ALL ABOUT FOOD: Maple syrup goes way beyond topping pancakes

One of the interesting consequences of writing this column is that people are always asking us food questions. This is gratifying when we know the answers and stimulating when we don’t.

The other day at tennis, Anne Fenton asked Terry, “What’s the difference in maple syrups besides price?” Her bananas Foster was delicious the first time, but her recent attempt wasn’t as good. She thought the reason might have been the different and cheaper maple syrup. We decided to do some research into the subject.

According to Native American oral tradition, maple syrup was being made before recorded history. In North Eastern America, the Algonquins called it sinzibuckwud, which literally means, “drawn from wood.”

They were the first to recognize sap as a source of energy and nutrition, using it for food and medicine. Incisions were made with tomahawks into maple trees, then they used reeds or concave pieces of bark to run the sap into birch bark buckets.

The sap was condensed into syrup by evaporating the excess water one of two ways. In winter, the sap would freeze at night and in the morning they would remove the frozen water. In summer, they would plunge hot stones in the bark buckets to boil the off the liquid. This was then used as a sweetener and a beverage. Later on in time, the sap was boiled in a pot to condense it. The legend goes that one day the pot was neglected and boiled too long. Voila! Maple syrup was born. It takes a staggering 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

When the settlers came to North America they were fascinated by this delicious natural sweetener and used it instead of sugar, which came from the West Indies and was very expensive as well as highly taxed. Eventually, as the price of sugar fell, so did the production of maple syrup. Now it’s only about a fifth of what it was in the beginning of the 20th century.

Today, Quebec produces 75% of the world’s maple syrup, followed by Vermont and Maine. Production is concentrated February to April, depending on weather conditions. Freezing nights and warm days are needed to induce sap flows.

So what are the differences in maple syrup and which is better? The USDA has four grades of maple syrup based on color and flavor.

?Grade A Light Amber is very light with a mild, delicate maple flavor. This is best for making maple candy and maple cream.

?Grade A Medium Amber is a bit darker with a bit more maple flavor and is the most popular grade of table syrup.

?Grade A Dark Amber is darker and stronger in flavor.

?Grade B is very dark and has a very strong maple taste with some caramel undertones. Sometimes called “cooking syrup” because of its intense flavor, it’s often used for cooking and baking as well as for table syrup.

As to the question of what’s better, it’s really a matter of personal taste; like dark chocolate vs. milk chocolate or red wine vs. white.

A group of professors from Vermont are trying to establish the concept of gout de terroir (taste of place) applied to maple syrup as it has been to wine and chocolate. They have tastings and talk about such things as, “hints of milky caramel, toasted hazelnut and molasses.”

Whatever type of real maple syrup suits your fancy, it’s got to be better than pancake syrups, which are nothing more than a blend of high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, molasses and artificial flavors and ingredients.

Actually, maple syrup as a sweetener has fewer calories and a higher concentration of minerals than honey, in particular, zinc and manganese, which are important allies in the immune system.

The genuine syrups, at least the priciest ones, are to be found at Williams Sonoma. Blis, a French Canadian, grade A, dark amber is aged in old bourbon casks in numbered batches, perhaps justifying the $28 price for 12.7 ounces. Butternut Mountain Farms’ 8½-ounce bottle is an artisanal, blended, filtered Vermont syrup for $16.50. Vermont Epicurean has a cinnamon vanilla variety in grade A medium amber at $16.50 for 8 ½ ounces (both approximately $2 per ounce).

On the more affordable end, at Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons, prices range from about 70 cents to 85 cents per ounce. Trader Joe’s proprietary brands have both grades A and B at approximately 50 cents per ounce. Pricier does not necessarily mean better taste. Buy and compare.

In addition to putting maple syrup on pancakes and waffles, it is also a versatile cooking ingredient.

Here are two nice recipes for you to try.

MAPLE SYRUP RECIPES

Elle’s Maple Salad Dressing

?1 shallot

?1 large garlic clove

?1 teaspoon salt

?½ teaspoon dry mustard

?juice from one lime or lemon

?½ cup balsamic vinegar or TJ’s orange Muscat champagne vinegar

?1 or 2 tablespoons maple syrup (add one to begin)

?1 cup salad oil

?1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

?freshly ground black pepper to finish

1. In a blender, process all ingredients except oils.

2. Add oils, process for 20 second or it will thicken. Taste for sweetness. Add more syrup if desired.

?

Maple Orange Chicken

?1 cup of fresh orange juice

?zest of one large orange

?½ cup white wine

?½ cup medium amber maple syrup

?1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

?2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

?½ teaspoon salt

?½ teaspoon pepper

?4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

?1 tablespoon butter

?2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Combine wine and orange juice to boil. Simmer five minutes. Stir in zest, mustard and maple syrup. Boil five minutes or until glossy and slightly thickened. Set aside.

2. Mix rosemary, salt and pepper, and rub on chicken.

3. Melt butter and oil in large sauté pan. Add breasts. Sauté briefly on both sides. Pour syrup mixture over chicken. Cover, cook eight minutes on a medium low flame, basting occasionally.

4. Serve, sliced diagonally in ½ inch pieces, drizzled with sauce.

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned A La Carte for 20 years. They can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected]