Maple taffy

Maple taffy, a glassy and sticky delicacy, is made from pouring maple syrup over packed snow or cracked ice.{{Cite book |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781119430902 |title=Textural Characteristics of World Foods |date=2020-01-03 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-119-43069-8 |editor-last=Nishinari |editor-first=Katsuyoshi |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781119430902}} The candy is made by boiling maple syrup to about 112 °C (234 °F). It is best to use a candy thermometer. The thick liquid may be kept hot over a very low flame or in a pan of hot water, but should not be stirred as it will form grainy crystals. Once it is ready, the viscosity of the liquid will be more than 4000 times the viscosity of regular maple syrup. This liquid is then poured in a molten state upon clean snow, whereupon the cold causes it to rapidly thicken. If the syrup runs, rather than hardens, and turns glassy and sticky when it is poured on the snow, then it has not yet been boiled long enough to make the soft maple candy. Once sufficiently hardened on the snow or cracked ice, the candy can be picked up and eaten.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cabotcheese.coop/blog/sugar-snow/|title=Sugar on Snow {{!}} Cabot Creamery|last=Earls|first=Averill|date=2016-03-12|work=The Cabot Blog|access-date=2018-04-13|language=en|archive-date=2021-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918121717/https://www.cabotcheese.coop/blog/sugar-snow/|url-status=live}} This is usually done with a wooden popsicle stick. The higher a temperature one boils the initial syrup, the thicker the final result will be. As it is popularly eaten soft, it is usually served fresh. It is most often prepared and eaten alongside the making of maple syrup at a sugar shack, or cabane à sucre.

Conflicting reports exist on the origins of maple taffy and maple syrup. Depending on the source, maple syrup production began before or after the arrival of European colonialists. In the northeast of the United States, there are tribes. In the Northeast of the United States, tribes developed techniques to concentrate maple sap into sugar and candies, calling it "wax sugar." Lower Nlaka’pamux people also harvested the sap, but "they didn’t boil it in the olden days; they just used [d] it as a tonic."{{Cite journal |last=Turner |first=Nancy J. |date=2020-09-01 |title=“That Was Our Candy!”: Sweet Foods in Indigenous Peoples' Traditional Diets in Northwestern North America |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2993/0278-0771-40.3.305 |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology |language=EN |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=305–327 |doi=10.2993/0278-0771-40.3.305 |issn=0278-0771|url-access=subscription }} When the European colonists in the Northeast learned of these techniques, they quickly copied the practice of maple sugaring, including making these “wax sugar” treats. In the “Canadian Settlers Guide” it remarks that “the Indian sugar […] is not sold in cakes, but in birch boxes, mowkowks, as they call them.”{{Cite web |title=The Canadian settler's guide. - Canadiana |url=https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.22860/3 |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=www.canadiana.ca}} It is reported that the sap within these boxes would be boiled and stirred constantly to ensure a smooth texture.

New England settlers in the 18th century spent the last weeks of the winter in “sugar camps” to manufacture maple sugar for the year.{{Cite web |title=Sacandaga Maple History {{!}} Visit Sacandaga |url=https://www.visitsacandaga.com/6948-2/#:~:text=Maple%20sap%20was%20boiled%20down,on%20snow%E2%80%9D%20or%20%E2%80%9CJack%20wax%E2%80%9D |access-date=2025-03-24 |language=en-US}} While making sugar was the main objective of these camps, since it was simpler to store than syrup, it was also drizzled on snow to make immediate maple taffy. According to accounts of early American sugaring, this confection became known locally by a variety of titles, such as "jack wax," "sugar on snow," "leather aprons," and even "leather britches."{{Cite web |date=2021-03-31 |title=Old-Time Sugaring |url=https://www.woodstockhistorycenter.org/articles/2021/3/29/old-time-sugaring#:~:text=syrup%20as%20an%20end%20product,,and%20evaporating%20the%20maple%20syrup |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Woodstock History Center |language=en-US}}

