The Magic Nectar of Maple Syrup
Who doesn’t love that dark amber nectar of real maple syrup – the sweetness of the trees and one of the earth’s most decadent and natural sweeteners? Click HERE to watch me rave about syrup on WZZM13.
We treat maple syrup like it’s liquid gold in my house – a precious food that I love to use in cooking. Why is real maple syrup like liquid gold? Because it is! Not only do the sugar maple trees grow in relatively small range across the globe, but it takes up to 60 gallons of sap to produce just ONE gallon of maple syrup. Consider that next time you are incredulous over the price of real maple syrup in the market — most commercial brands are made entirely of corn syrup – not a drop of that natural sap. Cheap and totally not the real deal.
In its raw form, the sap is a drinkable beverage that endurance athletes are realizing has a similar content of electrolytes as coconut water – and local, too. The sap also contains trace minerals of zinc, manganese and some iron, and these minerals remain as the sap cooks into maple syrup.
A variety of trees and species can be tapped to produce a syrup sweetener (maples and birches), but it’s the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) specifically that produces that sweet, vanillin flavored syrup we all know as REAL maple syrup. The sugar maple grows as far east across Canada into Vermont, as far west as Wisconsin, and as far south as Georgia – making a heart-shaped area in the northeast in which superior maple syrup can be produced. Read more HERE to learn about the syruping process.
As a sweetner, maple syrup has half the glycemic load of refined or white sugar, making it a good choice for those minding their sugar intake (all of us, right?).
It’s delicious of course in pancakes, stirred into coffee, topped over oatmeal and drizzled over ice cream. But maple syrup has lovely savory uses as well – as a glaze for meats and fish, balsamic dressing, or drizzled atop stinky cheeses.
And the baking and candy making – oy – the candy making. My favorites are turning maple syrup into caramels and toffee. Super yum.
Maple syrup is also a useful sweetener in my herbal apothecary for tonics and tinctures, like my Dark Storm Bitters. The maple syrup can also be used as a base to make an iron-rich yellow dock syrup supplement for those needing an iron supplementation.
And these are just a few maple syrup uses… what are your favorites? Any special ways of using it in the apothecary?
Maple Fleur de Sel Caramels
What’s more decadent than a delicious caramel? Why, one that is made with maple syrup, of course! These classic French-style caramels are styled similarly to a Fleur de Sel caramel.
The use of maple syrup in lieu of the commonly-used corn syrup will require close monitoring as the mixture reaches 248 degrees, but results in a much more balanced vanilla flavor that’s worth the effort managing the viscosity.
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
Parchment paper, baking sheet or pan and a candy thermometer
1) Prepare pan with parchment, oil slightly – the caramel making process is a sticky one.
2) Bring cream, butter and fleur de del to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
3) Boil syrup, sugar, water in a large saucepan, dissolving sugar and gentle stirring until syrup comes up to a boil.
3) Stir in cream, stir constantly and simmer until the candy thermometer reaches 248 degrees.
4) Pour caramel mixture into the prepared sheet, let cool.
5) Cut into strips or bite size candies, wrapping them in pieces of cut parchment, twisting ends.
6) Caramels store in a cool location for up to two weeks.
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