Maple Sugaring. David K. Leff

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ in the icy dark. They could stare at the boil while they spilled their guts. I fussed about the evaporator, something to fill the silences and keep us from the awkward tension of constant eye contact.

      Once a mere acquaintance nearing forty came by to tell me a sheriff had served divorce papers that afternoon. He leaned over the evaporator and began sobbing, perhaps hoping the moisture would mask his tears. He’d been unfaithful, and his wife would not accept his apologies and promises. Another time, a friend had gotten a late-night call about the death of her mother. Distraught and shaking, she didn’t want to awaken anyone and so drove more than five miles to see if I was boiling. There was always a powerful but brief intimacy, and I got to know a handful of people in dimensions few saw. Of course, it was an ephemeral closeness, because like the old saw about Las Vegas, what was said in the sugarhouse stayed there.

      Among the most electric moments in the season were the three or four times I’d pack syrup into containers. I’d rewarm it on the stove in my kitchen or, in subsequent years, in a separate boxy stainless container heated with propane and made for the purpose. The room would fill with maple smell as the syrup reached the right temperature. I’d filter again and test the density with a hydrometer. I’d taste it, check the color, and ladle the hot, golden liquid into plastic jugs or log cabin-shaped tins, screw on the caps, and turn them upside down to seal as they cooled. I’d recruit my kids and friends to help. A glow of satisfaction overtook me as the last step in production was completed and the secret of how much syrup the year would yield was revealed quart by quart, pint by pint. Each bottle seemed a notch in time. The counter, floors, and equipment grew sticky as the process wore on, and the last job of a long day was washing down.

      Toward the end of the season, when there was no threat of sap re-freezing in the buckets, I’d often be collecting late at night to ensure I got the full day’s run. Where once I was bundled in a coat and thick gloves, I now worked in shirtsleeves. In a fog of sublimating snow and squishy muddy ground, I’d go out with a flashlight to check for moths, ants, or other spring-awakening creatures that might land in a bucket. Some of the sap could be cloudy from bacteria on a warm day, or might have turned as yellow as urine and bitter after buds opened on the tree’s branches, heralding the season’s end. My last few collections were to the otherworldly sleigh-bell-like sounds of spring peepers who called from a nearby swamp. This last “frog run” of sap produced the darkest, strongest-flavored syrup, my favorite.

      Sometimes I sugared into the first week of April, but usually the season ended in late March. On a sunny day I’d pull my spouts with a soft hammer tap and toss the buckets into the back of my pickup. Ending the season was sad, but I was eager to have my schedule back and no longer abandon my life to the vagaries of weather and sap flow.

      Of course, the season wasn’t over when it was over, because all the buckets, pails, taps, storage tanks, hoses, valves, and tools had to be sanitized and put away. The evaporator had to be scrubbed, including the build-up of carbon beneath the pan from a season of fires. Usually it was a day when sun beat down on my driveway and I’d wash everything with a bleach solution and triple rinse. About five car lengths long, my driveway that day parked tens of galvanized buckets. It was pure drudgery, and I usually recruited Alan and sometimes my preteen son to help. I saw it as compensation for the comfort of the sugarhouse. Lastly, everything had to be packed carefully away like Christmas decorations awaiting the next season.

       Carrot-Ginger-Maple Soup

      Yield: 8–10 servings

      INGREDIENTS

      2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

      2 large onions, diced

      1 clove garlic, minced

      6 large carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch lengths

      4 large potatoes, peeled, diced

1½-inch piece of gingerroot, peeled, shaved*

      9 cups chicken or vegetable stock (more or less as needed)

      ½ teaspoon salt or to taste

      ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste

      ⅓ cup maple syrup

      Garnish, for serving*

      DIRECTIONS

      1. In large, heavy saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onions and garlic. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until onions are almost translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Do NOT let either onions or the garlic brown.

      2. Add carrots, potatoes, and gingerroot to saucepan and cook 5 minutes to coat well with oil, stirring frequently.

      3. Add stock just to cover. Add salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.

      4. Purée vegetables and stock in blender or food processor, adding more cold stock if necessary.

      5. Return purée to saucepan. Stir in the maple syrup. Add more stock, as needed, for desired consistency.

      6. Adjust seasoning. Heat through and serve.* Add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt with chopped parsley or thyme for garnish if desired.

*Variation: If you like curry, use only ½ inch of gingerroot and add ½ teaspoon of ground curry. Add it with the vegetables to the saucepan.

       Recipe by Kay Carroll

       Roasted Shallot-Maple Vinaigrette

      Yield: ⅓ cup

      INGREDIENTS

      2 tablespoons olive oil

      1 small shallot

      1 clove garlic

      ½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

      ½ tablespoons maple syrup

      2 tablespoons sherry (or balsamic vinegar)

      1 teaspoon salt

      Freshly ground black pepper

      DIRECTIONS

      1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

      2. In a small baking dish, combine the olive oil, shallot, and garlic.

      3. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 15 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

      4. Strain the olive oil and set aside, reserving the shallot and garlic. Let cool.

      5. In a blender or food processor, combine the reserved shallot, garlic, mustard, maple syrup, sherry or vinegar, and salt. Blend until smooth.

      6. With the machine running, gradually add the reserved olive oil in a thin stream.

      7. Season with pepper.

       This recipe can be used as a salad dressing but also tastes especially delicious drizzled over warm vegetables!

СКАЧАТЬ