What is the Difference Between Maple Syrup Grades?

A simple search on the Internet with this question brings up some of the most amazing and incorrect answers imaginable. I read articles that told how there were two different processes for making syrup and that the process used for making A syrup stripped it of all of it's nutrients. Someone posted that Grade B contains insect parts and A does not. The advice was all over the map so let's try to make some sense of all this information.

How Does Maple Syrup Get The Grade?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) assigns grades to the maple syrup sold in the the U.S. These grades are: Grade A Light Amber, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber, and Grade B. The grading of syrup sold in the United States is voluntary (like USDA Beef Grading).

Grade A syrup is very light in color and has a faint, delicate maple flavor. It is usually made earlier in the season when the weather is colder. Many people use this grade for serving on pancakes. It is also widely used for making maple candies. I use it for pancakes and also for making things like any ice cream that shouldn't have an overpowering maple flavor.

Grade B, sometimes called Cooking Syrup, extremely dark in color and has a stronger maple taste as well as hints of caramel. Because of its strong flavor, this is predominantly used in baked goods.

I have found that small farmers who produce maple syrup stick to the same formula - Light and Medium Amber becomes Grade A and anything below is B. Once the syrup takes on a bitter aftertaste it becomes C. Most farmers though just stop producing at that time because you really have to have a lot of syrup for a large bakery to pick up your Grade C.

How to Use Maple Syrup

In general, maple syrup can be substituted for granular sugar in baked goods by following these rules of thumb: For each cup of granulated sugar, use 1-1/2 cup of maple syrup. Reduce other liquids in the recipe by about one-half. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of maple syrup. Decrease oven temperature by 25°F.

I hope this has helped to clear up some questions regarding grading. The bottom line for me: I keep both grades on hand and use the A for pancakes and for any cooking where a strong maple flavor would be out of place. For everything else, I use B.

Book Review: Nourishing Traditions

If you only own one book about the natural/organic/whole food lifestyle,
Nourishing Traditions should be that book! It is an indispensable resource for organic cooking and natural living.  Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Foundation wrote the book, which includes recipes, history, nutritional information, explanations of the hows and whys of whole food, and more. You will find this book to be an incredible resource in your kitchen, and an informative reference in your pursuit of a natural living. Even if you don't normally enjoy reading cookbooks cover to cover, you might find yourself compelled to do so with this volume.

If you have this book in your home library already, what are some of your favorite recipes or natural living tips from Nourishing Traditions?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Maple Syrup - How It Is Made

Maple Syrup begins as sap in a maple tree. The sap is harvested in the spring when temperatures rise into the 40s during the day and cool off into the 20s at night. It takes a very special place for the conditions to be just right.

The sugaring season, as it is called, can begin as early as late January in Southern Kentucky and ends in late March. The season usually lasts about a month whenever it begins, but it can be extended if the weather is right.

Trees are tapped using a drill to make a small hole. A spile is inserted into the hole and the sap drips out if conditions are right. The sap either drips into a bucket or flows down a special tube to a holding tank. Drop after drop collect until there are gallons upon gallons of sap. Many gallons of sap are needed to make just one gallon of maple syrup. It can range from 35-50 gallons of sap, depending on how much maple sugar there is in the sap. All maple syrup has the same amount of maple sugar, but the maple flavor can be different as we shall learn.

The sap is collected into a large holding tank and from there is fed into the sugar house (the place where the magic happens!). In the sugar house, it is systematically poured into an evaporator (pictured here). Maple sugar evaporators are specially designed to 'boil off' hundreds of gallons of water very quickly and so the sap is concentrated into maple syrup. This is called 'boiling down'.

The evaporator works by first 'pre-heating' the sap so that it is almost boiling. This is done by making use of the steam that is already coming off of the evaporator. A series of pipes works the cold sap through the hot steam under the hood at the rear of the evaporator. The rear portion of the evaporator is where most of the serious boiling takes place. There are groves in the pan that drop down into the heat source below (fire, oil or otherwise). These give the pan more surface area and so the boiling is more fierce.

