Maple Season

and a modern twist on the results of the process: a recipe for maple syrup marshmallows. Have you tried them?

Predawn light is creeping into the clouded skies this early March morning as I step outside into misting rain; not enough is coming down to be considered raindrops, but it is misty enough to get me wet in a few minutes.

A barred owl is calling from the woods as I pour yesterday’s brown, boiled-down maple sap into a pot to finish inside on the stove and pour the last of yesterday’s strained raw sap into the roaster to begin the day’s boil outside. Crows are shouting to each other in the woods across the road and the Sandhill cranes are beginning to make their raucous rounds of the fields around the Farmhouse. Early morning in early spring is damp-chilly and charming and the hush surrounding the misting rain makes the birdsong seem magical and distant, as if I am the only one to hear them at this hour. Even the rooster in the coop across the way is silent right now.

When it gets light enough to make tromping through the woods safe from unexpected tripping on rocks and roots that can’t be seen, I’ll put on my boots and coat and walk through the dawn mistiness to gather the sap that dripped yesterday. The weather is tempering a bit; it will be warmer today and for the next several days and I expect the sap to stop running. Fingers crossed that it will freeze again soon to keep the flow going for a few more weeks. We don’t tap many trees, so we depend on a good number of days of dripping to make enough syrup for the year.

I’m looking forward to a cup of hot tea and perhaps a fresh blueberry muffin when I get back. I’ll be a little wet…

All of this maple syrup making is a long-standing family endeavor at the Farmhouse and after 1929, when our little coop/shed was brought to the farm by sled and horses, the initial boiling happened in it on a coal stove in a big, metal pot that was also used at butchering time for cooking sausage. When I was growing up, we tapped trees and cooked the sap in large pots on a kerosene stove on our back porch, hauling the raw sap from the woods before we climbed onto the school bus in the mornings. We still gather sap from some of the same trees that were used long ago when my mother was young and that we went on to tap when I was growing up.

So why do we take on that hard work of tapping, collecting, hauling, hauling, hauling, boiling, and finishing off the syrup in the kitchen every spring? Of course there’s something charming and exciting about the process and the way the story of this springtime custom is woven into the story of our family and the land and the greater narrative of maple syrup production in North America. Backyard maple syrup production is again catching on as a worthwhile springtime hobby, even when the amount of syrup produced is just enough for a family to use.

Perhaps it is also a desire to have greater connection to the land and nature, as I have to walk to the Maple Woods daily; touching the trees, smelling the earthy cold, hearing the spring birds, feeling the misting rain on my face, and getting splashed with sap when the buckets I take off the trees are full to the brim. Sometimes an errant, surprise splash finds its way to my tongue and I taste its cold, slight sweetness.

It is the first process of the year to answer a craving for slow and seasonal living, before the colorful glory of springtime flowers invites us to quiet meanderings in the woods and fields, before we plant gardens and forage for wild spring greens to add simple freshness to our plates.

Have you ever tried a marshmallow made with maple syrup? While a good amount of the sweetness of this treat comes from maple syrup, the flavor of the marshmallows is recognizable yet subtle and is not overwhelming. It pairs wonderfully with the melted dark chocolate and crispy goodness of a S’more - even better with a S’more sandwiched by two buttery cookies or gingerbread. Oh. My. Yumminess. Below is the recipe I designed several years ago and which also lives on the Century Farmhouse website. I hope you try them as they are easy to make and so delicious to eat.

Homemade Maple Syrup Marshmallows

You can absolutely use store-bought maple syrup, but be certain that it is the real stuff from trees and does not contain any filler syrups or sugars. These marshmallows have a slightly grainy texture from the little bit of maple sugar that forms as you heat the mixture to add to the gelatin. Watch out when you toast them up for S’mores – they get brown and gooey very quickly!

Equipment:

Mixer – large bowl, whisk attachment

Medium saucepan

Depending on desired thickness of the marshmallow: 9X9” / 8X12” / 13 X 9” non-metal pan

Measuring cups & spoons, stirring spoon, rubber scraper, strainer, kitchen knife, bench scraper, cutting board

Ingredients:

3 packages or 3 leaves of unflavored gelatin plus ½ cup cold water

1 ½ cups minus 1 Tablespoon sugar

(I like to use caster sugar or superfine baking sugar because it dissolves more quickly, but regular table sugar is fine).

1 cup (8 oz.) real maple syrup *see note above

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold water

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Let’s make ‘em!

1. Prepare the pan: sprinkle confectioner’s sugar over the bottom and sides of the non-metal pan.

You will note that the sugar doesn’t like to stick to the sides of the pan. Here’s my trick: You don’t want to grease the pan as there shouldn’t be grease of any kind on the marshmallows, but…. Place just a dab of neutral-flavored oil such as grapeseed onto a napkin or paper towel and wipe it around the pan bottom and sides. Then take a clean part of that towel and wipe over the pan again so that there is an extremely thin film of oil on the pan. Using the strainer, evenly sprinkle the confectioner’s sugar. Tip the pan as necessary to coat the sides. It works!

2. Place ½ cup cold water in the mixer bowl and evenly sprinkle the gelatin on top. The gelatin will stiffen quite a bit but it melts quickly when the hot syrup mixture is added later.

3. In a heavy, medium-sized saucepan, stir together the sugar, ½ cup cold water, salt and maple syrup. Over medium heat, bring the syrup mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar, then pretty constantly to avoid scorching it. This is the part that takes the longest and tries my patience, and it will take a good bit longer for the maple syrup to reach the correct temperature than for other homemade marshmallows. Stir and cook that mixture until it reaches the soft ball stage (240° F / 115° C) on a candy thermometer.

4. Remove from heat.

5. Now take that syrup mixture carefully over to the mixer and pour a little bit onto the gelatin. Begin to slowly beat the syrup/gelatin until the gelatin is completely softened and combined with the syrup. Pour the rest of the syrup mixture carefully into the mixer bowl as you increase the speed of the mixer to medium. When all of the syrup has been added to the bowl, increase the speed to high (I usually go to just below the highest speed) and beat the marshmallows for 15 minutes. Yup! It really will take that long for it to become an amazing treat!

6. When all that mixing is finished, use the rubber scraper to clean off the gooey stickiness from the whisk attachment right into the pan, then scoop or tip the rest of the marshmallow into the pan. Lick the remnants of the marshmallow from the spatula now and save the bowl and whisk for later, as it is so good. Don’t waste it!

Use a kitchen knife to spread the marshmallow mixture evenly in the pan. Using the strainer, sprinkle the top of the marshmallow with confectioner’s sugar. Now you can lick that bowl!

7. Allow the giant marshmallow to dry for 12-18 hours.

8. Loosen the marshmallow from the pan, place a cutting board over the pan and tip upside down. With luck your marshmallow will drop right onto the cutting board!

9. Cut with a bench scraper or knife or cookie cutters into desired shapes and sizes. Store in an airtight container. These marshmallows will keep up to a month, but if anyone else knows you’ve made them, they won’t last that long. The marshmallows will seem a bit more powdery than plain homemade marshmallows. That is because a little bit of maple sugar is created as the syrup mixture is heated beyond the temperature at which the sap becomes syrup.

S’mores, anyone??