Maine Maple Sugaring Time

Typical way to collect sap from the trees – metal buckets hung from tree taps

With the recent warm weather around here, it sure feels like we are in the midst of summer and not the end of winter, but we’ll take it! The calendar shyly reminds us it is, in fact, the end of March and with that, Maine Maple Sunday is this weekend.


March generally signifies the midst of maple season in New England; that naturally sugary, deep brown colored syrup with a buttery natural flavor we like to pour and cook with. Not the familiar corn syrup kind with the fake flavoring - so gently presented by an affectionate, apron clad, glass bottled grandma.


This is the real stuff, the stuff that comes seeping out of the trees once the cool nights and warmer days of the end of winter present itself. This year’s maple season started a bit earlier and will end even sooner; a normal season starts in late February and goes through mid April. It takes 60 gallons of sap to make one and half gallons of maple syrup. An average 40 year old tree will yield about 40 quarts of sap per season, enough to make one quart of pure maple syrup. (source: http://www.mainemapleproducers.com/how_maple_syrup_is_made.html)


If you are in Maine or you want to take a nice weekend drive, here is a map of all the sugar shacks open for Maine Maple Sunday. They will have samples, special events and demonstrations going on throughout the day, most will also be open on Saturday.

Once the sap is tapped it must be processed right away so it won’t spoil, this requires syrup makers to work around the clock during maple season.

The evaporator is kept constantly boiling and throws off dense clouds of steam as the sap becomes more and more concentrated.

Once clear, the syrup is packed in sterilized containers for distribution all over the world and of course, sold right at the maple shacks as well.

We love cooking with pure maple syrup, it adds a pleasant sweetness and enhances the flavor of all sorts of grilled foods, especially grilled root vegetables, pork, chicken or duck.
See Portland Press article on Maple Sugar which highlights our Stonewall Kitchen Maine Maple Glaze.
We also love creating a glaze which tastes great on seafood like the shrimp in this recipe.

Melt in Your Mouth Shrimp


ingredients

• 3/4 cup Stonewall Kitchen Maple Syrup
• 2 tablespoons Stonewall Kitchen Maine Maple Champagne Mustard
• 10 slices of bacon
• 20 large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

directions

1. Mix Stonewall Kitchen Maple Syrup and Stonewall Kitchen Maine Maple Champagne Mustard in a bowl and set aside.
2. Cut each bacon slice in half. Wrap each bacon slice around a shrimp. Place shrimp on a cookie sheet and cover each with a spoonful of the syrup/mustard sauce.
3. Broil on high and cook on both sides until very crispy.
4. Remove to a platter and serve immediately.

And this great recipe for maple glazed bananas will satisfy your sweet, after dinner cravings:

Caramelized Bananas


ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4 small bananas, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
• 1 cup Stonewall Kitchen Maine Maple Syrup
• 1 Stonewall Kitchen Farmhouse Pancake and Waffle Mix

directions

1. Prepare pancakes or waffles according to instructions on package.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar has melted and the mixture begins to simmer.
4. Cook over low heat for 1 minute, stirring continuously.
5. Add the banana slices to the pan in a single layer and cook until the bananas begin to caramelize and the brown sugar sauce is bubbling.
6. Pour the banana sauce over hot pancakes and serve with warm maple syrup on the side.

Aioli; Thinking beyond a sandwich spread

Aioli (ai-o-li): A mayonnaise flavored with garlic and sometimes other ingredients (such as pepper, horseradish, lemon, etc)


Similar to our Chutney, we have received several inquiry's as to what exactly an Aioli is and what to do with it.  This January, we launched our new Aioli line after several request from our customers for an all-natural, gourmet mayonnaise. In typical Stonewall Kitchen fashion, we didn't want to produce a standard mayonnaise that you can get anywhere; we wanted to add a little pizazz to it. Enter in the Aioli. 


If you have ever caught our employees ordering lunch in the cafe before, you might have seen them request an extra side of the aioli for their French Fries.  We have been producing a Habanero Mango Aioli in our cafe for years and wanted to be able to bottle it for all to enjoy. One flavor wasn't enough however, so we created 5 new flavors.

The most common use for an aioli would be as a sandwich spread, or in our headquarters, as a sweet-potato-fry-dip.  But the aioli is not just limited to those two.  It can be incorporated into recipes for an extra punch of flavor, combined with olive oil for a fantastic vinaigrette, used as a topping for a piece of fish or chicken, and several other ways!


Our Aioli collection has a flavor for everyone;

• Roasted Garlic Aioli - a more traditional flavor that is ideal for garlic lovers!  Use this in your potato salad for a little extra flavor
• Horseradish Aioli - with an intense kick of horseradish, this is a perfect accompaniment to Roast Beef
• Lemon Herb Aioli - A mix of lemon, dill, tarragon and garlic makes this aioli a great dipper for crab cakes or as an addition to pasta salad.
• Smoky Barbecue - This flavor is an employee favorite! Use as a dipping sauce for vegetables and ad it to your indoor-cooked burger for a outdoor smoky flavor.
• Habanero Mango - If you like spice, then this is the one for you.  This aioli has a spice that sneaks up on you and is balanced perfectly with the sweet mango. 

Of course, you can always use these as a swap for mayonnaise in any savory recipes!  Here are two classic recipes that you can awe your guests with when they taste the fun, creative twist to them!


Deviled Eggs


A old-fashioned family favorite and easy appetizer.  Use any of our Aiolis to create different flavored eggs.





Ingredients:

• 6 unshelled eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup Stonewall Kitchen Aioli
• Salt & Pepper
• Garnish (crumbled bacon, cilantro or parsley leaf, paprika, dill sprig)

Directions:

1. Place eggs in a pot large enough for the eggs to be in a single layer.  Cover eggs with cold water, enough to cover eggs by 1-inch.  Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook eggs. 14 minutes for large eggs, 12 minutes for small and medium eggs, and 15 minutes for extra-large and jumbo eggs.  Add 1-2 minutes more if eggs are cold directly from the refrigerator and not at room temperature. Plunge the eggs into cold water to prevent further cooking.
2. Once eggs are cooled, peel off shells. Cut eggs in half lengthwise.  Remove egg yolks to a small bowl. Add Aioli and salt & pepper.  Mix until smooth and uniform. Spoon or pipe egg yolk filling into each white.  Garnish and serve.

Habanero Mango Coleslaw


Who doesn't appreciate a recipe that only has one step! A fun, easy twist to a classic recipe. 



Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 3-4 Tbsp. Stonewall Kitchen Habanero Mango Aioli
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup jicama, 1/4 inch dice (can substitute apple)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup mango, 1/2 inch dice
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated lime zest

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a serving bowl, toss and serve.

Be creative! Using shredded cabbage, oil and lemon or lime juice as your base you could use any of our Aiolis with different add-ins.