Sweet and tasting purely of maple syrup, Maple Sugar is a natural granulated sugar with a light roasted flavour featuring smoky, woody and vanilla flavour notes.
Jump to:
What is maple sugar?
Produced when liquid maple syrup is reduced through evaporation, maple sugar is shelf stable, can be stored at room temperature indefinitely, and will not easily develop mould, which can happen occasionally to liquid maple syrup if stored incorrectly.
Interestingly, maple sugar can be reconstituted into a syrup again through the addition of water, meaning that is also a versatile Food Find that can be used when storage or weight concerns would preclude liquid maple syrup, such as when travelling or camping for example.
Maple sugar can be found in varying granulations depending on the producer. Often, it is very finely grained, dissolving on the tongue almost instantly with a fineness similar to icing sugar. Maple sugar can also be produced with a larger granule size, providing a pleasing crunch similar to that of raw sugar. I've also encountered maple sugar sold in small blocks, similar to piloncillo and palm sugars, which are also sold in solid shapes.
Maple sugar is considered a more nutritious and sustainable option than cane sugar, as it comes from a renewable resource and has higher levels of naturally occurring minerals.
Where to find maple sugar
Maple sugar is found directly through maple syrup producers or specialty shops selling maple products, as well as in health food stores, some well stocked grocery stores, at farmers markets, and from numerous online sources.
The process of deriving sugar and syrup from maple trees originates from Indigenous traditional knowledge and ways of knowing. There are a number of indigenous maple syrup producers that you can consider sourcing your products from, including here and here. Learn more about the indigenous history of maple sugaring.
How to use maple sugar
With a rich and recognizable flavour equal to that of maple syrup, maple sugar can replace white or brown sugar in cooking and baking. I do find that some granulated maple sugars have a slightly enhanced, and very desirable, smoky note that is more pronounced than in some liquid syrups. Maple sugar can be used almost anywhere that granulated sugar might be used and where a maple flavour is desired - in baking, roasting, in beverages, granola, yogurt, desserts, and in sweet and savoury condiments, amongst many other uses.
As maple sugar is usually more costly than cane sugar, I tend to use it as a flavour note in dishes where a smaller amount of sugar is called for, such as in my Roasted Rhubarb with Maple, Lemon, Vanilla and Yogurt, in Smoky Maple Pickled Chillies, or as a delightful flavour note that can be sprinkled on top of finished dishes both sweet and savoury.
Leave a Reply