We always carrying a good supply of local Ohio maple syrup on the farm. Our supplier is Misty Maples Sugar House (out of Salem, Ohio, right down the road from us). Here are a few fun facts about maple syrup and a few recipes if you’re looking to use it for things other than pouring over pancakes.
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Maple syrup has more calcium than milk.
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Grades of maple syrup indicate color and flavor, not quality: Grade A is lighter and milder than grade B.
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Sap becomes maple syrup when it reaches 7 ½ degrees above the boiling point of water. At that point, it is 67% sugar.
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Maple syrup is boiled even further to produce maple cream, maple sugar, and maple candy.
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Usually a maple tree is at least 30 years old and 12 inches in diameter before it is tapped.
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As the tree increases in diameter, more taps can be added – up to a maximum of 4 taps.
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Tapping does no permanent damage and only 10% of the sap is collected every year. Many maple trees have been tapped for 150 years or more.
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Each tap will yield an average of 10 gallons of sap per season, producing about one quart of syrup.
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It takes 40 gallons of tree sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.
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The maple season may last 8 to 10 weeks, but sap flow is heaviest for about 10-20 days in early spring.
Ingredients
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 apples, peeled and cored, cut into ¼ in. slices
½ tsp cinnamon
½ vanilla extract
¼ cup pure maple syrup
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add apples, cinnamon and vanilla and cook, stirring frequently, until apples are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in maple syrup and continue to cook until syrup thickens, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Pour apples over your favorite ice cream!