While the Iroquois gave the Algonkian tribe the "ratirontaks" or "tree-eaters" designation, this term was likely derived from the "well-known habit of these tribes of eating the inner bark of trees in winter"{{Cite journal |last=Chamberlain |first=A. F. |date=1891 |title=The Maple amongst the Algonkian Tribes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/658224?seq=1 |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=39–44 |issn=0002-7294}} as the Iroquois also consumed the maple sap. Each tribe has a distinct myth surrounding the maple sap and consequent maple syrup and taffy. The Mohicans believe that when the snow melts in spring, it furnishes the tree with sap as the snow itself is "the dripping oil" of the celestial bear slain by the hunters in the wintertime.” For the Menomini, the maple tree was once accidentally cut by Nokomis, who, finding out that the sap tasted sweet, gave some to her grandson Manabush. As he thought that the sap in its original state could cause idleness in women, he told Nokomis to dilute the thick sap, which would then create the syrup. The practice of making maple taffy does not appear in indigenous stories surrounding the creation and discovery of maple sap and syrup.

File:Children eating maple syrup on snow.jpg

The practice in Quebec is conducted in a "cabane à sucre" (literally, "sugar cabin," the rustic, outdoor structure where maple sap is boiled down to syrup and sugar) and the taffy is served with traditional Québécois dishes, including many savory ones that feature maple sugar as a glaze or flavoring element.{{Cite news|url=https://montrealgazette.com/life/seven-sweet-choices-for-cabanes-a-sucre-around-montreal|title=Seven sweet choices for cabanes à sucre around Montreal|last=Pattee|first=Julie Anne|date=2018-03-06|work=Montreal Gazette|access-date=2018-04-13|archive-date=2021-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918121715/https://montrealgazette.com/life/seven-sweet-choices-for-cabanes-a-sucre-around-montreal|url-status=live}} In New England, the practice is sometimes called a sugar on snow party, and the soft candy is traditionally served with donuts, sour dill pickles, and coffee.{{cite news|last=Zimmer|first=Erin|url=http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/04/sugar-on-snow-maple-syrup-on-real-snow-vermont-harlows-sugar-house.html|title=Sugar on Snow: Maple Syrup on Snow Snack in Vermont|work=Serious Eats|date=2009-04-06|access-date=2016-06-15|archive-date=2021-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411050133/https://www.seriouseats.com/2009/04/sugar-on-snow-maple-syrup-on-real-snow-vermont-harlows-sugar-house.html|url-status=live}} The pickles and coffee serve to counter the intense sweetness of the candy.

Maple taffy is also made in the Canadian province of Manitoba using syrup from the Manitoba maple tree (also known as a box elder). The syrup and taffy produced from a Manitoba maple are generally darker and have a mustier flavour than that made from sugar maples.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-maple-syrup-is-oh-so-sweet-1.2546960|title=Manitoba maple syrup is oh so sweet {{!}} CBC News|last=Green|first=Mike|date=2014-02-22|work=CBC News|access-date=2018-04-13|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220230700/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-maple-syrup-is-oh-so-sweet-1.2546960|url-status=live}}

Maple taffy is one of the traditional treats that can be widely found at the Quebec Winter Carnival, among other French-Canadian delicacies and winter festivities.{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Matthew G. |date=2020-03-17 |title=Winter in Quebec City with the Quebec Winter Carnival |url=https://www.mustdocanada.com/winter-in-quebec-city-with-the-quebec-winter-carnival/ |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Must Do Canada |language=en-US}} The Carnival is held annually every February in Quebec City and is the largest winter festival in the Northern Hemisphere, with the aim of bringing warmth to the harsh winter season. Visitors can roll their own maple taffy at the festival grounds, and in a 2020 interview, it was estimated that the maple taffy stand at the Carnival sold an average of 2,000 sticks per day.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqUXziBisCU |title=Quebec Winter Carnival’s Top 3 Foods {{!}} Festival Foodies |date=2020-12-10 |last=Insider Food |access-date=2025-03-24 |via=YouTube}} In 2016, then-Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau visited the Quebec Winter Carnival with his family, where they were photographed making their own maple taffy.{{Cite web |date=2016-02-14 |title=Trudeau Family Takes On The Cold For Quebec's Winter Carnival |url=https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/justin-trudeau-and-family-take-on-the-cold-for-quebecs-winter-c_n_9231518 |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=HuffPost |language=en}} Similar winter festivals celebrating French-Canadian heritage featuring maple taffy take place across Canada, including the Festival du Voyageur held in Winnipeg.{{Cite web |title="We're ready", St. Pierre Museum excited for Festival du Voyageur |url=https://steinbachonline.com/articles/were-ready-st-pierre-museum-excited-for-festival-du-voyageur |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=SteinbachOnline}}

