How to Sweeten Foods with Maple Syrup
Know the benefits and disadvantages of maple syrup., Select a genuine maple syrup., Find the right recipe., Substitute one cup (150 g) white sugar with ¾ cup (105 g) maple syrup., Experiment with other substitutions and sweeteners., Try a...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Know the benefits and disadvantages of maple syrup.
Sweetening a dessert with maple syrup rather than refined sugar can be a delicious way to liven up your favorite, treacly treat, but you should know that it’s not an identical sugar substitute.
Perhaps most importantly, you should know that maple syrup cannot leaven or moisten baked goods—that is, add air and water to them—as sugar does, so your finished product will come out denser and drier than the original, refined sugar recipe.It will also yield a slightly less sweet product, and it will darken your dessert due to its natural brown coloring. -
Step 2: Select a genuine maple syrup.
Oddly enough, your fondest memories of maple syrup-drenched pancakes might not involve maple syrup at all! That’s because many of the syrups people think are maple—such as popular brands like Aunt Jemima—are actually just high fructose corn syrup with an aromatic additive to mimic the flavor and smell of maple.
In order to avoid these insidious imposters, check the label and make sure it says ‘maple,’ rather than ‘pancake syrup’ or ‘breakfast syrup.’You should also consider what kind of maple syrup you’re purchasing.
Grade A has a subtler flavor and a lighter coloring, while Grade B is darker, thicker, and stronger.
Also, expect to pay more for a bottle of Grade A than you will for a bottle of B., It’s best to use maple syrup in items that don’t require creaming—that is, beating sugar and butter together so that the granulated sugar cuts air bubbles in the butter and leavens the pastry.
Add it instead to no-bake goods, such as candies, caramels, no-bake cookies and brownies, and ice creams.If you really want to add maple flavor to your baked goods, use granulated maple sugar—essentially evaporated maple syrup—instead of syrup.
The ratio for this substitution is 1:1., When using maple syrup instead of refined sugar in your desserts, you should use three quarters of the amount of sugar which the recipe demands.
Otherwise, follow the original recipe in all other respects, including cooking and refrigeration times.If you’re using maple syrup in a baked good despite the caveats, reduce all the other liquids in the recipe by three tablespoons. , If your maple-sweetened dessert turned out just right, great! If not, you can try the substitution trick on other recipes, or try the same recipe again while combining the maple syrup with other sweeteners, such as molasses.
Practice and tinkering will (eventually) make perfect! , You don’t have to limit your experimentation to old recipes where you replace the ingredient of refined sugar with maple syrup.
Instead, try using a dessert recipe that originally called for it.
For example, you can make your very own walnut-maple ice cream by mixing water, coconut butter, maple syrup, and sea salt, then freezing, and blending the mixture in a food processor with walnuts.Alternatively, no-bake maple brownies contain just five ingredients—coconut flour, cocoa powder, a nut butter of your choice, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree—and take only minutes to make! -
Step 3: Find the right recipe.
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Step 4: Substitute one cup (150 g) white sugar with ¾ cup (105 g) maple syrup.
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Step 5: Experiment with other substitutions and sweeteners.
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Step 6: Try a maple-specific recipe
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Step 7: such as maple ice cream.
Detailed Guide
Sweetening a dessert with maple syrup rather than refined sugar can be a delicious way to liven up your favorite, treacly treat, but you should know that it’s not an identical sugar substitute.
Perhaps most importantly, you should know that maple syrup cannot leaven or moisten baked goods—that is, add air and water to them—as sugar does, so your finished product will come out denser and drier than the original, refined sugar recipe.It will also yield a slightly less sweet product, and it will darken your dessert due to its natural brown coloring.
Oddly enough, your fondest memories of maple syrup-drenched pancakes might not involve maple syrup at all! That’s because many of the syrups people think are maple—such as popular brands like Aunt Jemima—are actually just high fructose corn syrup with an aromatic additive to mimic the flavor and smell of maple.
In order to avoid these insidious imposters, check the label and make sure it says ‘maple,’ rather than ‘pancake syrup’ or ‘breakfast syrup.’You should also consider what kind of maple syrup you’re purchasing.
Grade A has a subtler flavor and a lighter coloring, while Grade B is darker, thicker, and stronger.
Also, expect to pay more for a bottle of Grade A than you will for a bottle of B., It’s best to use maple syrup in items that don’t require creaming—that is, beating sugar and butter together so that the granulated sugar cuts air bubbles in the butter and leavens the pastry.
Add it instead to no-bake goods, such as candies, caramels, no-bake cookies and brownies, and ice creams.If you really want to add maple flavor to your baked goods, use granulated maple sugar—essentially evaporated maple syrup—instead of syrup.
The ratio for this substitution is 1:1., When using maple syrup instead of refined sugar in your desserts, you should use three quarters of the amount of sugar which the recipe demands.
Otherwise, follow the original recipe in all other respects, including cooking and refrigeration times.If you’re using maple syrup in a baked good despite the caveats, reduce all the other liquids in the recipe by three tablespoons. , If your maple-sweetened dessert turned out just right, great! If not, you can try the substitution trick on other recipes, or try the same recipe again while combining the maple syrup with other sweeteners, such as molasses.
Practice and tinkering will (eventually) make perfect! , You don’t have to limit your experimentation to old recipes where you replace the ingredient of refined sugar with maple syrup.
Instead, try using a dessert recipe that originally called for it.
For example, you can make your very own walnut-maple ice cream by mixing water, coconut butter, maple syrup, and sea salt, then freezing, and blending the mixture in a food processor with walnuts.Alternatively, no-bake maple brownies contain just five ingredients—coconut flour, cocoa powder, a nut butter of your choice, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree—and take only minutes to make!
About the Author
Donald Jackson
Experienced content creator specializing in creative arts guides and tutorials.
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