flipNew Hampshire maple sugar
New Hampshire maple sugar
Why this dish? Shepard's native New Hampshire is maple country: every spring, sap is collected and turned into maple sugar, an ancestral way to preserve the sweetness of the season for the whole year. A childhood treat from the New England hills where he grew up.
Maple syrup cooked and worked until it crystallizes into small melting candies: the traditional way to keep the woody taste of spring in the sugar bushes all year round.
In spring, when the sap rose, we'd tap the maples and boil, boil, boil until it became that blond sugar that melts on your tongue. My grandmother would pour it into little leaf-shaped molds, and it would last us for months — the sweetness of New Hampshire stored away. When I was a kid, it was our reward after hauling wood. A square of that sugar, and you'd last until dinner.
- •Reduced maple sap (syrup) — according to harvest (sweet raw material)
New Hampshire maple sugar
Maple syrup cooked and worked until it crystallizes into small melting candies: the traditional way to keep the woody taste of spring in the sugar bushes all year round.
Why this dish? Shepard's native New Hampshire is maple country: every spring, sap is collected and turned into maple sugar, an ancestral way to preserve the sweetness of the season for the whole year. A childhood treat from the New England hills where he grew up.
In spring, when the sap rose, we'd tap the maples and boil, boil, boil until it became that blond sugar that melts on your tongue. My grandmother would pour it into little leaf-shaped molds, and it would last us for months — the sweetness of New Hampshire stored away. When I was a kid, it was our reward after hauling wood. A square of that sugar, and you'd last until dinner.
Ingredients (period version)
- Reduced maple sap (syrup) — according to harvest (sweet raw material)
Ingredients
- Pure maple syrup (amber or dark grade) — 250 ml (single base)
- Butter — a pat (anti-foam and shine (optional))
Method
- Pour the maple syrup into a large, tall pot (it rises a lot when boiling) with a pat of butter.
- Bring to a boil without stirring and cook to about 112-115 °C on a candy thermometer.
- Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes without touching.
- Stir the syrup with a wooden spoon until it lightens, thickens, and loses its shine.
- Immediately pour into small molds (maple leaves if possible) and let set before unmolding.
How it was made : Native peoples of northeastern America already harvested maple sap, a skill adopted by New England settlers. Reducing syrup into solid sugar allowed the spring harvest to be preserved well beyond the short sugaring season, without refrigeration.
The contemporary twist : Mold the sugar into little rocket or star shapes to link the sweetness of New Hampshire to the space destiny of its most famous son.
Sources : Nearing, Helen & Scott, 'The Maple Sugar Book', 1950 · University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension — maple sugaring traditions
Alan Shepard · Charactorium
