maple rice pudding

When the days are getting longer, and you can feel the warmth of the sun despite the chilly air, its maple sugar time. we had the good fortune to visit the Brookwood farm at the Blue Hills reservation in Milton during maple season this march to learn more about syrup making.
Maple sap begins to run when the temperature is above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. The sap runs from the roots to the branches. An average maple tree will give you about 15-20 gallons of sap. It takes 35-50 gallons on maple sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. The sap has to be boiled down as soon as possible after it is collected. The sap will go bad, losing its sugar, very quickly when it is above freezing. I love fresh maple sap. I remember visiting a sugar house in the woods of vermont years ago, and being given a dixie cup of fresh sap to drink. It has a wonderful green taste, fresh, like drinking new growth. Nothing like its finished product.



The sap is then put on to boil. At the sugar house the sap is boiled in a huge wood fired boiler. At home a large stock pot will do, but make sure it is deep so the syrup will not boil over. It takes anywhere from 2-6 hours for the sap to turn into syrup. The golden amber grade a syrup if made from sap at the beginning of the run. The dark, thick rich grade b syrup (that I live for) is the made from the sap at the end. I always use grade b when baking with maple syrup-it stands up and shouts MAPLE, instead of just sweet.



Maple syrup, and its further reduced friend maple sugar can be substituted almost any recipe. When I was a Pastry Chef at a macrobiotic restaurant, I used maple syrup as a sweetener almost exclusively. Try replacing 1/2 of the corn syrup in a pecan pie with maple syrup, or instead of molasses in a ginger cookie.



March is always a tough month to get through in New England, the light looks like spring but the air feels like winter. In Boston street corners are marked by ancient crusty snow banks that refuse to melt, and the whole world looks dreary. I am always depressed this time of year in the kitchen, dreaming of peaches and cherries and local strawberries, itching for the season to bring me something fresh. And then maple sugar time arrives! I never thought about it this way, but maple syrup is our first crop of the year! One of my favorite maple treats to make is maple rice pudding. Creamy, comforting, warm-it is a simple homey treat for a chilly day. There could not be an easier dessert to make-and here is how to do it!

Maple Rice Pudding

1 quart whole milk
1/2 cup long grain rice
1 vanilla bean
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt

In a large sauce pan, place the milk, the UNCOOKED rice, maple syrup and salt. Give it a good stir. With a paring knife, slice the vanilla bean in half, and scrape the seeds out and into the pan. Put the whole pod in there as well. Bring the whole thing to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Stir the pudding every 5 minutes or so, or the rice will stick to the bottom and burn. Cook until the rice is tender and to your liking-about 1 hour. Do not panic if it takes longer (or shorter!) Just go with how you feel about the texture of the rice. I personally like it to be very soft, so sometimes I cook the pudding for 1 1/2 hours. When the rice is close add in the heavy cream and cook for about 5 more minutes. Take out the vanilla bean (careful of your finger tips, it will be hot!) and spoon the pudding into heat proof bowls. I like to serve this pudding hot, but it can be chilled and eaten cold as well. It will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you like it cold, whip a cup of heavy cream with 2 TB maple syrup to dollop on the top.