Cooking with maple: It’s not just for pancakes!

Creating a maple delight.

We all know maple syrup is perfect poured over steaming pancakes at the breakfast table. But did you know maple syrup and maple sugar have been used for hundreds of years to sweeten everything from pancakes and breads to coffee and baked beans?

In fact, maple sugar was an important cooking staple for the first European settlers to New England and other northern regions of the United States. The settlers learned how to make maple syrup and sugar from the Native Americans, who had been doing their own form of sugaring for generations before the Europeans arrived.

The history of maple sugaring is shared during the New Hampshire Maple Experience…. AND local chefs reveal their secrets for getting creative with maple in modern day cooking, too! Each day of the Maple Experience, a chef will share cooking secrets and samples during live cooking demonstrations at The Rocks Estate. 

The chefs often invite guests to join in the cooking during the demos. Of course, samples of the finished product are also shared! In the past, our guest chefs have whipped up culinary delights like Whipped Maple Mascarpone and Maple-glazed Scallops with Maple Dijon Beurre Blanc. This season, we’re expecting Maple Teriyaki Marinade, Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette, and a Maple Crème Brûlée. Mmmm…!

You’ll find recipes from our guest chefs at the New Hampshire Maple Experience website. Long live maple, and Bon Appetit!

Maple sugaring step 2: tree tapping

If you read our Maple Blog last week, you know how to complete the first step of making maple syrup: identifying a sugar maple from other species. So, now what?

Tapping a tree at the NH Maple Experience.

To get that sweet sap out of the tree, you need to “tap” the tree. That means drilling a hole through the bark to get to the sap. Timing and technique are key when tapping trees. You want to be sure to tap when the sap is flowing in the tree – when the nights are still cold, but daytime temps rise above freezing.

Here are some notes from Rocks Estate manager Nigel Manley about proper technique for tapping sugar maple trees to collect sap:

The first year I sugared I made a couple of novice mistakes, including failing to notice the snow depth when I went out to tap the trees. 

The snow that year was really deep and I was using a brace and bit to drill the holes. The easiest way to use the tool is to lean against it while drilling. This I did and got 120 buckets hung on the trees. Then the weather turned nice and the sap ran through the trees.

The warmer weather also melted the deep snow. Within 2 weeks of tapping, the snow level had dropped at least 2 feet. This meant that the buckets I’d placed earlier, now brimming with heavy sap, were well above my head. In removing the buckets to collect the sap, I took a bath in cold sap more than once. The locals had a good laugh at the British greenhorn trying his best to make syrup.

Lesson learned: in snowy years, tap trees at snow level, as it makes the gathering so much easier.

Most guests to our New Hampshire Maple Experience programs ask if taking sap out of the trees hurts them. The short answer is NO. If trees are tapped responsibly, removing the sap does not harm the trees. (As a general rule a tree should be at least 10 inches in diameter before it’s tapped. Trees between 20 and 25 inches can support two taps. Trees over 25 inches in diameter can handle a maximum of three taps. You should also be sure not to tap a tree too close to tap holes from previous years – at least two feet directly above or below old holes or at least six inches to the side.)

When a tree is tapped, the tree actually walls off the hole so that bacteria cannot get in. After the hole is walled off, sap will also not flow out of the hole. That’s why it’s crucial to time tapping just right. If a sugar maker taps too early, the hole may "dry out" before the sap has much chance to run. Too late, and you’ll miss the first sap runs of the season.

Many modern sugar makers now use plastic tubing, rather than metal buckets, to collect the sap. The tubing provides a bit more leeway in the timing of tapping, as bacteria has a hard time getting into this system and the tap holes don't dry out as quickly.

To see a demonstration of tree tapping, check out our video of the process, filmed at The Rocks Estate. 

Maple sugaring step one: ID your Tree

How does a Brit, transplanted to Bethlehem, New Hampshire, figure out which trees in the northern forest will yield the sweet sap that boils down to maple syrup? Here’s Rocks Estate manager Nigel Manley’s story…

Shaggy bark + long-forgotten bucket = sugar maple!

