Volume 36, No.05
April 15,2015
How Sweet is Thy Syrup?
By: Kevin Markey, AOS Culinary For more than a millennia beads of sticky sap dripping out the trunks of the large maple trees scattered across the northeast went untouched. Then, just over three centuries ago, as the story is told, a chieftain tasted the sap dripping off of his tomahawk that was stuck in the trunk of a maple tree, and he deemed it ’sweetwater’. And thus, was born the idea that sap could be used as sweetener. I don’t think the Native Americans ever could have imagined the large scale production of Maple Syrup that is currently in effect in the US and Canada. In New York state alone there are over 2.2 million maple trees being tapped for maple sap collection, and double that in Vermont. In 2014 the northeast region totaled 2.75 million gallons of maple syrup, which was actually down 7% from 2013(USDA). And both of those stats are dwarfed by our neighbors to the north, who in 2013 produced over 10 million gallons (GlobalNews). But whether it is American or Canadian, we sure do love our sweet and sugary products, eh? So much so, that ‘pure’ maple syrup is under-produced because of how labor intensive it is. And, instead we make an imitation maple flavored corn syrup. This ‘fake’ maple syrup’s main ingredient? Yep you guessed it; high fructose corn syrup. And, for every one of the pure maple syrups on the shelf, there are five types of imitation syrup. Corn syrup is much cheaper to produce than maple syrup due to the amount of corn available and the ease in producing the syrup compared to maple. And while there are only three major manufacturers of imitation maple flavored syrup; Log Cabin, Aunt Jemima, and Mrs. Butterworth, the combined sales of these three brands exceeds pure maple syrup by fivefold (AGMRC). When asked his opinion on pure maple syrup versus imitation maple syrups, Chef Greweling (Chocolates and Confectionaries, Techniques and Technologies) said, “The language I would use isn’t fit for the school paper”. One of the largest challenges with maple sap collection today; is the impact of climate change on the tree themselves. Dating back to 1915 American maple syrup production totaled over 40 million gallons, while just last year we barely topped 9 million. Which has led in turn to a price
doubling in the last two decades. You see, maple sap collection is directly linked to temperature, specifically to the freezing and refreezing of the sap within the tree. In case you haven’t noticed the last couple of winters have been especially cold. And these ‘artic blasts’ as the forecasters have deemed them, are only going to become more common. So if the trends continue; with shorter collection seasons and decreased yields, we could see a permanent drop off in the production of pure maple syrup. And in turn? A surge in the amount of fake maple syrup available. Although here at the CIA, we are contributing in our own way. Behind the townhouses on the north end of campus there are 16 sugar maple trees, and for the last two months they have been tapped for maple sap collection. Between the Chocolates and Confectionery Technology and Techniques course and the Ecology of Food course, Dr. Murphy and Chef Greweling are combining forces to collect and produce as much of the sugary good stuff as possible during the short sap collection season. Although on average it takes 40 gallons of sap to yield 1 gallon of maple syrup, one maple tree can generally produce 10-15 gallons of sap per season. The students of the Ecology of Food course have been voluntarily collecting sap daily, totaling over 120 gallons. And in the Chocolates and Confectionary Techniques and Technologies
P3
“A Little Externship Advice”
P 4-5
“The EGG is Almost Ready!”
photo courtesy of CIA/Phil Mansfield course, students have made a total of 5 gallons of finished pure maple syrup with a sugar content of 65%. We are all most likely familiar with one of those three imitation syrups. Myself; I grew up on homemade Belgium Waffles, Aunt Jemima, and a whole lot of Irish Butter. But my flavor spectrum has adapted over time and I would never consider going back to the high fructose cheap crap. That’s right, I said it, it is crap. Especially now, after having sampled our own CIA pure maple syrup. After tasting our ‘home-made’ maple syrup I have to agree with Chef Greweling’s bias towards pure maple syrup. It is a complex and full flavor, slightly nutty and toasted, and just pure maple sugar deliciousness. And to top off this impressive endeavor by our own student-chef colleagues, CIA pure maple syrup has no added ingredients, (besides three drops of canola oil per five gallons of sap (used strictly as an additive defoaming agent)) so it also happens to be organic. Although, because of the short supply and regulatory laws, the CIA pure maple syrup won’t be hitting shelves this spring, unfortunately. But I do pose the challenge to all of you, before you sit down for your next Sunday brunch, put down the corn syrup and splurge on a bottle of pure maple syrup (American made hopefully) to put on your waffles… or pancakes. But that’s a whole other discussion to be tabled for next time.
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