VERMONT MAPLE SYRUP
MAPLE SYRUP BUCKETS
If you are wondering what to do this weekend why not take a leisurely drive around the back roads and lanes of the beautiful State of Vermont. What you are looking for is Vermont Maple Syrup. You will find an abundance of outlets, farms and B&B’s all selling Vermont’s liquid gold.
Many farms have been run by the same family for generations and they are more than happy to give you a tour of their sugarbushes and explain the process of turning the sap into the delightful treat, maple syrup.
This syrup is then bottled or turned into candy, sugar or cream. Maple syrup is delicious on pancakes of course, but equally nice on ice cream, toast, bagels, waffles and used instead of sugar in many desserts or when cooking ham.
Here is an easy recipe for:
Maple Cream Pie
Ingredients:
-1 cooked pie crust
-Combine in a microwave dish:
-2 1/4 cups milk
-2 cups Grade B maple syrup
-3 egg yolks, beaten
-4 heaping tbs flour
-1 dash of salt
Directions:
- Mix well and microwave on high stirring every five minutes. Do 2-five minute settings, followed by 2 minutes.
Add 2 tsp vanilla and stir. Put the pudding in the pie crust. Make a meringue with the egg whites. Beat them with 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar. Gradually add 6 tbs of sugar while beating to stiff and glossy peaks. Spread over hot filling and bake 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Cool the pie, cover and store in the fridge.
Let us know if you tried the recipe and what you thought of it. If you have any other ideas for using maple syrup tell us about it so we can pass it on.
BOILING THE SAP
Maple Syrup Facts:
Maple sap is a sweet, water like liquid that is collected from the maple trees. Rock Maples make the best sugarmaples.
A high concentration of sugarmaples is called a sugarbush.
The building that the maple syrup is produced in is called a sugarhouse.
Native Americans were the first sugarmakers and they taught the Europeans all about the process.
Native Americans and the first pioneers made maple sugar because it was easier for them to store.
Forty gallons of sap is gathered to make one gallon of maple syrup.
Maple sugar is made by boiling the syrup to reduce the water content and then stirring until a sugar is formed.
Maple candy and maple cream are made of pure maple syrup. The difference is in the temperature the syrup is boiled, the cooling process and the stirring process.
In Vermont, there are four grades of maple syrup that you can purchase: Fancy, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber and Grade B.
A maple tree should be about 40 years old or 8 inches in diameter to be tapped.
The sap “runs” when the temperatures fall below freezing at night and then thaws during the day. The freezing point is 32 degrees F.
The trees release their sap in the springtime (March to April) when they start to wake up from the long winter’s nap.
Maple sap is what the tree uses to make buds.
When the trees have made buds, the time to sugar has stopped. The syrup will become very bitter to taste.
Some sugarmakers still use buckets, but new, plastic tubing has allowed sugarmakers to tap trees that are difficult to visit each day that the sap runs.
Trees are tapped by drilling a hole and inserting a spout to catch the sap in a bucket or pipeline. The spout is carefully tapped into the hole with a small hammer. A new tap hole must be made each year.
Maple sap must be kept cold and processed right away to make the best quality maple syrup.
Vermont makes more maple syrup than any other state.
We hope the facts make your trip to Vermont Maple Syrup country more interesting and enjoyable. Have a great weekend, satisfy your sweet tooth and enjoy the beautiful Vermont countryside.
MAPLE SAP