During my first sugaring season at The Rocks, it was definitely a challenge to figure out the art of making maple syrup. I hadn’t even tasted maple syrup until I moved to the States at age 23. Coming from the UK (where there is only one native maple – the field maple), the most difficult part of maple sugaring for me was trying to figure out which trees to tap.

Branching, buds, and bark are the three keys to identifying trees in winter, when we don’t have their distinct leaf shapes to tip us off as to their species. My first maple season, I set off into the snowy late winter woods to find sugar maples – opposite branches; buds that are small, sharp and brown to reddish-brown in color; bark that can be smooth on younger trees, but is shaggy on older trees.

I quickly found out that for a novice tree seeker, it’s pretty easy to determine opposite branching (which in this region means ash, red maple, or sugar maple), but getting a good look at buds that are 20 to 40 feet above me was nearly impossible.

To compound the challenge, I was wearing snowshoes – another thing I’d never tried in the UK. As I trudged through the forest, there was plenty of tripping, falling, and sliding between glacial erratics as I searched for the seemingly elusive sugar maple. As I looked high above into the branches, struggling to see those little buds, I kept crossing the backs of my snowshoes and toppling over.

Apparently, falling over in deep snow had an effect, as I soon had a revelation: the easiest way to find a sugar maple in a sugar orchard (which contains several species of trees) is to look for the tree trunks that have holes drilled into them from previous sugaring seasons. (Rarely, there's even a sap bucket left behind, as in the photo above.) One caveat to this technique is that it only works if you’re in a sugar orchard that has been tapped previously by a knowledgeable sugar maker.

At the New Hampshire MapleExperience, we teach visitors how to identify sugar maple trees – and we do it from the comfort and safety of a horse-drawn wagon. No snowshoes, no tipping over into the snow, just pure fun as we pick out ash, red maple, sugar maple, and New Hampshire’s state tree, the white birch, from the forests around the farm.

Did you know…. There are over 100 species of maple tree in the world (and seven in New Hampshire), and syrup is made primarily from the sap of the sugar maple. Other species, like the red maple and boxelder, may be tapped to make syrup, but the sap of the sugar maple contains the highest sugar content – roughly 2 percent – and produces a lighter and more flavorful syrup.

Keep your eyes on our Maple Blog for more about sugaring and the New Hampshire Maple Experience, from tapping trees and maple cooking demos to what happens in the sugar house and our interactive Maple Museum.

The NH Maple Experience returns in March!

The New Hampshire Maple Experience will return to The Rocks Estate this spring, bringing with it all the tradition, sweetness, and fun of maple sugaring season! Dates for this year's Maple Experience are March 16, 23-24, 30- 31, and April 6.

The Experience includes an interactive step-by-step demonstration of crafting maple syrup – complete with a visit to the onsite sugar house – as well as a horse-drawn carriage ride through the historic Rocks Estate and a syrup tasting with the traditional pairing of sour pickle and homemade donut.

“Parents looking for kid-friendly events often bring their children to the Maple Experience, and inevitably the whole family ends up learning a lot about maple sugaring – and everyone has a great time,” said Nigel Manley, longtime Rocks Estate manager. “We keep the Maple Experience fresh by adding new features each season.”

Other highlights of the Maple Experience include a visit to the interactive maple museum and education center; the "Taste of New Hampshire Maple," featuring local chefs demonstrating how to make their favorite maple recipes; a relay race where participants are timed on how long it takes to fill a 10-gallon container (enough sugar maple sap to make one quart of syrup); and tasty treats from Kingdom Kernels Kettle Corn.

Reservations for the Maple Experience tours are highly recommended, but walk-ins are welcome on a space available basis. For more details, please visit our online calendar. To learn how to turn your Maple Experience into a weekend-long adventure, complete with a stay at one of our partnering inns or hotels, check out our Maple Experience Vacation Package.