As the water is boiled off and the sugar becomes more concentrated, the sap moves toward the front of the pan. There, the sap becomes syrup and is 'drawn off' into a pail or some other container before it is filtered. The syrup at this point contains nitre or sugar sand. This needs to be removed from the syrup or it will have an off taste.

Once filtered, the syrup is put in bottles or containers and sealed until someone opens it up to enjoy a sweet treat!

In early January we will start to watch the weather and take a trip out to the farm for anyone interested in seeing full process. We have just received another, and probably our last, shipment of maple syrup until the new syrup is harvested. We have both Grades A and B in stock in quarts and half gallons.  Buying local maple syrup is an excellent way to add a whole food to your diet and also support local farming.  Eat Local!

Maple Syrup

There are times when I get so disappointed in the success of media hype and food masquerading that I could just... scream. Not much is sadder that the marketing campaign against maple syrup and how we have been duped into believing that the imitation is better than the real thing. I have had several women give me recipes for "maple syrup" consisting of corn syrup, sugar, imitation maple flavoring (ouch!) and water. When I tell them that this is not real maple syrup, that real maple syrup is a whole food and does not need a recipe, they seem surprised. We seem to have "cut off our heads to save our pocketbooks"!

I am always amazed at the wording used to describe the imitation syrup and how it is touted as being healthier with less calories than the real thing and, surprise, surprise, it actually tastes better.

Here are the ingredients to Aunt Jemima's Original syrup; CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CELLULOSE GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, SALT, SODIUM BENZOATE AND SORBIC ACID (PRESERVATIVES), ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE.

Here are the ingredients in real whole food maple syrup; MAPLE SAP

I am trying to count how many of Michael Pollan's rules for eating that this "food product" breaks.

1. Don't eat anything with more than 5 ingredients

2. Don't eat anything with ingredients you cannot pronounce (even my spell checker didn't recognize 3 of the ingredients) or don't know

3. Don't eat anything your grandmother would not recognize (come on, no real maple syrup oozes like that)

4. Don't eat anything that contains high fructose corn syrup.

5. Don't eat anything that won't rot.

It so saddens me to hear mothers tell me that their children will not eat real maple syrup. Many mothers resort to emptying the Mrs. Butterworth's container and filling it with real maple syrup because their children will rebel other wise. I have a customer who's children will tell me that they hate maple syrup when they have, unknowingly been eating only real maple syrup for years.

What are we doing to this younger generation when they refuse to eat the real thing because we have trained their palates to prefer what is sweeter and gummier? There are groups on the Internet that suggest that the public does not want real maple syrup and that taste tests show that people prefer imitation over the real thing. The general comment is not how good the imitation version is but that it is what they grew up with and it gives them a "comfort feeling".

Over the next few days I will post information on REAL maple syrup so that you will know the real skinny on why maple syrup is such a healthy product and how to use it in your kitchen. We will examine the different grade, cooking tips and recipes.

So I'll close this post with a rule of my own,

7. Don't eat anything that tastes disgusting, even it you grew up with it.

We have several great maple syrup producers in the Southern Kentucky region and we are trying to support them and keep them in business. Otherwise....it Mrs. Butterworths for us all!!!  Eat Local!

Book Review: In Defense of Food

After you read The Omnivore's Dilemma, you might find yourself wondering what on earth you should be eating. Fear not, Michael Pollan wrote a follow-up book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, that offers thoughtful, practical and well-researched suggestions to answer your food choice questions.  In short, Pollan recommends you eat local, eat whole food, and support sustainable farming.  We agree!

Pollan boils his research down to seven words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." The book explains these maxims further, and exposes the many despicable things the "food" industry does to sell their products even at the expense of your health. Furthermore, Pollan's interviews with top food and nutrition researchers in the government and private sector reveal how bad the science is in that area and point out, as Pollan notes, "there is a lot more religion in science than you might expect."

