Cheese tasters chat about mild versus sharp. Wine lovers wax eloquent over round versus crisp. Now that it's sugar bush season in Quebec, maple lovers take note - you too have a language you can roll off your tongue like maple taffy rolls off snow.
Researchers at the Food Research and Development Centre (FRDC) in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, have developed a Flavour Wheel for Maple Products that defines the different flavours common to North America's maple syrups. Taste descriptors range from the familiar vanilla, white sugar and sponge toffee, to the somewhat surprising tastes of mushroom, cloves, and hay.
Jacinthe Fortin, a sensory analyst at the FRDC, led the team that created the flavour wheel.
"Until this maple wheel, we had a vocabulary but it [reflected flavour] defects like vegetable and rancidity. We tried to describe maple syrup with descriptors that could be more positive," Fortin said. The ultimate purpose of the wheel is to provide the maple syrup industry with a dictionary of terms that can be referenced to improve the quality of maple products
To identify the many different tastes in the syrups, Fortin worked with approximately 44 Quebecers who were willing to swish and spit 30 ml (about two tablespoons) of a variety of maple syrups from Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Vermont. Participants included federally employed maple syrup inspectors, as well as wine, beer and cheese aficionados. Every participant had to discuss their tasting sensations and be willing to reach a consensus on the syrup experience - was that taste like roasted dandelion root or was it more like black coffee bean?
While maple syrup's calorie count is slightly higher than white and brown sugar, it has fewer calories than honey and every spoonful offers more vitamins and minerals than the other three.
Fortin hopes that one day maple syrups will be categorized like wine is, so that people will be able to search for syrups based on desired flavours.
Montreal's Loews Hotel Vogue has already sweetened to this idea. They've established the world's first syrup sommelier, Chef Omar Fathallah, who has over 30 years of culinary experience and a palate trained to discern the subtle nuances of the syrup. From now until April, the hotel is offering a sugar season learning vacation package. The one night package includes accommodations, a maple-infused breakfast and private limousine transportation to and from a sugar shack for an educational (and sticky) hands-on tour.
If you're thinking about hosting your own syrup tasting, check labels for grading designations. Federally, maple syrups labelled "Canada Grade Number 1" are the lightest in colour, with grades 2 and 3 becoming increasingly dark. In Quebec, syrup is also graded in five classes of colour from extra clear (AA), clear (A), medium (B), amber (C) and dark (D). The provincial grading system takes into consideration syrup density and the taste characteristic of each classification.
Now is the time to visit one of Quebec's many sugar shacks! Maple syrup season typically runs from March to April before the trees begin to bud. Scared about the sugar coated calories in all of that syrup slurping? While maple syrup's calorie count is slightly higher than white and brown sugar, it has fewer calories than honey and every spoonful of this homegrown treat offers more vitamins and minerals than the other three. So go ahead, support Quebec's maple syrup producers and pour it on!
Treat Your Sweet Tooth
Flavour Wheel for Maple Products:
http://www.agr.gc.ca/maple_wheel/index_e.php?page=wheel-roue
Loews Vogue Hotel,
1425 rue De La Montagne,
(514) 285-5555
http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/Hotel-Vogue/Overview.aspx
Sugar Shacks near Montreal
Cabane à sucre Constantin
1054, boul. Arthur-Sauvé (Route 148)
Saint-Eustache, QC
(800) 363-2464
http://www.constantin.ca/cas_index.php
Cabane à sucre Lefebvre
10080, rang de la Fresnière
Mirabel, QC
(450) 258-3508
Cabane à sucre Lalande
862, Montée Laurin
Saint-Eustache, QC
(888) 682-3357
http://www.lalande.ca/
Domaine Magaline
7091, Montée Villeneuve
St-Augustin de Mirabel, QC
(450) 258-4132
http://www.domainemagaline.com/
Sucrerie à l'Eau d'érable
7870, rang Saint-Vincent, Saint-Benoît, Mirabel, QC
(450) 258-3633
http://www.sucreriealeauderable.com/
Sucrerie Lavigne
420, chemin Petit-Brûlé
Rigaud, QC
(450) 451-4482
http://www.sucrerielavigne.com/
Sucrerie de la Montagne
300 rang St-Georges, Rigaud
(450) 451-0831
http://www.sucreriedelamontagne.com/ |
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