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
3 ½ cups oats
2 ½ tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ cup honey
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups mixed nuts, dried fruit and seeds (pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, raisins, etc)
On a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, toast the oats for 15 minutes on 350. While the oats are baking, heat the coconut oil, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, maple syrup, and brown sugar in a saucepan until it comes to a boil and stir it until it’s well mixed. Place all the seeds and fruits, and toasted oats in a large bowl and pour the syrup mixture over it. Mix everything up until it’s all evenly covered with the syrup. Then pack it down (firmly) to desired thickness on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper (same one you used to toast the granola). Bake on 350 for 20 mins. Remove from the oven and cut desired size bars before it cools and hardens. Then place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to allow it to set properly.
