Sugar on Snow

by Ann Ingalls of Kansas City, MO

Two brothers and their dog, Bruiser, trudged through the snowy banks late one afternoon in March. They were on a mission to look for just the right kind of snow. It needed to be crystalline and icy, not soft and fluffy. It needed to be packed down.

Bruiser led the way. He was a sturdy collie and shepherd mix—black and tan all over with a fine dark mane.

“Look over there, Winston,” said Douglas. “That’s what we’re looking for.”

Winston padded after his older brother carrying a large scoop in his small, mittened hands. Douglas carried the roaster pan that had cooked more Christmas turkeys than could be remembered.

Douglas knelt in a shadowy patch of the white stuff followed by his younger, fair-haired brother. “Dig here, Winston.”

The small child used both hands to hold the scoop and eagerly shoveled as much as he could into the pan. “Enough?” he asked breathlessly. He had been working hard for he was a child who was used to hard work.

“Keep going,” encouraged Douglas. “Let’s fill it to the brim.”

Douglas gathered big clumps with his gloved hands. They accomplished what they’d set out to do, blinking away the falling snow that settled lightly on their knit caps and eyelashes. Minutes later, they headed back to the bright white farmhouse.

The roaster pan was heavy. Winston carried it as best he could. He knew this was important. When it got too heavy, he handed it off to Douglas.

Ma and Pa would be waiting for them. Pa would be in from the barn and resting in the ancient maple rocker while Ma stoked the fire in the wood stove.

Bruiser beat the boys back to the farmhouse, barking to announce their arrival.

The wood of the veranda floor creaked beneath their feet as both boys stomped the snow off their boots. Winston forced the door open and Douglas carried in the bounty of glistening white snow.

“Well done, boys,” said Pa. “Looks like you found what we needed.”

Near the cozy cast iron stove, Ma smiled at her sons. Using the lid lifter, she opened the stovetop and placed another stick of dry maple inside. Pa had started the fire before dawn with wadded up newspaper and cedar or fatwood. Hickory, birch, oak or maple keep an even heat.

Ma drug a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven from the cupboard, placed it on the smooth black surface of the stovetop and poured in about half a gallon of maple syrup. Uncle Elwin had a sugar bush and had given her some of his bounty.

The syrup sizzled as it covered the bottom of the pan and settled down to a simmer. It needed to come to a rolling boil in order to accomplish her purpose. Ma stood like a sentry, all the while watching and waiting. Steam rose up from the pot. Still, she continued to mind the swirling syrup.

“Flatten down the surface of the snow,” reminded Pa. “Use a saucepan until the top is icy and even. It needs to be smooth and shiny.”

Gliding the saucepan over the top, Winston flattened the snowy mass. With the bottom of the pan, he made several more swipes before he was satisfied with the results.

Ma speculated, “Just a few more minutes.” It had to be the right temperature. Too long or too hot and it would be spoiled. “Maple syrup is finicky.”

When it seemed like forever to Winston, Ma announced, “It’s ready! Step back.”

With mitts, she carefully carried the Dutch oven containing the sticky goo. It gave off a fragrant, sugary smell. Ma placed it on a trivet and with a longhandled ladle, drizzled the sticky stuff across the snow in tracks about a foot long. It rippled and curled in the most wonderful golden color! Almost looked like glass, but crinkled like bacon.

“Me first!” shouted Winston. “You first,” agreed Pa.

Winston wiggled up close to the snow with a fork in his little hand. He twirled the sugar candy around his fork, beginning at one end of the strip and ending at the other. When he was done, it looked like a small round bale of hay, but oh, so delicious! Gooey and wonderfully sticky!

Douglas and Ma and finally Pa followed suit. “Don’t chew it, just lick. Leather britches are stiff like taffy and could make your teeth stick together,” Pa teased.

Ma ladled more and then more of the sticky stuff on top of the snow. They all had their fill. After each serving, Winston repaired the snow, making it smooth and even.

When they were done, Winston thought the snow in the pan looked like a miniature tractor had driven over it.

Sugar on snow. Just right, thought the little farmboy.

How to Make Sugar on Snow

This spring-time favorite has been cooked up at sugar houses and sugar camps for over 200 years. In some places, it is also known as “leather aprons” or “leather britches,” because of its chewy, leathery consistency. Many New Englanders and Canadians call it “sugar-on-snow.” Here’s how to make it at home:

What you will need:

Heat the maple syrup to about 234º. Higher heat will make a stiffer product. As soon as the syrup reaches the proper temperature, pour or drizzle it immediately, without stirring, over packed snow or shaved ice. It cools so quickly that it does not have a chance to crystallize.

It will form a thin glassy, chewy, taffy-like sheet over the snow. Twirl it up with a fork and enjoy! Serve it with sour pickles to cut the sweetness and saltines or plain doughnuts.

Maple Sugaring Facts

• Pure maple syrup is only produced in North America in a region stretching from southeastern Canada to northern Ohio. Sugar maples don’t grow anywhere else on earth.
• One in every four trees in northern New England is a sugar maple.
• Abolitionists encouraged maple syrup production in New England to reduce the need for cane sugar, which was harvested by West Indian slaves.
• Maple syrup is processed on small farms and family-run operations throughout New England.
• Sap can be tapped from a tree only when nighttime temperatures are below freezing and daytime temperatures are above freezing. In New England, that means the harvest or “sugaring season” is six weeks or less.
• Raw sap looks like water and contains 2 percent sugar. It takes 25 to 75 gallons of raw sap to produce 1 gallon of maple syrup.
• The darker the syrup color, the stronger the maple flavor.