Sugar on Snow: Maple Syrup on Snow Snack in Vermont
It's prime maple syrup season in Vermont right now. At Harlow's Sugar House in Putney, Vermont, that means ice chests full of saved snow (yes, actual snow instead of just crushed ice) are whipped out for the local springtime snack: Sugar on Snow.
In the maple belt of New England the treat is sometimes called "leather aprons" or "leather britches" because of its leathery texture. At some sugar houses, though not Harlow's, Sugar on Snow is served with sour pickles to cut the sweetness, and saltines or plain doughnuts.
How to Make Sugar on Snow
1. Collect snow from winter storm. Store somewhere safe.
2. Make maple syrup. Heat until bubbly and pour over fresh snow.
3. Devour.
The warm syrup crystallizes when reacting with the cold ice. What starts as a stretchy taffylike texture gradually becomes rock hard. At this point, the plastic spoons they give you are pretty helpless. The whole experience feels very Little House on the Prairie.
Inside Harlow's Sugar House, you can watch maple syrup being made and buy sugar on snow for a sweet deal of $2.50.
Across the street, buckets attached to trees are collecting sap.
Note: it takes about 40 gallons of maple sap to produce a gallon of syrup, which receives one of four “grades” based on the color and thickness of the syrup. For a list of maple syrup makers and updates on sap taps, visit Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association.
Harlow's Sugar House
563 Bellows Falls Road, Putney Vermont 05346 (map); 802-387-5852
vermontsugar.com
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26 Comments:
Mmmm looks so good!
cesnyc at 10:21AM on 04/06/09
Vermont makes some deadly maple syrup!
Note to check out the Canadian version of a Maple Snow Stack if you can too; served slightly different
hungrychristel at 10:35AM on 04/06/09
I think they actually did this in Little House on the Prairie (the books not the show) but I assume you know that since you mentioned the series. I'm pretty sure that's where we got the idea to try it when I was young. And for those who'd like to try it: you could always use saved maple syrup and fresh snow instead of trying to save snow to use with fresh maple syrup, might be a little easier logistically.
swampyankee at 10:59AM on 04/06/09
Sour pickles? Huh.
kitchenhacker at 11:03AM on 04/06/09
I have wanted to try this since childhood, when I read a book called "Understood Betsy" that described sugar on snow. I once saved some of our very rare snow and heated some maple syrup and poured it on, but it didn't seem to work; the snow just melted and diluted the syrup. Such a disappointment; clearly, I will have to go to Vermont some spring.
Likeswords at 11:33AM on 04/06/09
they TOTALLY did this in the little house on the prairie books! that was the first thing i thought of when i saw this post and how much i wished i could make this when i was a kid, but there was no snow to be found in los angeles...
prncsjenny at 11:47AM on 04/06/09
We definitely don't serve it with pickles here in Montreal. We just let the sweetness overwhelm us, untempered by a contrasting flavour. Nothing like a sugar coma to put you in a good mood.
bitchinlifestyle at 11:52AM on 04/06/09
So....I think this looks really good (especially with a plain doughnut), but I'm not sure I'd pay for it. No, I definitely wouldn't pay for it. Last time I checked, snow was free, so really...you're paying $2.50 for maybe a couple tablespoons of maple syrup? Don't get me wrong, I love quality syrup, but to charge someone for eating it on snow seems kind of ridiculous to me. What's next, charging people to drink rainwater?
kimberlymac at 12:12PM on 04/06/09
Our local farmers/syrup wizards have to make their money somehow...
tarahtot at 12:32PM on 04/06/09
@Likeswords - The reason your experiment didn't work is because it's not really maple syrup that's poured on the snow, it's maple taffee (or taffy for you Yankees). Maple taffee is sap that's boiled beyond the syrup stage, but hasn't yet turned into maple butter. You can make maple taffee by boiling maple syrup to 238°F.
SqueezeBottle at 12:46PM on 04/06/09
I'm in VT, not too far from Putney where this place is... but I'm glad I saw this, we were just talking this morning about this. One of my friends has been working his lines and doing syrup making... so I think we'll have to hit him up for some of the fresh syrup and have some fun. :)
Alm25 at 12:55PM on 04/06/09
We used to make this all the time growing up.I believe SqueezeBottle is correct in the extent of heating the syrup prior to putting it on the snow, crystalizes on contact with the snow. I recall the cleanup was a pain and it would just about pull the teeth out of your mouth but well worth it.
aldenrich at 2:18PM on 04/06/09
Squeezebottle, thank you! If we ever have snow again, I'll boil up some syrup to 238 until I get taffee and try again.