Some of the guidelines Pollan arrived at include:

• "Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food" (Berry Bubblegum Bash Flavored Go-Gurt Portable Yogurt Tubes anyone?)
  
• "Don't eat anything incapable of rotting"
• "Avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high fructose corn syrup"
• "Avoid food products that make health claims" (when Cocoa Puffs are endorsed as being whole grain "heart healthy" food, or when margarine is labeled "trans fat free!" you should pause and reflect)

And, my personal favorite:

• "Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does."

This book is worth reading if you are interested in natural living, whole food, the Eat Local movement, or sustainable farming. Like Pollan's first book, In Defense of Food is a well written, engaging, quick read that will serve as a helpful reference.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals is a fascinating book about the origins, science, marketing and nutrition of the food we eat. The author, an investigative journalist, followed four different types of meals down to their smallest component parts in our food system to find out the truth about what's in our supermarkets, on our tables, and in our backyards.  His conclusions advocate for sustainable farming, natural living, and the Eat Local movement.

First, he discusses the economics, government policies, and marketing that drive the conventional food system as well as an analysis of the content of that food, it's actual price, and the science that enables us to make about 90% of our diets out of corn. While readers with some interest in natural living will likely be familiar with a lot of the material in this section, you will probably still find it eye-opening.

Next, the narrative turns to conventional organic foods (such as you find at the grocery store, or the health food store) and if you're really getting what you think you are (you probably aren't). Many consumers misunderstand the compromises that conventional organic foods incorporate because of governmental regulations and the economic bottom line. This section of the book is particularly illuminating.

Third, the book covers the Eat Local movement and sustainable farming along the original organic model. This section expands on the nutritional and long-term benefits of natural living and eating a whole food diet, but also digresses to an examination of the animal rights movement.

Finally, Pollan hunted and gathered a meal from around his home in northern California and from his experience readers will learn about the ins and outs of foraging for mushrooms, hunting wild boar, and an ill-fated attempt to collect salt from the San Francisco Bay.  It's always interesting to read about other people's experiments in natural living!

The book is witty, highly engaging, and written in a conversational tone that is informative but never boring or too preachy. Whatever your current level of understanding and conviction about sustainable farming, natural living, whole food, or the Eat Local movement might be, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals is a worthwhile read.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Whole Food: Ugandan Vanilla Beans

When you have friends who travel to Uganda each year you never know what they will bring home, especially if your friend is Mrs. Carney Farris. This past trip Carney came home with some wonderful treats for our whole food loving customers. Carney trekked through Soroti, Uganda to bring home the most amazing organic vanilla beans! Before the words left her mouth I was already dreaming of all the wonderful things I could do with these beans.

You see, I am a certifiable vanilla addict. I buy only the best vanilla and admit to throwing out imitation vanilla while visiting my mother. I learned long ago the difference quality vanilla can make in cooking and baking. With a cow on the farm and raw milk in abundance I make creme brulee on a fairly regular basis and homemade ice cream is a staple in our home. I also prefer creme anglaise with my cobblers and pies and vanilla cream made from raw milk in my coffee. I put vanilla in my smoothies and it is indispensable in good panna cotta.

There was a time when the vanilla bean was only available to those lucky souls who reside in Mexico due to the fact that the vanilla pod producing orchids and the Melipona bee who did the pollinating were native to Mexico and the magically symbiotic relationship they had could not be reproduced artificially. The French were the first to attempt to grow the vanilla orchid outside Mexico but found that no insect in France could pollinate the flower. Thankfully a 12 year old slave named Edmond Albius invented a way to hand pollinate and the rest is history, delicious history.

The most famous vanilla is made from beans grown in Madagascar but many aficionados believe that Ugandan beans will outshine all other beans. Now you can try it for yourself by purchasing some from our farm shop!

