Springtime is maple sugaring time in Muskoka, when the cold nights and warm, sunny days cause the sap to run. The fun part is transforming this delicate sap into the distinctive golden syrup for which Canada is famous the world over. Deerhurst Resort has operated it own sugaring operation since 1993, producing thousands of litres of nature's "liquid gold."

MAPLE RECIPE
Mesclun Green Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

 Here's an easy way to enjoy the maple's delicate sweetness beyond the breakfast table. (Serves 4 people.)

Ingredients:

Enough for 4 
 1 only

½ cup  
½ cup 
 1 ½ cups  

Vinaigrette
¾ cup        
¼ cup        
to taste        
1 tbsp         
1 small        1/2      
to taste
to taste   

Baby mesclun greens

Cucumber
 Raisins

Cranberries dry

Maple vinaigrette

 

 

Canola oil
Maple vinegar or white vinegar
Maple syrup
Pommery mustard
Red onion – diced fine
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Worchester sauce

Salt and white pepper

Method for vinaigrette:

  1. Whisk together Pommery mustard, diced onions and maple or white vinegar.

  2. In a steady stream whisk in canola oil until mixture thickens. The lecithin in the mustard is a natural thickening agent, thus mustard is used in making most type of dressings.

  3. Season with salt, pepper, Worchester sauce and lemon juice.

  4. Whisk in maple syrup and taste for sweetness.

  5. If the mixture starts to split, shake well before serving

Method for salad preparation:

  1. Cut ends off English cucumber and slice cucumber lengthwise approx. ‘1/4 “ thick.

  2. Pick through the greens to place all stem ends together.

  3. Make a 1 ½ “ diameter circle with the cucumber lengths. Fill the rings with enough lettuce so that the lettuce stays in place. Like a bouquet of flowers!

  4. Spill the cranberries and  raisin around the bouquet on the plate

  5. Pour dressing over salad and serve.

Enjoy!
Rory Golden, Executive Chef 
Certified Chef de Cuisine
Deerhurst Resort

MAPLE SYRUP MAKING AT DEERHURST RESORT

How much maple syrup is produced at Deerhurst?
It takes approximately 40 litres of raw sap to produce just one litre of maple syrup, which is the approximate yield of each tap. This spring, 2000 taps will be placed in the dense maple forest above Steamers, therefore the expected yield will be 2000 litres of finished maple syrup.

What kind of trees are used for maple syrup?
Sugar Maple is the only commercially important sap producing species in Ontario due to the abundance of sap it produces, however black maple, red maple and silver maple trees can also be tapped.

How big do the trees need to be to be tapped?
Sugar maples need to reach a tappable size of 25 cm (10”) in diameter, which can take anywhere from 20 to 80 years.

Who invented maple syrup making?
When the European settlers came to Canada about 300 years ago, they found the aboriginal people were making a crude, dark sugar from the sap of maple trees. The Native Americans directed the sap into buckets made of birch bark, then boiled down the sap to produce sugar by filling a hollowed-out basswood log with maple sap and throwing in hot stones.

What causes the sap to flow?
Temperatures must rise above freezing (at least +5°C) for 36 to 48 hours in order to bring about the change inside the maple trees, which triggers the sap flow. The freezing action during the winter months and spring nights allows trees to produce large quantities of carbon dioxide gas. It is this gas that forces the sap to flow upward inside the tree during the warmer cycle of the day, as it moves from a high-pressure zone to a zone of lower pressure.

Does the removal of sap harm a tree?
No, the tree is not harmed as long as the number of taps is limited and the tree is healthy.

How does modern syrup making happen?
A series of tubes connected to the trees brings the sap directly to the evaporator house (or “sugar shack”). The sap moves up and down channels in the evaporator, becoming darker as it becomes more concentrated. It eventually passes to a flat pan and is drawn off and passed through a filter.

How do you know when the syrup is finished?
A thermometer tells when the temperature is high enough for the syrup to be finished. This temperature will be 4°C above the boiling point of water.

How is Maple taffy on snow made?
Maple Syrup is heated to between 12 and 22°C above the boiling point of water, depending on whether you want your taffy to be soft or hard. The hot syrup is poured in strips on well-packed snow and picked up with a fork or stick.
 


BEYOND THE BREAKFAST TABLE
Chef Golden shares a few quick and simple ways to add a touch of maple magic to your springtime celebrations!

Fold a tablespoon or two of maple syrup into whipped cream, and serve on your favourite dessert (try it on apple pie or fresh berries).

Make some maple butter for toast and croissants. Simmer maple syrup over low heat until it is reduced to about 1/3 of its original volume. Chill and add  to softened butter, to taste.

Drizzle maple syrup over French Canadian pea soup (or even better, fold in a touch of your maple whipped cream -- see above).

Add a touch of maple syrup to your favourite chutney to offset its usual tartness.



Subject to change. Updated February 21, 2008
 


Poach salmon in maple sap to enhance its natural flavour. If you don't have access to maple sap, just add some maple syrup to your poaching water for that hint of maple.

Add a touch of maple syrup to your favourite white chocolate mousse recipe.

When making French onion soup, brown the onions with a touch of maple syrup. The maple flavours complement the cheese very nicely.

Try a Maple fondue! Heat syrup in a fondue pot over low heat and dunk Havarti cheese, strawberries, banana slices and donuts (donut bits are are perfect for this).

Add some maple syrup to your favourite barbecue sauce and head to the grill! It's perfect slathered on pork ribs cooked over low coals.