It is then stirred either in the cooking vessel or in an appropriately sized container until granulation is achieved. Stirring continues until all moisture is essentially removed from the cooked syrup and crumbly, granulated sugar remains. The difficult job of stirring maple sugar can be made a lot easier with a heavy-duty mixer. Many producers have developed extensive markets for the product and now process much of their annual maple syrup crop into maple spread. Maple spread, a fondant-type confection, is prepared by elevating the boiling point of maple syrup to a prescribed level, then rapidly cooling the cooked syrup followed by stirring.
Maple spread is a delectable topping for toast, muffins or other similar products.
For best results, the syrup from which maple spread is prepared should be U.S. Grade A Medium Amber or lighter. However, other grades of syrup can be used if they contain less than 4 percent invert sugar. The amount of invert sugar in the syrup selected for making spread can be determined by the simple chemical test described at the end of this chapter. Syrup that contains from 0.5 to 2 percent of invert sugar will make a fine-textured spread that feels smooth to the tongue. Syrup with more than 4 percent of invert sugar is not suitable for making spread.