insert small plastic spouts into the holes and connect the spouts to huge webs of plastic tubing that route the precious sap into large tanks. Many of these sugar bushes even have vacuum systems that suck the sap out of the trees to increase yield, along with oil-fueled furnaces and reverse osmosis filters that remove some water prior to boiling. The technology has changed dramatically, but in essence the process is virtually the same. Collect sap, reduce over heat.
As the natural foods movement has picked up steam in recent years, maple syrup has become, along with honey, an increasingly attractive alternative to processed cane sugar. If you're wondering where Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin syrup fit into this picture — these common table products are not real maple syrup. The tagline for Log Cabin, which is made with sugar, is "Authentic Maple Tasting Syrup for over 120 years." This careful wording is intentional and crafted to avoid false advertising claims. (Most brands of maple-flavored pancake toppings are made with corn syrup.)
The actual maple syrup industry has grown some 10% in each of the past four years — and no, maple syrup it not just for flapjacks. These days, some maple syrup devotees use the liquid sweetener as a substitute for sugar in everything from cakes to stir fry. And let's not forget the Master Cleanse diet — more accurately a fast — in which people eat nothing for days on end, subsisting only on a drink made of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup.
Thanks to increasing demand and poor sugaring weather in some regions over the past several years, retail prices have spiked to as much as $80 per gallon in some places. In the current sagging economy, that definitely counts as a sweet spot.
Types of Maple Syrup
Corresponding to color, the darker the syrup is, the stronger its flavor. The State of Vermont distinguishes four maple syrup grades. From light to dark they are: Fancy, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber, and Grade B. It is important to understand that all
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How to Make Maple Syrup
Maple Syrup Step #1 Identify Maple Trees and Wait for the Right Temperature Range
There are many species of maple trees. The sap gathered from all of them can be boiled down into syrup.
Most syrup is produced in the northern states, but can be made as far south as Tennessee. The temperature must drop below freezing at night and rise above during the day for the sap to run. Trees should have at least a twelve inch diameter before being tapped. When the maple trees start budding, sugaring is over, as the sap produces bitter syrup.
Maple Syrup Step #2: Gather Your Syrup Making Equipment
Traditional maple syrup making equipment includes sap spouts, buckets, and covers; which are available in hardware stores, from maple sugaring equipment suppliers, or used from other sugarmakers. To tap the trees you will need a drill and bit, and a hammer. The minimum that a backyard sugarmaker must do is to drill the taphole and tap in the spout.
To collect the sap: Milk jugs or even plastic bags can be hung on the spout; or plastic, food-grade tubing can be connected to the spout and the sap run into a bucket or collecting tank on the ground.
To boil the sap into syrup: Plan how you will boil the sap – a simple pan on the stove, a turkey fryer, an outside set-up over a fire-place, or a larger, purchased arch and evaporator.
Maple Syrup Step #3 – Tap the Trees
Tap the trees in the early spring, as daytime temperatures rise above freezing. Drill a hole the size of your spout, at a slight incline. (Note angle above.) Tap the spout into the hole firmly, hang the bucket, and put the cover on to keep out rain and bugs. This is the magic moment, as the first drop of clear, sweet sap runs off the spout – often onto an eagerly waiting tongue!
Maple Syrup Step #4 – Gather the Sap
Sap is perishable, and should be gathered and boiled daily, or kept cold in a storage container until boiling. Filter the sap to remove any impurities.
Maple Syrup Step #5 – Boil the Sap
Boil the sap until it reaches seven degrees above the boiling point of water on that day, or until it “aprons”, or runs off a spoon in a sheet. Whenever maple sap is boiled, it tends to foam up and boil over the side of the pan. Rubbing a little butter around the rim of the pan, or dripping in a few drops of milk or dairy cream during boiling will keep the sap or syrup from boiling over. Never turn your back on boiling sap! The amount of milk is just a few drops to any size kettle, though dripping in a few more drops is more frequently needed with a larger quantity.
Sugar on snow is made by boiling pure maple syrup to 233 degrees, on a candy thermometer. Do not stir. We drizzle the hot syrup over pans of packed snow-or directly onto fresh snowbanks! Each person is given a fork to twirl the taffy-like candy up on. Those in warmer climates may use purchased maple syrup and pour it over crushed ice.
Drizzling the maple sugar on snow on a fresh, clean snowbank.
Maple Syrup Step #6 – Filter and Bottle the Syrup
Filter the hot syrup through clean wool or synthetic syrup filters to remove niter, or sugar sand. Niter occurs naturally. It is gritty and gives the syrup a cloudy appearance. Syrup is canned in Mason jars, commercial syrup containers, or kept in either the refrigerator or freezer. At Silloway Maple, we can our syrup in glass and in plastic jugs by heating it up to 180 degrees. We leave no head space and do not process it in a canner. The syrup keeps indefinitely, though some say the flavor is best preserved for long periods by freezing. It does not expand, when frozen, like cider. Once the container has been opened, it should be refrigerated. If any mold does form on your syrup, it is harmless and can be removed by gently heating and skimming off.
Louise Silloway, canning syrup.
Maple Syrup Step #7 – Enjoying Your Maple Syrup
Maple syrup makes many sweet treats. Enjoy your syrup as pure maple cream, hard sugar, fudge, and maple sugar on snow.
How to Cook Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is really versatile it can be used as topping of your dessert or you can made Maple cream by boiling it to the soft ball stage, cooling it without moving to room temperature, and whipping into a smooth, creamy spread. Candies, traditionally shaped in molds as maple leaves, are made by boiling the syrup to 243 degrees, and then stirring the syrup while it is hot and pouring into molds before it sets up. It can be used to boil the syrup, and then roll the candy into little balls, pressing in nutmeats. A wonderful treat, made from their big sugar maple in the yard.
Sources
@ Webster's New World Dictionary of Culinary Arts by Steven Labensky, Gaye G.Ingram, Sarah R.Labensky
@ http://time.com/3958051/history-of-maple-syrup/
@ http://www.cornell.edu/video/history-and-production-of-maple-syrup
@ http://vermontmaple.org/about-us/history-of-maple/
@ http://ouroneacrefarm.com/make-maple-syrup-ii-boiling-filtering-canning/
@ https://commonsensehome.com/make-maple-syrup/
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