Likeswords at 4:11PM on 04/06/09
This looks kind of nauseating but I guess it's the same concept as snowcones...?
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 4:41PM on 04/06/09
@ Hillary- It's not like snowcones. You don't eat the snow. You only eat the taffee. In Quebec they pour out a strip of taffee on the snow and hand out popsicle sticks. You pick up the taffee from the snow by rolling it around the end of the stick. The snow is only used to cool down the taffee.
http://www.vuvoyage.com/images/photos/J4GG-13.jpg
I had some at Jean-Talon Market two weekends ago and it was fabulous.
SqueezeBottle at 5:33PM on 04/06/09
@Hillary: Not quite. The snow is there to quickly cool the maple syrup, usually, you don't eat it. It comes out kinda like a caramel hard candy.
Tally at 5:33PM on 04/06/09
I grew up in New England...French Canadian descent. We called this "tiere" (sp?) which means to pull. We would fill a brownie size pan with snow, pat the snow down firmly. My mother would heat the maple syrup and pour it on the snow. It is like caramel candy but lots better....we would eat it warm because it really gets hard when it cools. We never had that problem, we were five children
elaine nan at 5:53PM on 04/06/09
Frenchy here - it's called "tire sur la neige". Rolling it on popsicle sticks is the best so that a few bits of snow get rolled into the tire for a refreshing burst amidst the sugar. Watch out for the yellow snow though!
PeanutButter at 8:39PM on 04/06/09
Add some sweetened condensed milk to that...even more amazing.
Also, I wonder how their apple fritters are. I have a thing for apple fritters, but am frequently disappointed.
wunami at 10:16PM on 04/06/09
@kimberlymac... ask yourself how crazy it is to charge $2.50 for maple syrup on snow the next time you buy bottled water. Do you have any idea how much time, labor and effort goes into making maple syrup?!
As a native of New Hampshire and someone who grew up working on a farm that produced maple syrup, I can tell you that hauling buckets of sap (yes we did it the old fashioned way) in snow that is ass deep to a ten foot indian, is no fun and exhausting besides. If the farmers and maple producers could make 20 dollars for a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup on snow.... I say good for them!
Pavlov at 5:46AM on 04/07/09
There were many comments flying through my head as I scrolled down, but then I got to @Pavlov and...."ass deep to a ten foot indian..."
I think I have a new phrase.
inothernews at 10:31PM on 04/07/09
Ever since I read the Little House on the Prairie books (35 yrs ago or so) I have wanted to try this! But being from So Cal, I knew that wasn't going to happen. I didn't even know that it even really existed. To this beach girl, it was just a dream... I will definitely have to plan a trip for next year!
p.s. @kimberlymac - we pay for everything else in this world, why would you not pay for a "tradition" that has been going on for generations? I'm with Pavlov on this... And Pavlov, thanks for the great visual of "ass deep to a ten foot indian" I am only 5 feet!!! lol!
ddvierra68 at 2:39PM on 04/08/09
I first had sugar on snow about 12 yrs ago, just outside Montpelier, and I've raved about it dozens of times since then. It is FABULOUS with cider donuts and sour pickles.... seriously!
tcsmommy at 8:29PM on 04/08/09
@Pavlov & ddvierra68 - I meant no disrespect, and I apologize if I upset you. As I mentioned in my previous post, I too enjoy a high-quality maple syrup, and as I understand that is a time-consuming and exhausting process, I sincerely appreciate those who work as maple farmers. My only point was that I, myself, would not choose to pay for this. As several others have already pointed out, this is a process that can be done at home without too much trouble. But I understand that some people might not want to, or that others would gladly pay for tradition and/or to promote the maple-syrup farming community. It's obviously up to each individual to decide for himself. I would not choose to pay for it, but if you wanted to, I certainly wouldn't stop you.
kimberlymac at 3:05PM on 04/09/09
@kimberlymac... no disrespect or offense taken... people rarely go to a place like Harlow's Sugar House just for the "sugar on snow". They are usually people going for the experience of watching maple syrup production or to purchase maple syrup... consider it an impulse buy. IMHO $2.50 is a small price to pay for something so simple yet so delicious!
Pavlov at 5:31AM on 04/10/09
It's like in Little House in the Big Woods, the party at grandpa, sugaring snow. Wow that takes me back. Great feature.
tarva at 9:01PM on 04/12/09