18 March 2009

mad for maple

While I like nuts in my cookies, I prefer my ice cream unadulterated, so this is David Lebovitz' Maple Walnut Ice Cream without the walnuts:

He suggests using dark amber syrup, which results in a lovely rich yet still delicate flavor. And the texture is so smooth and creamy. It may not look exciting (well, except for the drips here) but it's truly divine: I think I may have a new favorite flavor!

I dream of visiting a sugar shack during the six-week maple sugaring season, between February and April, when the maple sap is distilled into syrup:

It takes about 40 gallons of sap (three trees worth, here dripping from the tap) to make just one gallon of syrup!

Virtually all the maple syrup available in England seems to come from Canada, but being American, I fancy a trip to Vermont or Maine. Indeed, I used to live just over the state line from Vermont--what a missed opportunity!

10 comments:

  1. You are the ice cream queen!

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  2. What a lovely post and that cone looks pretty delicious too! I should be ashamed of myself that as a Canadian I've never attended a sap running festival. You've piqued my interest though!

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  3. Yummy ice cream - I must try that one.

    We visited a maple syrup farm one winter when we lived in upstate New York and drove to the slopes in Vermont most weekends. The smell - deeeeelicious!

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  4. Oh yum! and yum again! I adore maple syrup, and can quite happily drink/eat it straight off the spoon. Please can you share a blondie recipe?
    D x

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  5. Mmmmmm my mouth is watering that looks so good!

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  6. Maple makes a fantastically sweet ice-cream, with a flavour similar to caramel. Now I just need to get some nut sprinkles for that extra crunchiness!

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  7. ooh delicious. we went to a syrup farm once, it was incredible, clouds of sugary steam........
    suddenly I feel the need for pancakes....

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  8. Hi, Just found your very addictive blog - I can't believe what happened to your allotment cafe. Am just about to browse all of your archives.

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  9. Oh! Can I come too? I can't think of anything nicer than driving around Vermont tasting maple syrup.

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  10. Mmm, that looks delicious! I don't like nuts in my ice cream either, so I would make the same modification to the recipe. :)

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