Pure maple syrup deserves to be used well

Most of us have no childhood memories attached to maple syrup.

- NANDITA IYER

Maple apple spiced loaf; and the teetotaler's maple hot toddy. PHOTOGRAPHS BY NANDITA IYER

(NANDITA IYER)

What we do have is a food landscape that has shrunk the world and expanded our grocery lists to include ingredients from every corner of it. We may not have fir trees, snowy winters or crackling fireplaces—except in the Himalayan states—but a drizzle of pure maple syrup can still bring the cold climes and forests of Canada and New England right into our kitchens in India.Pure maple syrup’s flavour comes from a mix of naturally occurring compounds that give it caramelised, nutty and slightly woody notes, along with a subtle bitterness that keeps the sweetness in check. It is sweet, yes, but not in that flat, one-dimensional way sugar can be. What I find fascinating is that despite this complexity, maple syrup itself is beautifully uncomplicated—a single-ingredient sweetness that comes straight from the mature tree, naturally organic, with no stabilisers, colours or “natural flavours”. But in this simplicity, tapping maple syrup requires precise timing—ideally when daytime temperatures rise above freezing but nights remain below. This usually occurs in late winter or early spring, just as the trees awaken and the sap begins to rise.