Last night I pulled out my large bottle of vodka (I keep it around to add to my ice cream to keep it from freezer too soon in my ice cream maker - really!) and opened three beans to make my first batch of  homemade vanilla extract. Although I have been purchasing beans from very reputable sources I have never opened beans like these. They were fresh, not dried out and much longer than the usual beans, but what truly amazed me was the amount of seeds inside. The seeds were gummy and the pods were very pliable and smelled amazing.

Here is the most common recipe for making your own homemade vanilla extract.

1 quart vodka or rum
3 Ugandan vanilla beans

Open the beans to expose the seeds and place in a glass jar. Pour in alcohol and shake well. Place the jar in a dark place and shake the jar every couple of days for 8 weeks. I have been told that you can reuse the beans (only the best quality beans) once more.

Here is a great recipe for panna cotta from Williams Sonoma. I was served a similar panna cotta with a thin slice of hazelnut chocolate torte in Italy and it was perfect for a winter desert when no fresh berries are available.

Panna cotta, Italian for “cooked cream,” is a specialty of Italy’s Piedmont region, where these delicate creams have been made since medieval times. The dessert is often accompanied by fresh fruit, as in this recipe.

Organic Cooking with Whole Food: Panna Cotta

Ingredients:
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup raw milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. homemade vanilla extract
Food coloring, as desired
2 cups mixed fresh berries, such as raspberries, blueberries and blackberries

Directions:
In a medium bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and let stand for 2 minutes. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream and sugar. Cook, stirring to dissolve the sugar, until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan. Slowly add the cream mixture to the gelatin mixture, stirring until smooth. Then add the vanilla and food coloring. Divide the mixture among four 4-oz. decorative molds or ramekins. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or as long as overnight. Just before serving, fill a small bowl with warm water, dip the molds into warm water (do not submerge fully), and run the tip of a knife around the edge to loosen the panna cotta. Invert each mold onto a dessert plate. Garnish with the berries and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Inviting the FDA for dinner impacts sustainable farming

Someone once said that the FDA is the uninvited guest at our dinner table. If Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has her way they will be there for breakfast, lunch, dinner and every in-between snack.  The impact on sustainable farming and the Eat Local movement will be substantial.

On February 4Th, 2009 Representative DeLauro, whose husband counts Monsanto as a client, introduced bill HR875 into the House and it seems to be a popular bill among Democrats. While the proposed legislation tries to address the many problems of the industrial food system, the impact on small farms if the bill becomes law would be substantial and definitely not for the better. HR 875, the Food Safety and Modernization Administration (FSA) is a major threat to sustainable farming and the Eat Local food movement.

Under HR 875 the FSA, the new Federal Safety Administration, is charged to regulate food safety and labeling [Section 2(1)(A)] and to “lead an integrated, system-wide approach to food safety and to make more effective and efficient use of resources to prevent food borne illness.”

What is scary to me in the above quote is how the Center for Disease Control (CDC) manipulates the figures of food borne illness to instill fear in the public. At a recent conference we were show a slide stating the statistics for food borne illnesses in 2009. They were staggering to say the least. However, the next slide showed how the CDC comes up with these numbers, and here is the disconcerting part of this strange equation. The slide showed a pyramid cut into seven horizontal sections. The smallest section, the very corner of the pyramid, was the actual cases of food borne illness with the other six sections labeled to show how and why they increased the number. Valid guesses included those who did not seek care, people who just got sick and did not know that they were infected and the exposure of the general public. When I asked the instructor about this seemingly crazy guessing game and its role in spreading fear in the general public he responded "it's the best system we have and I think they do a very good job".

So, if the CDC is making up numbers or even if their computers are making up numbers to make us fear our food we had better be ready for a good fight where this bill is concerned. You can be sure that these CDC figures will be thrown around with abandon and no one will have a chart showing the elaborate guessing game that produced those numbers.  As consumers who care about sustainable farming and the Eat Local movement, we have to stay active to protect our access to whole foods.

To read more please visit http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875 and http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-02mar2009.htm.