
The most important things at a glance:
- Maple syrup is extracted from the sap of the sugar maple tree
- For 1 liter of maple syrup we need up to 50 liters of maple sap
- Each maple tree produces enough sap per season for about 1.5 liters of syrup
- The harvest time determines the color of the syrup
- Maple syrup is a very good sugar substitute
In a cloak-and-dagger operation, a few scoundrels break into a secure warehouse under cover of darkness and disappear into the night with their fat loot. Gold is highly sought after—no matter what form it takes.
Unlike the Hollywood movies, the biggest theft In Canada's history, it was not about stealing solid bars, but barrels full of liquid gold. “Great Canadian Maple Heist” From 2011 to 2012, over 9,000 barrels of maple syrup with a total value of over 18.5 million Canadian dollars (almost 13 million euros ) were gradually stolen from a warehouse in Quebec and resold illegally.
The theft remained undetected for so long because it was a storage facility where maple syrup is often stored for months before being resold, with general inspections of the barrels once a year. Initially, the crooks were also well-planned, removing individual barrels and emptying them, then filling them with water before returning them. The fraud was discovered when, during the annual inspection, an inspector attempted to climb onto the stacked barrels, causing them to collapse beneath him. Over the months, the crooks had become careless and had resorted to pumping the barrels empty on site rather than filling them with water afterward.
It may not have been Fort Knox, but history could still straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster come from.
But why is maple syrup not only precious but also so delicious? Come with us on a culinary journey to our friends at Crown Maple in the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York State and find out for yourself.
Maple syrup – the culinary gold pan
The sun is shining, a cold wind is blowing through the trees, the breath is still forming small clouds of mist in front of our faces – when the days start to get longer again in spring, then our friends from Crown Maple that “Sugar Shack Day” is approaching and with it the enticing amber color of fresh maple syrup.
But of course, the sweet nectar doesn't come so clear and golden directly from the tree. The basis of the maple syrup we love to enjoy at breakfast about waffles and pancakes or perhaps pour over some fried chicken at lunch (more on that later), is the so-called maple sap. Even if it sounds a bit macabre, you can imagine this sap in the maple tree similar to the blood in our bodies. It consists mainly of water and sugar and distributes the nutrients gained from the soil and photosynthesis throughout the tree. While the maple tree is essentially in hibernation during the cold months, the sap stands still, but as soon as the temperatures usually rise between February and April As the sun gets stronger during the day and temperatures rise above zero, the sap begins to circulate through the tree again. This is the perfect time to puncture the tree and harvest the sweet sap.
But won't it harm the tree if we simply drain some of its blood? Don't worry. Depending on its size and age, a healthy sugar maple tree can up to five taps At the same time, they could handle several saps without any problems, but these days most trees only have one or two at a time. Only through pressure and gravity does the sap then leave the tree on its own and can be collected for further processing. In the past, this was all done quite conveniently by hand with collecting buckets and the like, but today the sap is usually pumped directly from the tree through pipes into the so-called "sugar shacks" (hence the name "Sugar Shack Day") for further processing.
But who came up with the strange idea of tap into a tree, like in a barrel of beer? According to legend, the delicious juice was first discovered the Native Americans by throwing a Tomahawks , which hit one of the target trees deep enough to bring the sweet sap to light. How much truth there is behind the legend is up to each individual, but the fact is that the so-called Tree Tapping has a millennia-old tradition, and not only in the far north. Even the Arabs harvested juice from local birch trees and brewed an alcoholic drink from it.
But back to our maple sap. Once enough has been collected and arrived at the sugar shack, we can finally the culinary gold panning The maple sap fresh from the tree is relatively diluted and consists only 3% sugar – the remaining 97% is more or less pure water. To transform the light juice into our delicious golden syrup, one thing is essential: temperature. The juice is Boiled at 100°C . This causes some of the water to evaporate, and the sugar begins to caramelize. Due to the high water loss, 40 to 50 liters of juice are needed for just one liter of syrup. Over time, an increasingly thick, golden, almost honey-like reduction forms: The maple syrup . Finally, the syrup, like the metallic gold in the river, is filtered freed from impurities and then the liquid gold is ready to be bottled, sold and enjoyed.
Sounds simple at first, right? Why is maple syrup (in general) so expensive, and not without reason? liquid gold ?
The yield is what counts. On average, a single maple tree produces about 75 liters of juice per harvest season – that’s enough to produce about 1.5 liters of maple syrup. Let’s take the 250 ml bottles from Crown Maple as an example, this means Each tree can produce 6 bottles of maple syrup each season . That sounds like a small amount? It is, and that's why maple syrup production requires many trees, which in turn require a lot of land and a lot of care. The money adds up quickly, and the end result of all the effort is correspondingly valuable: arguably the purest maple syrup in the world.
Natural and healthy – the purest maple syrup in the world
But how can you tell at first glance whether maple syrup is truly worth its weight in gold? To make it as easy as possible for customers, producers from the USA and Canada have agreed on a uniform system A standard for categorization and qualification has been agreed upon, which distinguishes between a total of four levels of maple syrup. The decisive factor here is the translucency of the final product. A light-colored syrup usually tastes milder and sweeter, and the darker the color, the more bitter and intense the syrup's flavor. The color However, this has nothing to do with filtration, but actually depends on the time of harvest. At the beginning of the season, maple sap is clear and pure, but over time, more and more additives form in the sap that are harmless to food and make the sap cloudy. For this reason, light maple syrup is also the most valuable and usually more expensive than the dark varieties. Simplified, the 4 quality levels defined as follows:
- Amber Color: mild aromatic taste, slightly light color
- Dark Color: strong taste, medium color
- Very Dark Color : very strong taste, dark color
This system is currently exclusive to the North American market, and maple syrup from other countries does not follow the same classification.
