Maple Sugar

Directions

1Place maple syrup in a heavy-bottomed deep pan, such an enameled dutch oven.

2Bring the syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until it reaches 265° F (or 45° to 50° F above the boiling temperature of water at your elevation).

3Turn off heat, and either begin stirring immediately or wait until the syrup cools to around 200° F. Either way, stir by hand or using a stand mixer until the thickened syrup forms into granules.

4 or

5Simply pour the hot syrup onto a Silpat (silicone baking mat), let it cool and harden and then put it in a food processor and grind it until it’s fine sugar.

6Sift the sugar through a fine-mesh strainer for more even maple sugar granules.

7Store the maple sugar in a tightly sealed jar at room temperature and it should keep indefinitely.

Note

1Thought the syrup cooks down considerably as water evaporates, the resulting sugar fluffs back up in volume. If you're trying to make 1 cup of finished sugar, start with one cup of maple syrup. One pint of syrup yields about 1 pint of maple sugar, or about 1 pound of maple sugar.