When the temperatures rise above freezing during the day, and dip back during the night, you know it must be March...and that means it's time to tap the sugar maple trees.
Traveling anywhere, this is a very familiar sight:
I have several friends that sugar with buckets, and there a lot of people who do it this way. Now-a-days though, you find more and more people using the tubing method. Running tubes to the tapped trees and into your sugarhouse eliminates the daunting task of hauling all the sap.
It takes 30-40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. The sap contains a high percentage of water. Boiling the sap evaporates the water, which eventually thickens and becomes that beautiful amber sweetness that's just right on your breakfast pancakes.
To celebrate the season, I thought I'd share a recipe for something I make all year long with maple syrup.
Maple Vinaigrette
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
The recipe sounds easy and good. I agree that there is no substitute for the real thing when it comes to maple syrup!
Posted by: lynn | March 13, 2011 at 05:12 PM
Sounds good. Love that Vermont maple syrup!!
Posted by: Terry | March 15, 2011 at 10:22 AM