How to Make Snow Taffy
Snow taffy also goes by the name "sugar on snow." By sugar, we mean maple sugar. In places like Vermont and Michigan, where maple trees produce syrup, snow taffy was a way for the syrup makers to tell when the sap was ready to bottle. They collected the raw sap in buckets hung over pipes that had been hammered into the trunks of sugar maple trees on March mornings, when it freezes at night and thaws in the morning to make the sap run. They would then boil the sap in large outdoor vats until it turned into syrup. When it reached the soft ball stage, which is between 234 and 238 degrees F it is ready. That is also when it coagulates into a dollop of taffy if it is poured directly onto clean snow. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 2 cups real maple syrup
- Heavy saucepan
- Tray filled with packed, clean snow or crushed ice
- Candy thermometer
- Ladle
Instructions
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1
Collect a tray full of new, very clean freshly fallen snow. Place it in the freezer until the syrup is hot. Crushed ice makes a good snow substitute. Fill a tray with crushed ice. Put it in the freezer because as soon as the syrup is hot you need the ice or snow immediately.
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2
Pour the real maple syrup into a heavy saucepan. Allow it to boil over medium heat until it reaches 234 to 238 degrees F.
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3
Place a small amount of the hot syrup into a ladle. Dribble it out on top of the snow or crushed ice. If it is the correct temperature it will immediately harden into a small round piece of sweet taffy the size of a quarter. However, if it is not hot enough, it will make a hole in the snow or crushed ice, staying liquid.
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4
Peel the round piece of snow taffy off of the snow or crushed ice. Let it melt in your mouth. If you make a lot of snow taffy, pull the pieces off the snow or crushed ice. Allow them to air-dry before wrapping the individual pieces in parchment paper or wax paper to serve later.
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