|
|
|
This recipe for Maple Muffins rivals any I have tried in Vermont By Marialisa Calta
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"Sugaring season" is over. If you live in the north country, you know that means that the time of year when maple syrup can be made has ended.
Making maple syrup ("sugaring") is a somewhat involved process. First, the weather must cooperate. Cold nights and warm days are optimal. Once it's warm enough for the maple trees to bud, sugaring is over. The trees must be tapped, the sap collected and then boiled ... and boiled ... and boiled. This is mostly done in small cabins sporting cupolas from which the steam from all that boiling escapes. These are called "sugar houses" or sometimes "sugar shacks," and if you drive around, say, Vermont or New Hampshire during sugaring season, you will see these cheery-looking little outposts dotting the countryside, industriously bellowing steam.
It takes 40 gallons of sap to boil down into one gallon of maple syrup. If you are a maple-syrup producer ("sugarmaker"), you have to pay close attention so that, at the last stages, the stuff doesn't scorch. It is a labor-intensive process, which explains why syrup -- real maple syrup, not the cloying stuff sold as "pancake syrup" -- is relatively expensive. But to those who know the real thing, it is imminently worth it.
Maple syrup is graded by density, which affects flavor and color. Canada (which produces 80 percent of the world's maple syrup) has one set of standards and grades, the United States another. Further complicating the matter is the fact that Vermont (the largest U.S. producer) employs a different (and slightly higher) standard. But generally speaking, the lighter, more delicate, more translucent (and more expensive) syrups will be called something like "AA," "Fancy" or "Light Amber." The darkest syrup available in stores is Grade B, and is usually the one you want for cooking. It can be found in health and natural-food stores, in some supermarkets and online.
If your budget for real maple syrup is limited, buy a jug and save it for your pancakes, crepes, waffles and as a topping for ice cream -- all uses that showcase the delicate, nutty, warm flavor. If you consider maple syrup a staple, you can branch out into using it more widely in cooking. Glazes for chicken come to mind, as does all manner of baked goods, custards and frozen confections. Try it in vinaigrette, in barbecue sauce or, in small quantities, to "mellow" a tomato ragout or stew.
Leave it to a New York baker to come up with a recipe for Maple Muffins that rivals any I have tried in Vermont.
In her new book, "Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours", Sarabeth Levine offers this recipe that she says was "forced" upon her by "a customer who said her family had made these muffins for more than a hundred years." Bet that customer was from Vermont. At any rate, she knows her muffins. And her maple syrup.
MAPLE MUFFINS
Whisk the unbleached flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk the maple syrup, melted butter and milk together in a large bowl, then whisk in the whole egg and the egg yolk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir just until smooth. Stir in the walnuts. Let the batter stand so the dry ingredients can absorb the liquids, about five minutes.
Using a 2-1/2-inch-diameter ice-cream scoop, portion the batter, rounded side up, into the prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F, and bake until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a wire cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes more.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan, and cool completely.
Yield: 12 muffins
Interested in a private Judaic studies instructor — for free? Let us know by clicking here.
Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
To comment, please click here. Marialisa Calta is the author of "Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family" (Perigee, 2005)
© 2010, Marialisa Calta. Distributed by UFS, Inc.
| ||||||||||||
