Bay State farmer Richard Forbes calls maple sugaring “a hobby that went berserk.”
The owner of Matfield Maple Farm in West Bridgewater is busy right now harvesting sap from 1,100 maple trees he tapped this winter. He hauls the thin, clear liquid to the wood-fired evaporator in his rustic roadside sugar shack.
The sap looks and tastes like water with just a hint of sweetness, before it’s boiled down into maple sugar crystals, creamy maple butter and, of course, sweet maple syrup — true tastes of chilly New England and one of Mother Nature’s first signs of spring. After all, maple sap flows before trees bud and flowers blossom. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make a single gallon of syrup.
Matfield Farm, on a wooded plot just 30 minutes south of Boston, is one of more than 40 sugarhouses across the state opening its doors Saturday and Sunday for Massachusetts Maple Weekend (www.massmaple. org), a first-of-its kind celebration of a small but robust local industry.
“More and more people these days want to know where their food comes from,” said Winton Pitcoff, spokesman for the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association. “We want to show folks how maple syrup is made and connect them with local sugarhouses.”
Maple syrup is more than just something to drizzle over pancakes. Chefs use it in desserts, cocktails, salad dressings and glazes for meat or fish. Local brewers use maple syrup to make seasonal beers.
Dozens of Bay State restaurants are serving dishes this month made with Massachusetts maple products as part of the celebration.
Trade, in downtown Boston, offers a warm seasonal salad with radicchio, dates, goat cheese, pecans and maple vinaigrette. Rialto, in Cambridge, pours a “picnic” cocktail with rye, maple syrup and pork belly swizzle stick, and serves maple-pecan profiteroles with a maple-espresso glaze and house-made maple ice cream.
Other Boston-area restaurants, such as The Tip Tap Room on Beacon Hill and Harvest in Cambridge, routinely offer dishes made with locally harvested maple.
Most of us associate maple syrup with nearby Vermont, which produces twice the syrup of any other state. Quebec, meanwhile, is the global leader in syrup production.
But Massachusetts boasts its own long and storied history: English settlers were taught by local Indians how to tap maple trees here in the 1600s.
Sweet maple syrup was new to Europeans. In fact, the northern United States and Canada are the only places in the world that produce it.
“There are maple trees in other parts of the world, but not a lot,” Pitcoff said. “Asia is the only other place where there is any kind of concentration, and there they don’t boil it down. They drink the sap out of the tree as a medicinal elixir.”
The cold winter in New England means that the maple harvest this year is later than in recent years, but more in line with historic norms.
“There still aren’t too many signs of spring yet out there in the woods,” Forbes said.
But all that sap pouring from Massachusetts maple trees is one of them.
Massachusetts Maple Weekend
Massachusetts Maple Weekend takes place Saturday and Sunday with open houses at more than 40 sugarhouses in the Bay State, mostly in central and western Massachusetts.
Restaurants throughout the state are participating, too, serving dishes made with Massachusetts maple products. More than a dozen local sugarhouses have their own restaurants.
For more information, including a complete list of participating maple farms and restaurants, go to www.massmaple.org.
Rialto Restaurant’s Maple Espresso Glaze
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 2/3 T. espresso extract ? (1 T. instant espresso?diluted with 2 t. boiling?water)
1/2 c. Grade B maple syrup
1 c. powdered?sugar
In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream, espresso extract, maple syrup and powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle glaze over favorite dessert, ice cream or pastries. Makes about 2 cups of glaze.
Maple Mustard Salmon
2/3 c. butter
1/2 T. dried dill
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. Dijon-style mustard
4 salmon fillets
(From MassMaple.org.)
Blend butter, dill, syrup and mustard over low heat until melted together. Grill or broil salmon, basting with maple mustard and turning until flaky and done. Serves 4.
Trade Restaurant’s Maple Vinaigrette Dressing
1 small shallot, ?minced very small
1 t. Dijon mustard
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. maple syrup
Pinch of salt
1 c. extra-virgin olive oil
Combine shallot, mustard, vinegar, syrup and salt in a mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil to create an emulsion. Pour over favorite salad. Makes about 1A cups of dressing.
Tip Tap Room Chef Brian Poe’s Rosemary Maple Butter
2 lbs. (eight sticks)?unsalted butter at ? room temperature
2/3 c. pure local ? maple syrup
1/4 c. chopped fresh ? rosemary
Whip butter in a KitchenAid mixer. As it begins to cream, add syrup and rosemary until fully incorporated. Can be refrigerated for several days, and is best when served at room temperature. Use as a spread in place of regular butter on toast or other favorite dishes. Makes equivalent of about 8 sticks of butter.
Harvest Pastry Chef Brian Mercury’s Maple Banana ?Rice Krispies
6 c. Rice Krispies
1 c. dried banana, chopped
8 oz. butter
1 1/2 c. light brown sugar
11/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. maple syrup
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. baking soda
Combine Rice Krispies and banana in bowl and set aside. In a pot, combine butter, light and dark brown sugar, maple syrup and salt. Bring ingredients to a boil while stirring and cook until mixture reaches 300 degrees. Use candy thermometer to measure heat. Take off heat and carefully add salt and vanilla. Stir. Add in baking soda and stir thoroughly. Pour over Rice Krispies and banana, mix with a spatula to coat. Be very careful as mixture will be hot. Spread mix in a pan then let cool for about 1 minute. Wearing gloves, carefully break apart to obtain individual pieces. Let cool completely. Serves 8.