In Season: A Golden Elixir

A Golden Elixir, All Grown Up In Season: by KATHRYN O’MALLEY

Maple syrup isn’t just for pancakes anymore. There’s a sweet renaissance taking place, but not where you’d expect.

When most of us think about maple syrup, certain images are likely to spring to mind almost immediately—visions of a lady Butterworth, snow-capped hills in Vermont, or perhaps the log cabin “sugar shacks” one finds scattered throughout Quebec. In all the familiar places, maple syrup season typically runs from mid-March to mid-April, when a pattern of cold nights and warm days sends sap coursing through the veins of the trees. But in Indiana, sugar season begins much earlier—earlier, in fact, than anywhere else in the world. Depending on the weather, Tim Burton and his wife Angie will start tapping trees as early as late January. Together they own and operate Burton’s Maplewood Farm, a small farm of 700 maple trees tucked away in Medora, Indiana. Tim is burly and bearded and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. In some ways, he’s exactly what you would expect of a maple syrup maker. In others, he could not be more unique.

While modern tubing systems certainly exist, Tim prefers to collect sap the old-fashioned way: with tap and bucket. The taps are entered into the trees’ cambium layer, where the sap flows between the bark and the hardwood. Forty gallons of sap yield just one gallon of maple syrup. Sap itself is thin, watery, and only faintly sweet. To bring its sugar content up from around 2% to 67%, Tim reduces the sap in a three-bytwelve-foot pan in an evaporator machine called the Volcano 2000.

“One way of looking at it,” Tim says,

“is that you have to boil off 39 gallons of water to produce one gallon of maple syrup.”

That’s a whole lot of sap for not a lot of syrup. But Tim is finding a way to put the evaporated sap to use, bottling the evaporation—with its lovely, subtle tannin flavor—and calling the water Maple Mist.

Here’s another thing that sets Tim apart: Whereas most maple-syrup makers rely on wood-burning fires to keep their evaporators going, Tim uses fuel oil which provides for greater control over heat. Right before he draws off the maple syrup, Tim runs the evaporator on low to allow the syrup to caramelize. The result is a richer, deeper, more nuanced flavor.

Sap from early in the season produces Grade A syrup, which comes in three subgrades: light amber, medium amber and dark amber. Sap from later in the season produces Grade B syrup. Grade A has a light, delicate taste—perfect for drizzling on pancakes or stirring into oatmeal— while Grade B has a depth and richness that holds up well to baking, braising, and roasting.

Lingonberry Waffles

View Greg Biggers’ recipe on page 58 »

Chef Greg Biggers slathers his waffles with lingonberry jam and honey whipped ricotta, then crowns them with fresh blueberries, pecan clusters, and a drizzle of Burton’s custom smoked syrup.

Braised Pork Belly with Maple-Sherry Calabrian Chile Glaze

View Paul Kahan’s recipe on page 59 »

The Publican’s Braised Pork Belly with Maple-Sherry Calabrian Chile Glaze

With its bold and complex flavor, Tim’s Grade B is also the preferred syrup of nearly every chef in Chicago. At Paul Kahan’s The Publican, braised pork belly is simmered in a spicy-sweet mixture of Grade B syrup, sherry vinegar, Calabrian chiles and a healthy dollop of butter. At Café des Architectes, Chef Greg Biggers uses a custom smoked syrup to top off waffles with lingonberries and honeywhipped ricotta. And Ina Pinkney, of the iconic breakfast spot, Ina’s, bakes freshly sliced pears draped in a sweet amber ribbon.

Chefs are drawn to Tim’s syrups for their superb quality, but they also respond to his innovation. Like the talented group he works with, Tim is constantly pushing the envelope, asking: how can I make this product different, better, more interesting?

“I’m trying to make maple syrup just a little bit sexier,”

he says. “We see so much creativity in these chefs’ kitchens, and we are inspired to look at what we produce and how we can do something new with it.”

The options, it seems, are boundless. From collaborating with chefs to create exclusive barrel-aged syrups for their restaurants, to working with mixologist Adam Seger to create cocktails using his syrup, Tim is singlehandedly changing the way we think about nature’s candy. His line of boozy adult syrups is nothing short of spectacular, blending barrel-aged maple syrup with some of the rum, brandy or bourbon that originally occupied the barrels. He is also working with chef David Burke to start a new line of maple vinegars.

Grade A maple syrup is broken into three subgrades which are measured by their translucence: light amber, medium amber and dark amber. Grade B syrup is the darkest of all with the richest and most robust flavor.

Tim is no doubt a pioneer in the sap-happy world of maple syrup. But sometimes, blazing new trails means revisiting old ones. Sap from the very end of the season, beyond Grade B, has a “buddy” taste; if you reduce it to syrup, it’s distasteful and bitter, and you would never want to eat it. However, in the early 1900’s people used to put that sap in old bourbon and whiskey barrels, throw in raisins and hops, and let it ferment. This, Tim says, results in a chilled concoction called maple sap beer. He is currently in talks with several different breweries to bring back the historic drink, and he will be doing some trial runs this season.

“It’s nothing cutting edge or brand new,” Tim explains, “but more of a throwback to another time.”

Burton’s Maplewood Farm

MEDORA, INDIANA (812) 525-2663 BURTONSMAPLEWOODFARM.COM

Burton’s syrups are available for purchase online and can be found at over two dozen grocery stores, markets, and restaurants all around Chicago. A complete list of retailers is coming soon to Burton’s website.

Ina Pinkney’s Maple Baked Pears are simple and fragrant, best topped off with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Maple Baked Pears

View Ina Pinkney’s recipe on page 60 »