what you should know
Up north, the brief maple syrup season is underway. The sap is flowing and the louvered sugar shacks are at full boil.
Real maple syrup is made from the sap of sugar maples. The sap flows up the tree during the cold night, then flows back down the tree as the temperature rises during the day.
sapped The sap is clear and light, like a mild sugar water. It's poured into an evaporator where it's boiled for hours to thicken. About 40 gallons of sap will get you only one gallon of syrup.
lingua dolce Until the cheap production of cane sugar and, later, high fructose corn syrup, maple sap was mostly used to make sugar. Today, even though almost maple sap is used for syrup, the old language of "sugaring" survives.
maple state In the U.S., most real maple syrup comes from Vermont, where sugaring (like cheesemaking) is practically a birthright. Syrups are graded based on when in the season they're made. (There's evidence that terroir comes into play as well.)
coatlicker Imitation syrups are made mostly with high fructose corn syrup and an aroma compound called sotolon. Chip's friend Mark, an amateur sugarer, says that going back to commercial stuff after years of making his own "is like taking a shower with a raincoat on. And then licking the raincoat."
what you need
Though it doesn't have the classic beehive shape of your local diner's tabletop syrup pourer, this WMF Satin Steel contraption is sleek and relatively drip-free.
For pancakes, it's hard to beat Calphalon's stove-top nonstick griddle. The square shape and low ridges make it easy to flip the flapjacks.
Maple sap's not just for syrup and sugar. Vermont Spirits makes a clean, rustic maple sap vodka.
what you do
We like to use the darker, richer Grade B syrup for this maple plum crumble.
Syrup, butter and pecans are just the right dressing for these maple-glazed pears.
Try this salty-sweet soy-maple vinaigrette on simple green or single-vegetable salads. Or use it as a glaze for grilled fish and meats.
We love the lush tang of this maple and apricot-glazed meatloaf, from new Cookthinktanker, Karina's Kitchen.
If you'd rather save the maple syrup for the pancakes, try hogwash's Whole-Grain Flapjacks and VeganYumYum's Easy Weekend Pancakes.
Featured recipe: Tahini and apple cider vinegar are two of the ingredients that makes these maple-walnut cookies so distinctive. The recipe comes from Diet, Dessert, and Dogs and is the featured recipe for this week's Root Source Challenge.
what you should know
Edward Bunyard wrote that while it is the "duty of an apple to be crisp and crunchable, a pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption."
America's most popular pear, the Bartlett, usually arrives at the grocery store crisp and crunchable, well away from full ripeness. (To ripen them at home, store pears in a bowl or a paper bag.)
As a Bartlett nears its "silence," it goes from green to yellow. Pears ripen from the inside out, so when the flesh near the stem gives to gentle pressure, a Bartlett is juicy and sweet and ready to eat.
Usually, you don't need to even touch a Bartlett to know when it's ripe. The showy aroma will give it away. A really ripe Bartlett smells like a wine bar at last call.
pairing pears As heady as a ripe Bartlett is by itself, we like to cook with not-quite-ripe pears. A crisp Bartlett thinly sliced adds a mild sweetness to sandwiches and salads. We also like to dice light green Bartletts and toss them on soups and spicy dishes.
williams vs. bartlett Before it was called the Bartlett, it was known as the Williams pear, which is what it's still called in the UK and other parts of the world. How did the Williams become the Bartlett?
what you need
One of the best and oddest books about fruit ever published, Edward Bunyard's Anatomy of Dessert is a true anatomy. It's a record of a better, more flavorful era in fruit.
Speaking of great, odd books about fruit, Robert Palter's massive The Duchess of Malfi's Apricots, and Other Literary Fruits could be said to be a pome tome.
If it's just pears you're into, Barbara Flores' Great Book of Pears is the final word on the matter.
what you do
We've been on a pita pizza kick lately. This one with prosciutto, caramelized onion and pear is salty, sweet and rich. It's too good to be as easy as it is.
Sliced or diced pear adds a mild sweetness that rounds out soups and salads. This dandelion, pear, blue cheese and walnut salad is a study in clean contrast.
It's hard to beat that traditional boulangerie staple, the ham and gruyère sandwich. But adding thinly sliced pears does beat it.
We try out a lot of new recipes every week. This pear and potato gratin is one of the best surprises we've had in a while. Please make it. Try it with a grilled pork tenderloin and a fennel salad.
Two classic pear desserts with slight tweaks: pears poached in red wine and cardamom and baked pears with caramel, crème fraîche and pistachios.
