Pure maple syrup adds a touch of earthy sweetness

By Carole Kotkin
Miami Herald

Posted: Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012

More Information

Maple-Glazed Cornish Hens

With Cornbread Stuffing

Adapted from “Roast Figs, Sugar Snow” by Diana Henry (Mitchell Beazley, $19.99).

About 2 cups crumbled cornbread (from a favorite recipe or mix)

1/2 pound pancetta (unsmoked Italian bacon) or thick-cut bacon, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 small egg

Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh thyme

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

6 Cornish hens

Glaze:

2/3 cup maple syrup

1 clove garlic, crushed

Hot sauce (such as Tabasco), to taste

HEAT the oven to 350 degrees. To make the stuffing, crumble the cornbread into a bowl. Cut the pancetta or bacon into meaty chunks and fry until colored on all sides. Add to the cornbread. In the same pan, saute the celery and onion until they are soft but not colored. Mix with the cornbread and add the egg, thyme and some salt and pepper. Use a fork to distribute the butter through the mixture as well.

WASH the insides of the hens well, dry with paper towels and season the insides with salt and pepper. Fill the hens with the stuffing and tie with string.

BOIL the maple syrup until it is reduced by a third. Mix with the garlic and hot sauce. Set some aside to use for basting and brush or spoon the rest over the birds. Season well with salt and pepper.

COOK the birds for 50 to 55 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees. Baste often with the cooking juices and the remaining maple syrup mixture.

YIELD: 6 servings.

When you want to add sweetness to your holiday meals, consider using maple syrup, which contains fewer calories and a higher concentration of minerals than sugar or honey.

Pure maple syrup is more expensive than maple-flavored pancake syrup but its flavor makes it worth the money. This thick amber liquid with its distinctive, earthy sweetness is made from the sap of the sugar, black or red maple tree.

Native Americans used the syrup as a food and a medicine. The process begins with tapping the tree, which allows the sap to run out freely. The sap, which is clear, almost flavorless and very low in sugar, is boiled to evaporate the water and concentrate the flavor. It takes 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup.

All maple syrups are labeled with a grade based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture system. The lighter the color, the more subtle the flavor.

Unopened containers of maple syrup can be stored in a cool dry place, but once opened they should be refrigerated. If mold appears in the syrup, even on the surface, you should discard the whole container.

Here are a few ideas for using maple syrup:

• Pour it on oatmeal topped with walnuts and raisins.

• Add it along with cinnamon to pureed cooked sweet potatoes.

• Combine it with orange juice and soy sauce to use as a marinade for salmon, spare ribs or baked tofu.

• Combine it with olive oil and pour over cut-up root vegetable (carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, turnips) before roasting.

• Combine it with butter and brown sugar and fill the cavities of apples before baking.

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