Maple Madness. A sticky, sweet journey into the heart of Quebec’s wild maple obsession.

On arrival in Montreal, we were greeted with a maple martini – a symbolic amuse-bouche to the two weeks of maple madness that was to come. My whole life, I’d heard what I thought were playful jokes about Quebecers using maple syrup for everything from a dip to a dressing, to a drug. It wasn’t until I saw the truth of this with my own eyes that I was able to grasp the full spectrum of maple madness! I witnessed maple syrup added to coffee, cocktails, as a dip with nothing more than bread, as butter in cakes and crepes, on chicken wings, in guacamole, with grilled cheese, on bacon, over poutine, and drank right from the can – and yes, as a drug. 

​It’s said that in a ¼ cup of maple syrup, there is 72% of your daily manganese requirements, 27% of your riboflavin, 17% of your copper, and 6% of your daily calcium and potassium requirements. In addition to these interesting nutritional facts, pure maple syrup harvested in Quebec contains sixty-seven distinct polyphenols (South of the border the trees seem to lose their magic) and nine of them are unique to this syrup. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island discovered these new polyphenols and named the one that is produced while boiling sap into syrup “Quebecol”. Once it was proven that maple syrup contained antioxidants, could be used as an anti-inflammatory and one of the polyphenols was named Quebecol, the marketing dollars went berserk…hello, liquid gold! 

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While in Montreal, I was fortunate enough to interview local food historian and restaurateur Frédéric Lalumière of L’auberge du dragon rouge - The Red Dragon Inn. His excitement for Québécois historical cuisine was an enthusiastic lesson on all things maple.  
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There are many versions of how First Nations tribes discovered sugar maple sap, but according to Fred, it was when one Indigenous group saw a squirrel licking the sap from a broken tree branch. They wanted to know what the squirrel was interested in, so they took a rock and cut a wedge in the tree. Sap began to seep out, and so did the secret! Originally, the First Nations didn’t have the tools to boil the sap; instead, they let the mixture freeze lightly overnight, then removed the top layer of frost as the higher-sugar content liquid would sink and not freeze as fast. This would then be repeated as the liquid became more and more concentrated. The various Indigenous groups that had discovered the sugar maple sap first used it as sweet water in medicine. I think they were onto the health benefits well before modern day researchers.

As time went on, eventually, the French arrived and began to build sugar shacks to reduce the maple sap into syrup. Here, it was reduced down like hard butter and stacked for storage until the discovery of canning a liquid became more popular. Fred points out that there is one major misconception that isn’t talked about. It wasn’t the French who started the sugar shack parties, it was the wealthy English. Not until the latter half of the 1800s did the French catch on that throwing a party at the office was a good idea. Today, sugar shack events are a cultural and commercial celebration not to be missed. 

I was dying to know more; my guide, Angies cousin Jay’s arranged a day at a commercial cabane à sucre (sugar shack) for a hands-on class at sap central. We arrived at Érablière Charbonneau, an idyllic wooden cabin surrounded by sugar maples, deep in syrup country. Though out of season, it was like walking into a maple and poutine academy for some private tutoring, I was pumped!

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Owner Mélanie Charbonneau comes from a long line of tree tappers; both her father and grandfather were in the business. She says something during our initial introduction that I’ve now heard a number of times in this province; We have maple syrup flowing through our veins. And with that bit of historical reassurance, she takes us straight to the kitchen for a demonstration on Poutine de la Cabane. 

A diabetes-inducing delight constructed by her son, Hubert. This cabin creation starts by cooking scrambled eggs in amber maple syrup, then taking enough french fries to feed a small family and covering them in sliced sausage and chunks of thick bacon that have also been cooked in maple syrup. I can hear an expression bouncing around in my head that I’d learned since being in Quebec – Gourmandise, something akin to gluttony. From here what looks like an entire cup of cheese curds is added,  the maple scrambled eggs and finally this mountain of maple calories is melted together with gravy. It’s not quite 11am and I, too, am scrambling! Scrambling to figure out how I’m going to eat this sticky and sweet smorgasbord…After days of stuffing my face in this province, I have now adopted the name Monsieur Gourmandise.

The combination of this spectacular log shack we are standing in surrounded by sugar maples from which the syrup was sourced for this dish, along with the crisp fries, salty sausage and sweet syrup topped with egg of all things is absolutely amazing!  Within two bites, I can feel my glucose levels spike to almost euphoric levels. I think the only thing missing from this dish would be to serve it alongside an insulin pen. 

    After the VIP kitchen tour, we’re handed a maple slushie and taken out to explore the property like two school kids headed to the playground on a sugar high. Inside a smaller shack, we find a room where in winter, syrup is boiled down to 235oF where it reaches taffy thickness. A stage where science meets sweetness and can be poured into the snow and then twisted onto a stick…FUN!

