The sugaring season is slowly coming to a close in Vermont and the sugar bush at Sterling Ridge. This time of year here life is all about our Vermont Maple Syrup. We collected 123,000 gallons of sap – which makes Sue Barbour and Jackie DeMeglio the winners of the Sterling Ridge Resort Facebook contest! They both guessed that approximately 117,000 gallons would be collected. Congrats – quarts will be heading your way soon!
Now that the sap has been collected and boiled down, what is so great about Vermont Gold aka Vermont Maple Syrup? It is great to use in recipes, drizzled over pancakes or ice cream and even a sweetener alternative (it’s really good in coffee – try it, sooo yummy!)
Did you know that 1/4 cup of the golden, liquid, sticky stuff has as many antioxidants as 1 raw carrot! Some may say “But it is so high in calories!” Nutritionally, Vermont maple syrup has sugar beat! Pure Vermont maple syrup is high in manganese, riboflavin, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and potassium!
Check out www.vermontmaple.org and find out more. Better yet check out the 47th Annual Maple Festival in St. Albans, Vermont April 26 – 28.
Until next sugaring season, try out this recipe:
Maple and Mustard Roasted Root Vegetables
(Taken from vermontmaple.org)
Yields 6 servings.
1/4 cup maple syrup 2 tbsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp garlic powder 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion or 20 pearl onions, peeled 5 cups coarsely chopped or sliced veggies of your choice; turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, carrot, potato, yams, beets and/or golden beets.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss veggies and onions with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking pan. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove and re-toss on a baking sheet. Cook 15 minutes more. Toss again. Cook another 15 min. Combine maple syrup, Dijon mustard and garlic powder in a small bowl. Drizzle the maple mixture over potatoes and veggies and mix to coat well. Cook again until veggies (beets and potatoes will take the longest) are soft and glaze starts to caramelize and brown a bit.
Serve and enjoy!