Maple taffy

Maple taffy (sometimes maple toffee in English-speaking Canada, tire d'érable or tire sur la neige in French-speaking Canada; also sugar on snow or candy on the snow or leather aprons in the United States) is a sugar candy made by boiling maple sap past the point where it would form maple syrup, but not so long that it becomes maple butter or maple sugar. It is part of traditional culture in Quebec, Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and northern New England. In these regions, it is poured onto the snow, then lifted either with a small wooden stick, such as a popsicle stick, or a metal dinner fork.

Maple taffy, a glassy and sticky delicacy, is made from pouring maple syrup over packed snow or cracked ice. The candy is made by boiling maple syrup to about 112 °C (234 °F). It is best to use a candy thermometer. The thick liquid may be kept hot over a very low flame or in a pan of hot water, but should not be stirred as it will form grainy crystals. Once it is ready, the viscosity of the liquid will be more than 4000 times the viscosity of regular maple syrup. This liquid is then poured in a molten state upon clean snow, whereupon the cold causes it to rapidly thicken. If the syrup runs, rather than hardens, and turns glassy and sticky when it is poured on the snow, then it has not yet been boiled long enough to make the soft maple candy. Once sufficiently hardened on the snow or cracked ice, the candy can be picked up and eaten. This is usually done with a wooden popsicle stick. The higher a temperature one boils the initial syrup, the thicker the final result will be. As it is popularly eaten soft, it is usually served fresh. It is most often prepared and eaten alongside the making of maple syrup at a sugar shack, or cabane à sucre.

Conflicting reports exist on the origins of maple taffy and maple syrup. Depending on the source, maple syrup production began before or after the arrival of European colonialists. In the northeast of the United States, there are tribes. In the Northeast of the United States, tribes developed techniques to concentrate maple sap into sugar and candies, calling it "wax sugar." Lower Nlaka’pamux people also harvested the sap, but "they didn’t boil it in the olden days; they just used [d] it as a tonic." When the European colonists in the Northeast learned of these techniques, they quickly copied the practice of maple sugaring, including making these “wax sugar” treats. In the “Canadian Settlers Guide” it remarks that “the Indian sugar […] is not sold in cakes, but in birch boxes, mowkowks, as they call them.” It is reported that the sap within these boxes would be boiled and stirred constantly to ensure a smooth texture.

New England settlers in the 18th century spent the last weeks of the winter in “sugar camps” to manufacture maple sugar for the year. While making sugar was the main objective of these camps, since it was simpler to store than syrup, it was also drizzled on snow to make immediate maple taffy. According to accounts of early American sugaring, this confection became known locally by a variety of titles, such as "jack wax," "sugar on snow," "leather aprons," and even "leather britches."

While the Iroquois gave the Algonkian tribe the "ratirontaks" or "tree-eaters" designation, this term was likely derived from the "well-known habit of these tribes of eating the inner bark of trees in winter" as the Iroquois also consumed the maple sap. Each tribe has a distinct myth surrounding the maple sap and consequent maple syrup and taffy. The Mohicans believe that when the snow melts in spring, it furnishes the tree with sap as the snow itself is "the dripping oil" of the celestial bear slain by the hunters in the wintertime.” For the Menomini, the maple tree was once accidentally cut by Nokomis, who, finding out that the sap tasted sweet, gave some to her grandson Manabush. As he thought that the sap in its original state could cause idleness in women, he told Nokomis to dilute the thick sap, which would then create the syrup. The practice of making maple taffy does not appear in indigenous stories surrounding the creation and discovery of maple sap and syrup.

The practice in Quebec is conducted in a "cabane à sucre" (literally, "sugar cabin," the rustic, outdoor structure where maple sap is boiled down to syrup and sugar) and the taffy is served with traditional Québécois dishes, including many savory ones that feature maple sugar as a glaze or flavoring element. In New England, the practice is sometimes called a sugar on snow party, and the soft candy is traditionally served with donuts, sour dill pickles, and coffee. The pickles and coffee serve to counter the intense sweetness of the candy.

Maple taffy is also made in the Canadian province of Manitoba using syrup from the Manitoba maple tree (also known as a box elder). The syrup and taffy produced from a Manitoba maple are generally darker and have a mustier flavour than that made from sugar maples.

Maple taffy is one of the traditional treats that can be widely found at the Quebec Winter Carnival, among other French-Canadian delicacies and winter festivities. The Carnival is held annually every February in Quebec City and is the largest winter festival in the Northern Hemisphere, with the aim of bringing warmth to the harsh winter season. Visitors can roll their own maple taffy at the festival grounds, and in a 2020 interview, it was estimated that the maple taffy stand at the Carnival sold an average of 2,000 sticks per day. In 2016, then-Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau visited the Quebec Winter Carnival with his family, where they were photographed making their own maple taffy. Similar winter festivals celebrating French-Canadian heritage featuring maple taffy take place across Canada, including the Festival du Voyageur held in Winnipeg.