Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Organic Kitchen: Maple Syrup

For this week's installment of The Organic Kitchen, I wanted to share with you the results of Jonathan and I's maple syrup making.  Jonathan did this every year as a child, and I, well, lets just say one somewhat disastrous attempt by my father (who still can't live it down) put a stop to it.  But, honestly, its a quintessential Canadian experience, and in Jonathan and I's quest to cut out processed food, we felt inspired to give it a try.  So, we collected buckets, tapped some trees, boiled it down (the old school way, with a fire), and here we are!  The results are fantastic!  Even with our off kilter spring, we were able to gather about 200 gallons of sap, which created about 2.5 liters of syrup, which we divided up amongst our family.  We use maple syrup quite a lot, as its a natural sugar with many health benefits.
Here are some of my favourite uses:

1. Over cut, fresh strawberries for dessert.  Pour a tablespoon over berries and let sit for an hour.  The syrup brings out the sugar in the berries.

2. A splash in coffee...mmmm...simply delectable!

3. Pour a splash over plain yogourt, with some homemade granola (recipe coming soon!)

4. Over oatmeal (use rolled oats), and add fresh fruit.  Our favourite combos are apples, cinnamon and raisins, bananas and coconut, strawberries and mango.  So good!

What are your favourite uses for maple syrup?



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