SPRINGTIME MAPLE FLOWS SWEET

Winter is thawing into Spring... finally! And with it, as ice melts and streams begin to flow again, sap starts its beautiful flow through the sugar maple trees of North America. So, today, we are sharing the best and most beautiful maple images, ideas, artisanal syrups, and recipes.

At peak season, tappers take about one gallon of sap per tree, per day. Depending on the weather, a tapping season can last 4 to 7 weeks. March is an ideal month because it fluctuates in temperature from just below to just above freezing.

The freeze-thaw cycle is critical for triggering the sap flow between the tree roots, where it is safely stored during winter, and the branches, which now need to develop buds, flowers, and leaves in spring. Once the buds come out, the sap flow turns bitter. 

Native Americans used to collect sap each spring in birch bark buckets, then concentrate it over hot stones.

The sap is around 66% water and 33% sugar as it comes directly from the tree. This varies with weather and soil conditions.That ratio is reversed turning sap into syrup.

If you have a maple tree in your backyard, and you’d like to sample the sap flow, check out Tap My Trees, for simple instructions, tools and supplies. Once you’ve collected your sap, check out Common Sense Homesteading’s easy instructions: How to Make Maple Syrup.

DRIP

When the sap starts to flow in Canada, Drip starts to collect it for their small batch, certified organic artisanal maple syrup. We love Amber best, but it is also available in milder Blonde and Copper varieties. Plus, we love the bottles!

 WOODINVILLE WHISKEY COMPANY

Woodinville Whiskey Company ages its hand-tapped sap in bourbon and rye whiskey barrels where it absorbs all the delicious flavors from the barrel: vanilla, caramel, wood spice, and best of all, a hint of whiskey! They do the same for their artisanal honeys. Yum!

CROWN MAPLE SYRUP

The Crown Maple Syrup company, based in Dover Plains, located in eastern Dutchess County, New York, taps sap from maple trees organically grown on its Madava Farms, named after its founders Robb & Lydia Turner’s two daughters, Maddie and Ava.

The Turners are not your typical tappers. Robb is a West Point graduate, Army captain, Harvard Business School alum, former Wall Street investment banker and co-founder of an equity firm. They both have a sweet spot for maple syrup and a passion for sustainability.

Crown Maple’s tree-to-bottle journey is superfast -- just between six and 12 hours. If it sits longer, as most other syrup operations do it, yeast and other bioactivity begin to develop in the raw sap. It must be boiled to get rid of them, but that saps the sap of nutrients and flavor.

Because Crown drills much smaller holes than others do, their trees are healthier. All water is recycled on the property. And their distillery processes use half the normal energy.

Turner is considering taking the syrup that wasn’t good enough to bottle distilling it into rum. We love that idea!

TAP 357 CANADIAN MAPLE RYE WHISKEY

Since maple syrup has such a beautiful affinity for rum and whiskey, Tap 357 Canadian Maple Rye Whisky is a brilliant idea. It is crafted from cask-aged 3, 5, and 7 year old blended rye whiskeys, beautifully blended with pure first tap Canadian maple syrup.

Speaking of cocktails, check out some beautiful maple cocktail and bar snack recipes below.

OUR WINTER WARMER — MAPLE-SYRUP OLD FASHIONED

Matt and Emily of Nerds with Knives make Maple Syrup Old Fashioneds with their local Hudson Whiskey. It is way more interesting, and far easier than the traditional recipe, as maple syrup subs for sugar syrup.

Maple-Syrup Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

• 2oz bourbon or whisky
• 1/4oz maple syrup
• couple of dashes of bitters
• ice
• lemon or orange twist

Instructions:

1. Mix whisky, maple syrup and bitters. Stir or shake over ice.

2. Pour into glasses with a little ice or water if preferred

3. Add lemon

THE MAPLE LEAF

Anita of A Cocktail Life adds thyme and lemon juice for a perfectly round swill. We love this one!

The Maple Leaf

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 oz. Bourbon
• 1 oz. Maple syrup
• 1 oz. Lemon juice
• 1 Dash of Angostura Bitters
• 2 Sprigs fresh Thyme

Instructions:

Combine the bourbon, maple syrup, lemon juice, bitters and the leaves from the thyme sprigs in a cocktail shaker. Muddle the thyme a bit, fill with ice and shake well. You can serve this straight up or on the rocks to tame down the strength a bit. Makes 1 cocktail.

MAPLE & THYME WHISKEY SOUR

Tux, the Brooklyn Homemaker, pairs his maple syrup with rye whiskey, layers on some orange bitters and gives his Maple Thyme Whiskey Sour a proper egg white froth. Check out the recipe here.

Lady Verona Cocktail

Why not make a Cosmo with maple vs sugar syrup? Leili and Wei of Yin and Yolk proved it can work beautifully with their Lady Verona cocktail. Check out the recipe here.

MAPLE COCONUT CHIPS

So simple, Maple Coconut Chips make a great bar snack to nibble with your maple cocktails. For My Senses does it beautifully. Here it is in a nutshell.

Maple Coconut Chips

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dark maple syrup (as dark as possible)
• 2 cup raw unsweetened coconut chips (as large as possible)
• Pinch of Salt

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 325.

2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

3. In a bowl, gently toss all ingredients.

4. Spread on the cookie sheet.

5. Bake, stirring every 5 minutes until coconut is golden brown.

PALEO PANCAKES WITH MAPLE SYRUP

Paleos like maple syrup better than sugar because it is more nutritious and carries a far lower glycemic load. Paleo Pancakes, by Daniel Green, in his new  book, The Paleo Diet: Food Your Body is Designed to Eat, are made with almond and coconut vs wheat flours and a beautiful flow of maple syrup.

Kyle Books (2015)

Read more about Spring Thaw all this week on BeautifulNow including The Most Beautiful Places to Be When Spring Arrives, Tempting Springtime Hikes, How Birds Find Their Way Home, Spring Thaw’s Most Wonderful Waterfalls, and The Magic of Spring Thaw Now. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Photo: by Susy Morris. Sugaring Season.
2. Photo: Courtesy of Lake County Nature. Maple Tree Sap.
3. Photo: Courtesy of Maple Syrup and Supplies. Maple Tree Tap.
4. Photo: Courtesy of Dinner with Aura. Maple Tree Tap.
5. Photo: Courtesy of University of Minnesota. Early Season Maple Syrup.
6. Photo: Courtesy of Drip Maple. Drip Maple Syrup.
7. Photo: Courtesy of Woodinville Whiskey Company. Barrel Aged Maple Syrup.
8. Photo: Courtesy of Crown Maple Syrup. Crown Maple Syrup.
9. Image: Courtesy of Hudson Valley’s Amenity Economy. Madava Farms.
10. Image: Courtesy of Crown Maple. Madava Farms.
11. Image: Courtesy of Dutchess Tourism. Madava Farms.
12. Photo: Courtesy of Tap Whiskey. Tap 357 Canadian Maple Rye Whiskey.  
13. Photo: Courtesy of Nerds With Knives. Maple Syrup Old Fashioned.
14. Photo: Courtesy of A Cocktail Life. The Maple Leaf.
15. Photo: Courtesy of Brooklyn Home Maker. Maple & Thyme Whiskey Sour.
16. Photo: Courtesy of Yin and Yolk. Lady Verona.
17. Image: Courtesy of For My Senses. Maple Coconut Chips.
18. Photo: by Claire Winfield. Courtesy of Kyle Books. Paleo Blueberry Pancakes.
19. Photo: by Dade Freeman.Yummy Maple Syrup!