Maple Butter: what is it, and how is it made?
Maple butter is a semi-solid paste obtained from maple syrup.
Despite its name, however, this product contains no dairy-derived ingredients. Like peanut butter, its name is simply due to its buttery, creamy, easily spreadable consistence.
Like all Canadian maple syrup products, maple butter can only be obtained from the sap of the maple tree. It’s often considered a sort of ‘fondant’, a patisserie term that denotes a product of a thick, buttery consistency that is produced via a process of cooking, cooling, and mixing.
Just like maple syrup, maple butter is rich in the mineral salts potassium, magnesium, and manganese, as well as being a lactose-free, fat-free, and non-GMO product.
How is maple butter obtained?
To make maple butter, maple syrup is first brought to a boil (at 112°C) before being cooled rapidly (to 5°C) in order to increase viscocity and avoid any crystallising of the sugars.
Once this is done, the syrup is then reheated to a temperature of 15°C in order to be mixed and transformed into its butter form.
How do you keep maple butter?
Maple butter, once opened, can be kept for about a week at room temperature. The syrup may separate from the butter (this is completely natural), but it just needs a good mix to come back together again.
Kept in the fridge, it will not only maintain its consistency, but it can be kept without risk of mould for around 6 months. Before using it, let it warm up a little outside the fridge for ease of spreading.
It can even be frozen and shouldn’t separate in the freezer, but don’t try to defrost it in the microwave or it will revert back to its syrup form!
Remember that real Canadian maple butter contains no other ingredients apart from pure maple syrup. There are products on the market which, in order to reduce costs, have added ingredients like sugarcane or corn syrup, as well as various other creams and butters.
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