See you this spring at The Rocks!

Merry Christmas from The Rocks Estate

We’re thankful once again this year for all the folks who have visited The Rocks or ordered online during the Christmas tree season. Knowing there are trees from The Rocks emanating holiday cheer in homes throughout New England and beyond makes our holidays even brighter!

For the last minute shoppers and tree trimmers out there, The Rocks Estate will remain open right up to Christmas Eve. Our gift shop and the Rocks Marketplace are open daily from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. through December 23^rd and filled with unique gifts and plenty of items for decking the halls. Christmas trees may be purchased at The Rocks as late as Christmas Eve, December 24^th.  

From all of us at The Rocks ~ Merry Christmas, everyone!

Last week for online Christmas tree orders at The Rocks ~ and final weekend for Green Santa and wagon rides, too!

Christmas is just two weeks away, and we’re in the full swing of the holidays at The Rocks Estate...

If you’re planning to order a Christmas tree through our online shop, this is your last week to do so! If you live outside of New England, place your order by this Thursday, December 13^th, to ensure holiday delivery. If you live within the region, the ordering deadline is next Tuesday, December 18^th.

The Rocks’ own Green Santa will make his final appearance of the holiday season this Saturday, December 15^th. Santa will be at the farm from 10:30 a.m. through 3 o’clock and will be handing out Christmas tree seedlings to all the good boys and girls who visit. Our horse teams will be also be tacked up and ready to give wagon rides both days this weekend. Visitors are encouraged to make reservations for the horse-drawn wagon rides through the farm.

For more details on what’s happening at The Rocks, please visit our online calendar.

For all you last-minute shoppers out there, our gift shop and the Rocks Marketplace will be open daily, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., right through December 23^rd, and the shelves are stocked with wonderful and unique items for everyone on your list!

Tree trimming tips from The Rocks

There are as many ways to trim a tree as there are Christmas trees. There are sparkling  trees, color-themed trees, and trees filled with a hodgepodge of cherished family ornaments. Tinsel, garland, white lights, colored lights. Topped with a star or an angel or Santa Claus.

The beauty of a Christmas tree is really in the eye – and the heart – of the beholder.

If you want to add a fresh, personal touch to your tree this Christmas, homemade ornaments are fun to make and can be eco-friendly, too. A few ideas:

* Snowflakes cut from recycled paper (plain, colored, or patterned)

* Holiday ribbons tied to pinecones (which could be natural or dipped in glitter) or around cinnamon sticks (which add a touch of spice to your tree)

* Old Christmas cards cut into shapes and hung with ribbon

* Garlands strung with popcorn, cranberries, and dried apples

The first step to a beautiful tree, of course, is keeping your farm fresh Christmas tree, well, fresh! When your Christmas tree was cut, over half its weight was water, so the most important thing to do is keep that tree watered. Here are some tips for maintaining your tree’s freshness throughout the holiday season:

* Before you set your tree in its stand, make a fresh cut in the trunk, about ½-inch from the bottom.

* Place your tree in water as soon as you can and make sure the reservoir of your tree stand stays filled – the base of your tree should stay submerged to ensure it does not dry out.

* Try to keep your Christmas tree away from heating sources like fireplaces, radiators, and heating vents – and out of direct sunlight – to prevent drying.

* Miniature tree lights (LED lights are most energy efficient) produce less heat than larger lights, and therefore less drying.

* Finally, when the holidays have passed and you’re ready to recycle your Christmas tree, visit www.realchristmastrees.org to find out more about recycling options. (Christmas trees should NEVER be burned in a fireplace or wood stove, as doing so can cause excessive creosote buildup and lead to chimney fires!)

Need more tree care tips? Visit the New Hampshire Christmas Trees website for more information. 

P.S. Just a reminder that the last day to order your Christmas tree online is December 12^th if you live outside of New England and December 18^th if you live within the New England region!