Regardless of the color, pure maple syrup is surprisingly healthy . Although it consists largely of sugar for its unique sweet taste, it also contains other important nutrients, e.g. Vitamin B and works, just like honey, antiseptic . Maple syrup is also a good alternative to regular sugar, as it contains an average of around a third fewer calories than commercially available sugar. This is primarily due to the still high water content of 45%.
Sweet and delicious – all with maple syrup
The seductive sweetness of maple syrup on Pancakes and waffles Hopefully we don’t need to go into this any further, as it is the American breakfast classic par excellence. For a fruity touch, we recommend our new Crown Maple flavor:
➡️ Blueberry Maple Syrup from Crown Maple, 250 ml
But maple syrup can do so much more.
Instead of just pouring the syrup over the finished baked goods, it is also perfect as an ingredient for baking . Our tip:
Maple Pecan Cookies
Simply mix a classic cookie dough with flour, sugar, baking powder, egg, butter, salt and cinnamon (we recommend brown sugar from Domino ). For an American kick, add a dash Maple syrup from Crown Maple Mix into the dough. Knead thoroughly until a homogeneous dough forms, then roll out onto a floured surface and cut out cookies. at 180°C Bake (160°C fan-assisted) for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Then let cool.
In a bowl, make a classic glaze from powdered sugar and lemon juice and stir in 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Chop a handful of pecans. Finally, sprinkle the cookies with the Sugar maple syrup glaze Spread with icing and sprinkle with pecan slivers. Then, just wait a little while for the glaze to harden, and then you can start snacking.
Waffle Chicken
But maple syrup also offers a lot of potential outside of traditionally sweet dishes, such as baked goods and the like. Waffle Chicken For years, eg has been an increasingly popular fusion food, topped with maple syrup, of course. The wonderful mixture of warm waffles, crispy chicken, and aromatically sweet maple syrup is definitely worth a try. And if you like things particularly adventurous but still a bit sweet, you can also add a little whipped cream and chocolate sauce add to it.
➡️ Farmhouse Pancake & Waffle Mix variations from Stonewall Kitchen
And even on meat Maple syrup really makes a good impression. You can use it for light sweetening in stews or even as a basis for delicious marinades (e.g., combined with notes of mustard and garlic) to juicy steaks, smoky grilled meats, and even fish. But if you want to try something truly special, you should try the following recipe:
Maple Meat Pie
First, knead together a classic meat pie filling with pork, veal, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, spices, and a dash of red wine. Then let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. In a saucepan, thicken melted butter with flour and Refine with maple syrup . Boil the mixture until thickened and then let it cool.
The oven Preheat oven to 175°C . Line the bottom of a baking pan (we recommend the Pie pans from Anchor Hocking ) with a layer of rolled-out ready-made pastry, spread the meat filling on it and then pour the maple syrup-butter sauce over it. Cover everything with a second layer of pastry (or Pie crust from Cup4Cup ) and cut holes for steam. For an extra crispy result, brush the dough with a little egg yolk and then bake for approx. 1 ½ hours Bake in the oven. Set aside to rest for about 15 minutes before serving.
➡️ Deep glass pie dish from Anchor Hocking
➡️ Graham Cracker Pie Crust (9 inch) - Cookie dough base for pies (23 cm)
Fluffy Apple Cider Donuts
Here's how:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Meanwhile, reduce 360 ml of cider and 120 ml of Cinnamon-Infused Maple Syrup from Crown Maple until reduced to about a third of the original volume (takes about 10 to 20 minutes). Mix 250 g of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice (available in our shop), and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, combine 30 g of melted butter, 1 large egg, 100 g of brown sugar (we recommend the Domino's brand), 100 g of sugar, 120 g of milk (room temperature), and 1 teaspoon of Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract from Nielsen-Massey.
Combine the butter mixture with the dry ingredients and the reduced cider/syrup in a bowl and whisk until smooth. If you want to enjoy your donuts with an authentic American flavor and shape, rather than the German Krapfen, we recommend baking them in our practical donut pan instead. Simply lightly grease the pan and divide the batter between the 6 holes. Bake for about 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
For the authentic topping, simply mix powdered sugar, cinnamon, and apple pie spice and dip the cooled donuts into the mixture on both sides. Done.
If you're thirsty, it's worth reaching for good old maple syrup. in cocktails The sweet note works particularly well, for example, in hot toddies or as an extra kick in rum and gin. But even those who prefer less alcohol will get their money's worth with maple syrup. We recommend:
The Maple Shake
Simply combine a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a quarter cup of milk and half a cup of Crown Maple maple syrup (we recommend the varieties Vanilla-Infused , Cinnamon-Infused , Applewood or Bourbon Barrel ) in a blender. Once all the ingredients are well blended, add a pinch of salt for an extra kick of flavor and blend briefly again. The delicious shake is now ready to serve.
And if you like to go one step further, you can top the finished shakes with cream and a homemade Maple-Chocolate Sauce For the sauce, use either cocoa powder or home-ground chocolate (we love the Mix chocolate chips from Guittard with maple syrup and then pour over the cream.
➡️ Crown Maple Variations: Maple syrup with vanilla or cinnamon
➡️ Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup - Limited Edition
➡️ Chocolate Chips from Guittard Chocolate Company
If you've now acquired a taste for it, we recommend you try it for yourself. In addition to the classic maple syrup in Amber, Dark, and Very Dark, we also offer a range of flavor-enhanced varieties. And for those who want to sample it first or share the typically American flavor with their friends, we offer both Trial sets in small sizes as well as Gift boxes in the stylish Crown Maple design:
➡️ Probably the purest maple syrup in the world from Crown Maple