How to make Maple Syrup Taffy || Tire D’Érable
By Rebecca St.Clair
For many Canadians, maple syrup taffy rolled in snow is part of fond childhood memories of trips to the sugarbush in March. A simple yet iconic treat to celebrate the end of winter, and the beginning chilly spring days.
If you want to bring a taste of the cabane à sucre right to your own home, this is the perfect treat and a delicious way to embrace Canada’s natural beauty.
Every year we head out to the local sugar bush, especially since the start of maple season happens to fall around March break. It is the perfect family friendly outing full of tapping trees, wagon rides, and processing sap demonstrations in the sugar shack.
My son’s birthday is mid March and every year he wants to have his birthday breakfast in the tightly packed pancake house at the sugar bush where everyone sits at long tables and enjoys fluffy stacks of pancakes smothered in the maple farms own sweet amber liquid gold.
If you are like my kids, then the part most treasured during this outing is the maple taffy that they get to roll with a stick in the snow. Making their own natural maple candy.
If you can’t quite get to the sugar bush this year, or if you just want to give it a go at home, then this is your recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tradition – A symbol of Canadian culture and tradition. Tapping trees and processing the sap for sugar has been done by First Nations long before European settlers arrived.
Natural ingredients – Made with only pure maple syrup.
Family fun – A quintessential welcoming of spring in Canada especially Ontario, Québec, and Eastern Canada.
Storage
While these are best served fresh right off the cold snow, you can save them if needed!
The candies must be removed from the snow before storage. As the snow melts the candy will also melt in the liquid.
Candies must be kept dry and stored in an airtight container in the freezer.
How to make homemade maple syrup taffy without a candy thermometer
When it comes to candy making a candy thermometer is often useful, especially if you have not made candy before. However, they are rarely found in most home kitchens and can be unreliable if not calibrated correctly.
Maple taffy needs to cook to the ‘soft ball’ state. Don’t let this scare you, it is easy to do this without any special equipment at all!
Instead of a thermometer, drip a little bit of the cooked maple syrup into a glass of cold water. Fish the little lump out with your fingers and if you can mold it into a squishy but firm ball, the taffy is done.
If it is still quite loose, continue to cook the syrup another minute and then check again.
What is soft ball
Soft ball is how we refer to a sugar and liquid candy mixture that has been heated to 240°F. Heating sugar to different temperatures will result in a softer to harder candy in the end.
Jelly 220 °F (104 °C)
Thread 230 °F (110 °C)
Soft-ball 240 °F (115 °C)
Firm-ball 248 °F (120 °C)
Hard-ball 260 °F (127 °C)
Soft-crack 285 °F (140 °C)
Hard-crack 302 °F (150 °C)
If you have a candy thermometer and would like to use this for making maple taffy, make sure to keep the bottom of the thermometer in the liquid and not touching the bottom of the pot. This will give you a false reading.
If you would like a firmer candy, continue cooking until it reaches your desired temperature and firmness.
Since candy thermometers did not always exist, candy makers would use the method of dropping the cooked candy into cold water. When the liquid is dropped in water it will easily be formed, by your fingers, into a soft ball of maple taffy. This is just as reliable a method as using a thermometer.
Maple syrup Taffy Alternatives
In my opinion this is a perfect treat just as it is, with one ingredient, pure maple syrup. However, there are some fun things that especially the kids will find fun to decorate their maple syrup lolly pops!
- toasted shredded coconut
- sea salt
- chopped nuts
- festive sprinkles
- crispy bacon bits
- chocolate drizzle
What type of maple syrup to use for taffy
Pure maple syrup is needed to make maple syrup taffy, this is not the same as pancake syrup found in a squeeze bottle at the grocery store.
While any type of pure maple syrup will work for this recipe, my go-to is golden or light amber maple syrup. It has a lighter and milder maple flavour.
As you cook the syrup to make the taffy, it will darken and intensify the flavour. Starting out with a lighter syrup gives a milder and creamier taffy.
Tips and tricks for the perfect maple syrup taffy
Candy making is a tricky process. The cooked sugar goes from not done, done, to bunt beyond repair in a few seconds.
To make this recipe perfect the first time,
- Prep work – Make sure you have everything ready to go before starting to cook the syrup. Have your snow station ready along with the popsicle sticks and anything else you will be using.
- Large pan with water – Hot sugar will continue to cook for a few minutes after removing from the heat. If you notice the syrup is starting to get too dark, dip the bottom of the pot into cool water to immediately stop it from cooking. Don’t use freezing cold water, as you will then have the syrup set up in the pan before you can pour it onto the snow.
- No stirring! – Stirring the hot syrup may cause it to crystallize. Just allow it to bubble away on its own.
- Caution! – Cooking sugar is extremely hot! Never touch the hot syrup with your bare hands.
Ingredients
100 % Pure maple syrup – Golden or amber is best for this recipe.
Snow – Tightly packed clean snow can be replaced by finely crushed ice.
How to make Maple Syrup Taffy || Tire D’Érable
- Pour 2 cups of maple syrup into a medium sauce pot.
- Fill a large flat tray with snow packed down tightly. I used a rectangular casserole dish for this.
- Heat the syrup on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir.
4. Leave a wooden spoon resting on the top of the pot to prevent it from boiling over.
5. Watching the syrup constantly, heat it until it reaches 240 °F (soft ball), if using a candy thermometer. *Alternatively, keep a glass of cold water off to the side. With a spoon, drip a little bit of the cooked syrup into the water. Fish it out and if it squeezes into a soft ball in your fingers it is done.
6. Remove from the heat and immediately pour thin lines of syrup in the snow. About 8 – 10 lines.
7. Place a popsicle stick on one end of each line and roll the syrup into a lolly pop shape. Press it into the snow to solidify as you go.
8. Serve immediately.
Maple Syrup Taffy || Tire D'érable
Bring a taste of the cabane à sucre right to your own home, this is a perfect treat and a delicious way to embrace Canada’s natural beauty.
Ingredients
- 2 cups pure maple syrup 500 ml
- snow
Instructions
- Pour 2 cups of maple syrup into a medium sauce pot.
- Fill a large, flat tray with snow packed down tightly.
- Heat the syrup on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir.
- Leave a wooden spoon resting on the top of the pot to prevent it from boiling over.
- Watching the syrup constantly, heat it until it reaches 240 °F (soft ball), if using a candy thermometer. *Alternatively, keep a glass of cold water off to the side. Drip a little bit of the cooked syrup into the water. Fish it out and if it squeezes into a soft ball in your fingers it is done.
- Remove from the heat and immediately pour thin lines of syrup in the snow. About 8 - 10 lines.
- Place a popsicle stick in one end of each line and roll the syrup into a lolly pop shape. Pressing it into the snow to solidify as you go.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
While any type of pure maple syrup will work for this recipe, my go to is golden or light amber maple syrup.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 218Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 10mgCarbohydrates 56gFiber 0gSugar 51gProtein 0g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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