Using Maple Syrup

So what goes best with maple syrup? Pancakes of course. Here's a great recipe for a homemade pancake mix.

4 C. All-Purpose Flour
2 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tbsp. Salt
6 Tbsp. Baking Powder
6 Tbsp. Sugar
2 C. Powdered Milk

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container in the cupboard.
Makes 2 lbs.

To use:
Combine in a bowl:
1 Egg (beat with fork)
1 C. Water
2 Tbsp. Melted Butter or Oil
1-1/2 C. Pancake Mix

Mix just until combined and fry on hot, lightly greased skillet or griddle. Serve with lots of maple syrup.
Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Once the syrup stage is reached I filter it into a gallon jar and let it sit for about a week. Then it's filtered again. The filtering removes any remaining tree sand and any sugar crystals that have formed. Again I let it sit for a few days and then it's poured into bottles. Finally we have, as my husband calls it, liquid gold. This year we made approximately 8 litres or about 9 quarts. Not bad for a backyard operation!

... And We Have Syrup

The final boil is done on the stove in the house. The candy thermometer gives me some indication of how close I am to getting syrup which is at approximately 225 F. or when it starts to foam. At this point, if not watched carefully, it can boil over very quickly. Usually I turn down the heat and let it boil for a few minutes longer just to intensify the colour and therefore the maple flavour. Then I let it sit to cool off a bit before filtering into another container where it's left to sit for a few days. This allows any sediment to settle on the bottom and makes the final filtering quicker.

Sap to Syrup

Fine dust and dirt tends to rise to the top and create a foam which needs to be skimmed off the boiling sap periodically. Then at the end of the day the "almost syrup" gets strained again as it's poured into a large stock pot. Usually 2 days worth of boiled-off sap goes into the pot. Then it goes on to the kitchen stove to be finished off.

The Next Step

Using 2 roasting pans we've started the evaporation process. The next photo represents the amount of firewood used in 1 day.

On a typical day I have a good fire going by 9:00 am and continue adding

sap till about 4:00 pm. The fire needs to be stoked up every half hour or so. Then I let it "cook" for another hour or so before pouring it into a stockpot.

More Maple Syrup

The sap is crystal clear and icy cold. It has no taste or smell - not even a hint of sweetness. Collecting is done every 4 to 6 hours if conditions are good. It should stop running overnight if it's not too warm, otherwise chances are good the pails will be overflowing in the morning.

The sap is then poured through a sieve, lined with paper towels, to get rid of any debris, bark, etc.

Maple Syrup Story Continued

If conditions are ideal the sap runs. Perfect conditions are a few degrees below freezing at night and during the day sunny with temperatures a few degrees above freezing.

The sap usually drips one drop at a time as we rarely get "perfect" weather.

We were lucky this year and had a day or two where the sap was literally running, as seen here.

A Maple Syrup Story in Pictures

First the trees have to be tapped. We have 5 taps in 3 trees. The clear tubing, which we added this year, eliminates the wind problem. Otherwise the wind catches the dripping sap and blows it away from the pail.

Maple Syrup Time

My grandmothers would have laughed at the idea of a 100-mile diet. The food they relied on came from their large gardens. As fruit and vegetables came into season they were used fresh, but more importantly they were preserved, as this would become their main source for meals during the winter. Through the eyes of a child these colourful and well-stocked pantries were amazing works of art.

I’m always delighted when, in fall, I can stand back and admire the colourful array of home-made preserves that line my pantry shelves. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment! I like to think my grandmothers would have been pleased with these efforts.

My season starts in March. My husband and I make our own maple syrup from silver maple trees in our backyard. A few years ago I read an article that said you could tap any maple trees, not just sugar maples, so we decided to try it. That first year we ended up with about 2 litres (approx. 8 cups) of syrup. Each year, since then, we’ve refined our operation, and last year we made 9 litres.

The first year I did the “cooking off” in the house. It didn’t matter how many fans were running or doors and window were open, eventually there was condensation running down the walls. There had to be a better way! The next few years we cooked in the backyard over an open fire pit. Definitely better, but still not great. Then we converted an old wood-burning stove and put up some wind breakers.

100-Mile Diet

Have you heard about the 100-mile diet? You only purchase and eat food that’s grown within a 100 mile radius of where you live. The idea intrigued me. A book worth reading is The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Alisa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon.

I’m all for buying locally produced foods and small farm sustainability. I buy all my produce at the fruit & veggie stand just down the road, and only what’s available, meaning whatever’s in season at that time. Everything is fresh and grown right there or at least in the area.

So what’s the drawback? I don’t live in California; I live in Ontario, Canada and we have winter! The only “fresh” items available are root vegetables and apples, and these come out of cold storage. I’m pretty creative in the kitchen but when you only have a few items to work with meals can get a little boring. I’ve been using a cookbook entitled Simply in Season. It’s divided into 4 seasons with easy to follow, simple recipes and lots of other useful information. Jamie Oliver's newest cookbook, Jamie at Home, is another good source of inspiration as well as a good read.

Come spring, when the veggie stand opens, I’ll buy whatever’s available and continue doing so until they close in late fall. During the winter months I’ll rely on imported produce. I’m just not willing to give up a variety of fruit (especially citrus fruits) and green salads for 4 to 5 months. It’s a compromise I’m willing to make and still feel good about.