In 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, celebrated Commonwealth Day with a visit to Canada House in London. The event was aimed at honoring the diverse community of Canadians living in the United Kingdom. During their visit, the Duke and Duchess met with a group of young Canadian expats, who demonstrated how to make maple taffy, with the royals participating in the process.{{Cite news |last=Furness |first=Hannah |date=2019-03-11 |title=Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrate Commonwealth Day with maple taffy |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/03/11/duke-duchess-sussex-celebrate-commonwealth-day-maple-taffy/#:~:text=The%20Duke%20and%20Duchess%20of,about%20their%20experience%20as%20expats |access-date=2025-03-24 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}

NHL hockey player Yanni Gourde ate maple taffy on snow out of the bowl of the Stanley Cup in his hometown of Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage, Quebec,{{Cite web|last=Staff|first=BarDown|date=2021-08-17|title=Gourde continues SWEET Lord Stanley celebrations - Article|url=https://www.bardown.com/gourde-continues-sweet-lord-stanley-celebrations-1.1682939|access-date=2021-08-19|website=BARDOWN}} following the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2021 Stanley Cup championship win against the Montreal Canadiens, two days after his teammate and fellow Quebecer Mathieu Joseph ate poutine out of the Cup in Chambly, Quebec.{{Cite web|last=Laframboise|first=Kalina|date=August 16, 2021|title=Say cheese! Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph eats poutine out of Stanley Cup {{!}} Globalnews.ca|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8115286/tampa-joseph-poutine-stanley-cup/|access-date=2021-08-19|website=Global News|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817234615/https://globalnews.ca/news/8115286/tampa-joseph-poutine-stanley-cup/|url-status=live}}

Maple taffy remains a very important part of their culture in Vermont. A great example is the non-profit organization Audubon Vermont, which organizes Sugar on Snow parties.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-15 |title=Sugar on Snow |url=https://vt.audubon.org/news/sugar-snow |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Audubon Vermont |language=en}} During these parties, they invite the community to their sugar bush to learn how to make maple taffy and watch sugaring demonstrations. This event typically occurs during maple syrup sugaring season in February, March and April.{{Cite web |title=Upcoming events |url=https://vt.audubon.org/events/sugar-snow-party |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Audubon Vermont |language=en}} While learning about the time-honoured tradition of maple sugaring and the creation of maple taffy, these gatherings let community members establish connections with one another and local producers. While sampling various grades of maple syrup, visitors learn about seasonal variations in syrup flavour and the specific habitat requirements of various species in the sugarwoods. The maple taffy is served with a dill pickle, modelling the historic traditions in New England. This event is free; visitors can purchase maple taffy and maple syrup on-site. All of the profits go towards Audubon’s education and conservation programs, allowing Audubon to further give back to the Vermont community.

• List of foods made from maple
• Cuisine of Quebec
• Canadian cuisine
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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170613142257/http://www.maplesyrupsource.com/maple_candy.php Maple candy]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDF05QiHDzk Video of how to make maple taffy]

Category:Canadian confectionery

Category:Cuisine of Quebec

Taffy

Category:New England cuisine

Category:Sugar confectionery

Category:Vermont cuisine

Category:Vermont culture