When it comes to making dinner, you might not think of maple syrup as a secret ingredient. But maple syrup is a sweet ingredient that can add intrigue to any meal. Here is some information about maple sryup and some recipes including the sweet stuff.
How maple syrup is gleaned from the maple tree
It’s that collected sap – yes, straight tree sap – that is concentrated through a cooking process into maple syrup. Straight from the tree, sap is mostly water. There is only a small amount of sucrose in the sap (1 to 4 percent) and the distinctive flavors come from a small amount of enzymes and other elements from the tree. To get syrup from the sap, the sap has to be cooked down to remove the water content. It takes 10 gallons of sap to make a single quart of syrup!
Types of maple syrup
There are several classes and colors of maple syrup, and they vary according to the origin of the syrup. Canadian produced maple syrup is either 1, 2, or 3, and within that, Canadian 1 is either Extra light (AA), Light (A) or Medium (B), Canadian 2 is Amber (C), and Canadian 3 is Dark (D). In the US, there is grade A and grade B Grade A is further divided into Light Amber, Medium Amber, and Dark Amber, while grade B is just darker than grade A Dark Amber. Generally speaking, lighter grades and classes are for pancakes and such, medium for cooking and baking, and dark for commercial flavoring uses. Also, syrup grades roughly correspond to when in the season the sap was harvested – earlier harvested sap produces lighter grades of syrup and later harvested sap produces darker grades.
Worth the price
Good quality maple syrup is not cheap, admittedly. But given the amount of work that goes into it, it’s rather worth it. Maple sugaring is labor intensive and time consuming. It’s also an ingrained part of the culture in northern New England and Canada, especially Quebec. It’s a product, yes, but it’s also a cherished tradition.
Maple syrup recipes – beyond breakfast
Maple syrup is, of course, a delicious breakfast treat. My daughter even occasionally likes to have some pancakes with her syrup. But there is more to do with maple syrup and maple sugar than pour it over waffles and French toast. I like it drizzled on slices of roasted acorn squash, and whipped into mashed sweet potatoes as well as the following mayple syrup recipes.
Tire sur Neige (Sugar on snow)
This simple treat is so much fun, especially for the kids. Granted you need “fresh snow” – but shaved ice will do.
Ingredients:
1 quart maple syrup
Fresh snow or shaved ice
Wooden sticks
Directions:
- Boil the syrup down until it reaches 240 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. Pour a ribbon of syrup on the snow or ice about one-inch wide and six inches long.
- Press the wooden stick into one end of the ribbon, then start rolling and pressing down the length of the ribbon until you have essentially a maple syrup lollipop.
Maple Syrup Pie
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients:
Single pie crust
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out the pie crust and line a pie plate. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour into the pie shell. Bake 30 minutes. Let cool and serve with fresh whipped cream.
Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 whole pork tenderloin
3 teaspoons fresh sage, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons coarse grained Dijon mustard
Fresh sage for garnish
Directions:
- Slice pork tenderloin into 1/3-inch thick slices. Sprinkle all over with 1-1/2 teaspoons sage, salt and pepper. Melt butter in heavy medium frying pan over medium high heat. Add pork and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Set pork aside.
- Add broth, maple syrup, mustard and remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons sage to the drippings in the pan. Reduce until syrupy and thick, about 3 minutes, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to low. Return pork and any accumulated juices to pan and cook until just heated through, about 1 minute. Serve pork with sauce, garnished with fresh sage.
Maple Syrup Orange Chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, about 3-1/2 pounds, quartered
1 fresh orange
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and treat with cooking spray. Zest then juice the orange. Whisk the zest and juice together with the butter, syrup, onion powder and salt.
- Place the chicken quarters on the cooking sheet and brush the sauce over the chicken. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, basting several times during the cooking process. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes after removing from the oven to let juices redistribute. Serve warm.
More maple syrup recipes
Maple Balsamic Red Beans and Rice with Turkey Sausage
Pumpkin Maple Pecan Pie
Grapefruit French Toast Casserole with Grapefruit Salsa
Leave a Comment