Vermont's Liquid Gold

Warm, sunny days and cold, below-freezing nights cue the trees to convert starch (gathered the previous summer, stored through winter) into sugar. Depending on the weather, the sugaring season can last a few days or go on for six or seven weeks.

“Maple trees are the ultimate renewable resource, ” says Frasier. But renewability requires patience, perseverance, work and stewardship. The next time you gasp at the price of real maple syrup, consider this: It takes 30 to 40 years for a maple tree to grow large enough to be tapped. Most trees have just one, maybe two taps, with each tap yielding just 10 gallons of sap annually. It then takes 40 gallons of sap to make just 1 gallon of maple syrup. Perhaps this accounts for the flavor: not just sweet, but elusive, hauntingly delicious and wild.

Much has changed technologically since the days when 10-year-old Frasier first dragged a toboggan with a milk can on it around, pouring the sap buckets’ contents in, one by one. Now, spigots of plastic are drilled into the trees as close to the time of sap flow as possible. The sap is collected not tree by tree but through an elaborate system of crisscrossed plastic tubes, which flow the sap into the sugar house for processing.

“Sugaring’s not like milking cows, day in, day out,” says Frasier. “It comes and goes with the seasons. It’s unpredictable. It’s magic.” Think beyond pancakes. See how maple syrup adds a new dimension to other dishes like Brussels sprouts.

Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Mark Boughton

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In this sprightly recipe, Brussels sprouts are stir-fried with an Asian-inspired maple glaze. Try these with roasted chicken or any roasted meat, or make a vegetarian main dish stirring in 8 ounces diced firm tofu, seasoned or plain, into the finished dish.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed, halved
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
Several grinds of fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, cut into slivers
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop Brussels sprouts in the boiling water and cook them 2 minutes. Drain, rinsing with cold water.
2. Whisk together soy sauce, mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Set aide.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy non-stick skillet. Add onion and red bell pepper; sauté 5 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts. Sauté 4 minutes.
4. Add glaze. Cook until vegetables are coated and glaze thickens, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

By Crescent Dragonwagon, "Relish America's Harvest," March 2006

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 120 calories, 3g fat, 4.5g prot., 23g carbs., 5g fiber, 379mg sodium.

By Crescent Dragonwagon, author of Passionate Vegetarian and The Cornbread Gospels (forthcoming). She lives in Saxtons River, Vt.

Related Stories

• Family Tree
• More Maple Syrup Recipes
• Making the (Maple) Grade
• Berries of the Season
• Kugel for All Seasons

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