What is maple sugar?
Historically, maple brown sugar is the original form that sugar maple tree sap was refined. Native Americans and early European settlers boiled maple syrup until no moisture remained to add nutrients and flavor to their food. Today, it is perfect for sprinkling on hot buttered toast, cereal, or as a substitute for cane sugar in some recipes. There are endless creative ways to institute maple sugar into your culinary rotation. Additionally, at the Carman Brook Farm, it is not uncommon to see maple sugar used in place of cinnamon or brown sugar as a topper for sweet bread and muffins; as well as sprinkled over a bowl of hot cereal or yogurt before the day’s work is started.
Remember to store maple sugar in a cool, dry cupboard.
How to make maple sugar?
As with our other value-added maple products, maple sugar contains no additional additives. It is simply refined and cooked down until the remaining moisture is removed from the maple syrup, leaving a beautiful granular maple brown sugar. The manufacturing process starts by elevating the syrup to an extremely high temperature, about 55 degrees Fahrenheit above the boiling point of water (212 degrees for those of us at sea level). At this point, the cooked syrup is stirred until it becomes granular like sugar; once cooled, it is sifted for consistency.
How to make maple brown sugar oatmeal?
By our reckoning, this is the simplest and one of the best uses for maple sugar, start by cooking the oatmeal as prescribed. Following this, add 2-3 tablespoons (or as your sweet tooth desires) of your maple sugar for every cup of oatmeal. Many recipes online call for mixing traditional brown sugar and regular maple syrup; however, in our opinion using the single ingredient maple sugar provides better results and bolder maple notes. Finally, if you want to elevate your oatmeal still more, consider adding crushed pecans over the top before serving.
Is maple sugar gluten-free?
One of the most common questions not only for maple sugar, but for all maple products. Yes, being that the only ingredient is maple syrup it is naturally gluten free.
What is maple cream?
Maple cream is a smooth, delicious spread with a consistency just lighter than your typical peanut butter. Like maple sugar, maple cream spread is produced with nothing but 100% pure maple syrup. One of the most difficult maple products to manufacture, our family is extremely fussy about nailing the correct consistency every time we go into production. Unlike competitors, our head maple cream master does not tolerate the formation of sugar crystals that often taint the texture of inferior alternatives.
As we do not add any preservatives to any of our products, maple cream should be refrigerated. In the event you want to keep an extra container on hand, store the extra container in the freezer, as it freezes well.