    It’s here that we talk about the history of the syrup industry and, notably, the more recent history, including what happened to sugar shack culture during the pandemic. Typically, large groups or families would come together to eat and drink for sugar shack season, but of course, this was not possible in 2021, or was it? 

Mélanie, along with a few other producers, came up with the idea of preparing a cabane à sucre meal in a box that you could purchase online from a province-wide grocery store chain. Families could choose a cabane à sucre they wanted to support anywhere across Quebec and later pick up the ‘party in a box” at their local grocery store. That year, across the province, eight million in sugar shack meals were sold!

After spending nearly two weeks with Jay, his partner Chantal and their family, I took away some interesting cultural insights and eventually found myself in Chantals' kitchen for a five-star maple recipe. One night the topic of last names came up, likely as my wife doesn’t have my last name and Chantal doesn’t have Jay’s either. Quebec has 50% fewer married couples than the Canadian average. Jay & Chantal considered themselves to be Quebec married, the provincial equivalent to common law. For me, the last name doesn’t have any significant meaning. My wife and I met later than the average couple and whether or not she changed her last name had no impact on our life together. But for Chantal, despite being QC married, it was something completely different. It was something cultural, something legal. She knew her whole life she would never change her last name, and neither would most of the women she knew.

    To my surprise and possibly to yours, it's illegal for a woman in Quebec to take the last name of her husband when they get married. After April 2nd, 1981, in an effort to protect women's identities and promote gender equality, in Quebec, you are legally obligated to keep your last name. A bold move that has rooted itself in the culture, I found this fascinating!

    During our stay, Chantal could often be seen in the kitchen pulling off a dinner for seven (they have three kids), constructing a little something for dessert, taking work calls, planning the following days events on her phone, organizing a few things around the house, and managing the revolving door of teenagers simultaneously. I felt like I was watching Martha Stewart star in Full House!

The hardest part was going to be getting myself into her kitchen with my camera without disrupting the flow of well-managed chaos. On the final day, I spotted maple candied almonds and pecans in the works along with some whipped cream cheese, and decided to make my move. 

In what seemed like one fluid motion, the oven was warming, various cheeses, flour and sugar were mixing, and a combination of maple syrup, brown sugar, and pecans were reducing on the stove. I requested kitchen access and acted like I was helping while trying to stay out of the way stirring the pecan mix as it reduced. An hour or so later and after eating enough candied nuts to reaffirm my Monsieur Gourmandise status, an eloquent maple cheesecake was cooling on the counter. To top it off in true cuisinière style, Chantal added a sprinkle of icing sugar and an edible pansy from the garden Jay had been watering. Say bonjour to Chantal's maple pecan cheesecake topped with a picturesque pansy. Someone, please pass me my stretchy pants!

                                      Chantal's Maple Pecan & Pansy Cheesecake

Ingredients
Crust :

• 1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 100 g Pecans
• 3 TBSP White Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Melted Butter

Preheat the oven to 275 °F and spray or grease the sides and bottom of your pan. While warming, use a food processor to pulse the pecans, Graham cracker crumbs, and sugar together. The pecans should look a bit thicker than the Graham crumbs once ready. Mix in the melted butter with a spoon or by hand; press into the base of a 9" round springform pan until a firm base is formed.


Cheese Cake:

• 250 g Cream Cheese
• 200 g Ricotta Cheese
• 125 g Goat Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Icing Sugar
• 2 TBSP White Flour
• 2 Large Eggs
• 125g Maple Butter

    
In a large bowl, add the three cheeses, flour, and sugar and combine together with a countertop or handheld electric mixer until the mixture appears smooth. Then, on low, mix in each egg one at a time until fully blended.  

Next, pour ¾ of the mix into the cake pan. To the remaining ¼, stir in the maple butter and fold on top of the three cheese mixture with a spatula to create a separate layer. Bake for 45-55 mins until the sides are firm and the center is still slightly soft. 


Topping Maple Candied Pecans 

• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Quebec Maple Syrup With Quebecol ;) 
• 1/8 Cup water
• 1 Cup Pecans
• Icing Sugar To Dust
• 1 Of Jay’s Edible Pansy’s or Similar

Over medium heat, add all of the ingredients together and stir continuously as the mixture reduces to a thick consistency, a bit thinner than taffy. Once ready, pour onto parchment paper and allow to cool. If you eat them right away, they will seem soggy. If you wait they will have some crunch and are devine.

Once these and the cake are cool, place pecans uniformly around the top of the cake then dust with the icing sugar and top with a Pansy. Served drizzled in maple syrup with non-calorie counting company for ultimate enjoyment 🙂