It’s maple season ~ and what better way to celebrate than with my best maple recipes! Go ahead and hoard stock up on maple syrup, we’ve got some cooking to do!
Maple syrup is, in my opinion, one of the most transcendent flavors on earth. Sweet, complex, and caramel-y, thanks to our old friend the Mailliard reaction.Like fine wine, honey, or cheese, maple syrup has a terroir that makes every batch deliciously unique. But, sadly, it can be tricky to get that amazing subtle flavor to come through in recipes.
Cooking with maple
You have a few different options when incorporating maple flavor into recipes
maple syrup ~ the real deal, it’s thin in consistency, with a subtle flavor. Choose a dark hued syrup for cooking. It can help to cook the syrup down on the stove to boil away some of the moisture which intensifies the flavor.
maple sugar ~ maple sugar is made from pure maple syrup and nothing else, and it’s an easy one-to-one replacement for granulated sugar in a recipe. Look for it in larger supermarkets, Whole Foods, and online.
maple extract ~ I use maple extract often, it’s a great way to enhance the maple flavor in a recipe without having to figure out how to incorporate a ton of syrup. It can sometimes be hard to find, but look for it with the other flavor extracts in your baking aisle, and you can also buy it online. You may have to experiment to find one you love, I use McCormicks.
What’s the deal with color, and grades of maple syrup?
Maple syrup comes in different shades, and according to Shelburne Farms in Vermont, “darker syrup has a stronger flavor than the lighter syrup, but the quality and sugar content is the same.” Lighter syrup is made earlier in the season, and it darkens as the season progresses.
We no longer use the terms grade A and B, which mislead people into thinking A was best and B was somehow inferior. Now all syrup is grade A, varying from “Golden” to “Very Dark.” The flavor ranges from delicate to robust, and you may want to consider that when incorporating maple syrup into your recipes.
How to store maple syrup
Maple syrup technically doesn’t need to be refrigerated, but if you’re storing it for a long period, refrigeration retards the growth of mold on the surface.
I keep my syrup in the refrigerator so I don’t have to think about it.
Maple syrup can also be frozen, which is a good option if you are lucky enough to get your hands on the good stuff and can’t use it all.
Maple Walnut Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
When you really want to celebrate maple season in style ~ this layer cake is it! Three layers of delicious, nutty, maple walnut cake and there’s even maple syrup in the cream cheese frosting.
Maple Granola
Use pure maple syrup instead of honey to sweeten this classic granola. It makes such a great springtime breakfast with yogurt or almond milk!
Salted Maple Caramel Sauce
For pure, unadulterated maple flavor that is just a little bit more versatile than syrup straight out of the bottle, this salted maple caramel sauce is unbeatable. It’s super easy to make, and takes a scoop of vanilla ice cream or simple sliced fruit to nirvana-level goodness.
This old fashioned flavor is one of my all-time favorites, and since it’s becoming harder and harder to find in ice cream shops and freezer aisles, it’s the perfect candidate for busting out your ice cream maker.
Maple Walnut Butter
This incredible walnut butter is irresistible ~ I put it in the same camp as Nutella, once you dip your spoon into the jar, there’s no turning back.
The Ultimate Maple Cheesecake
My husband deemed this cheesecake the best dessert I’ve ever made, and I’m not going to argue. This creamy maple experience is not to be missed!
Maple Mustard Dipping Sauce
The dipping sauce is a must with my Soft Pretzel Focaccia Bread, but a bag of pretzels will do in a pinch!
Maple Marshmallows
Making marshmallows is so fun, and this recipe replaces corn-syrup with maple syrup for an elevated flavor profile. S’mores, anyone?
This easy quick bread has layers and layers of rich, caramelized flavor from browned butter, maple syrup, toasted pecans, and brown sugar.
The BEST Maple Walnut Blondies
if I could only have one blondie recipe for the rest of my life it would have to be this one. The warm butterscotch-y flavors of maple and brown sugar along with all those crunchy walnuts are impossibly good.In fact it’s one of the best desserts I’ve ever made.
Salted Maple Pot de Creme with Bourbon Whipped Cream
Maple flavor in silky, creamy, custard form. Bourbon whipped cream picks up the toasty maple notes in the most perfect way.
One Ingredient Maple Cream
Yes, you read that right ~ one ingredient! Maple syrup transforms into a thick creamy spread that is unbelievable on toast, scones, pancakes, you name it.
The Best Maple Cornbread
Cornbread gets a subtle sweet boost of flavor from maple syrup.
Maple Glazed Oatmeal Cookies
Classic old fashioned iced oatmeal cookies with a delicious maple twist! So good.
Blueberry Pancake Muffins
These ingenious blueberry muffins with a maple glaze are the next best thing to a stack of blueberry pancakes!
The best sap flows come when nighttime temperatures are in the low 20s and daytime temperatures are in the 40s. The longer it stays below freezing at night, the longer the sap will run during the warm day to follow. If the weather gets too cold and stays cold, sap flow will stop.
That sap is typically collected in the late winter to early spring, when freezing nights and warmer days causes the sap to flow. The collected sap is then boiled down and bottled as maple syrup.
Trees that can be tapped include: sugar, black, red and silver maple and box elder trees. Of all the maples, the highest concentration of sugar is found in the sap of the sugar maple. Generally the ratio of sap to syrup for the sugar maple is 40 to 1 (40 gallons of sap yields one gallon of syrup).
Boil it more. Maple syrup is typically boiled down to 219 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have syrup that was boiled to less than that, or you like your syrup thicker than standard, just put it in a pot on the stove and boil it to your desired temperature. 240 degrees will get you maple syrup candy.
Sap runs best when temperatures drop below freezing at night and rise into the 40s during the day. Once the days rise above the 40s and/or the nights no longer reach a freezing point, you'll find you're gathering a lot less sap, if any at all, in your buckets.
Diamond. Diamonds are one of the hardest substances on Earth, and creating them in Little Alchemy is challenging. You need to combine several elements, including carbon and pressure, to make a diamond.
To make Human in Little Alchemy 2 (different from the original version of Little Alchemy), you'll need to combine Life and Clay. There are other combinations to make Human, but this combination will get you to Human without some of the other more complicated combinations.
To make maple syrup, the tree trunk is drilled or tapped to allow the sap to flow out in the hanging bucket.The collected sap liquid is boiled until it reaches 219°F. At this point, the water evaporates and a thicker consistency develops. Then it is filtered through a cloth to prevent contamination before bottling.
Although sap generally flows during the day when temperatures are warm, it has been known to flow at night if temperatures remain above freezing. Well before colonists began sugar maple tree growing in this country, Indigenous people tapped the trees for their sweet syrup and used the sugar made from it for bartering.
Many drink sap straight from the collection bucket, but it is highly recommended you boil your sap prior to any use to kill bacteria that may be present. To effectively kill bacteria, bring the sap to a rolling boil and then let it boil one additional minute.
The Jones “Rule of 86” was devised in 1946 by C.H. Jones, a scientist and educator at the University of Vermont. The gist of the rule is that ifone divides 86 by the sugar content of sap, you can estimate the amount of sap required to produce a gallon of syrup.
Keep sap cool and filter before boiling to remove debris. Discard yellow or cloudy sap – do not mix it with good, clear sap. Watch for early bud break of red maple. This will cause buddy sap and produce an off-flavor in the syrup.
Typically, temperatures need to be around 25 degrees at night and 40 during the day for best results. Warmer temperatures mean they must adapt. Dutch Hill Maple uses a reverse-osmosis machine to capture as much sugar from the sap as possible.
Late winter and early spring is maple season; that time of year when maple producers in Ohio and other parts of northeastern North America tap maple trees to collect sap. This sap is boiled down to produce maple syrup, or further processed into maple sugar, fudge, nougat, cream or other products.
Pure Vermont Maple Syrup must meet strict quality standards and is graded on four characteristics: color, clarity, density, and flavor. Maple syrup is measured by hydrometer or refractometer to ensure that the density, or measure of sugar content, is within a narrow band of 66.9° and 68.9° Brix.
Mostly what the sugarmaker is waiting for is the arrival of the time of year known as “sugar weather,” when the nights are below freezing and the days are mild.
Introduction: My name is Kelle Weber, I am a magnificent, enchanting, fair, joyous, light, determined, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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