Guest Post -Maple Candy: Little House on The Prairie Style

Maple Candy ~ Little House on the Prairie Style

By Beth Wegner

I'll tell you the truth: I read The Little House On The Prairie books as a kid, and besides being initially fascinated with the "old-timer" things that were done, I didn't pursue the idea that you could use the information in those books for anything in today's world.

But one day, after reading Little Cabin the Big Woods to my own daughters, my younger girl, Hannah, asked me about making the maple candy.

There's a scene where Laura and her young cousins take the maple that her father, uncles and neighbors have harvested, and pour them over pans of snow to make hard maple candy that gets frozen. I was as fascinated as the next person by it, but didn't think we'd try it.

But when the girls asked, I thought "why not?"

What we found was that it actually worked!

So here's a version we have. There is also a Little House Cookbook out there somewhere, which re-creates the recipes found in Little House....which is a great resource, also!

Maple Candy:


            INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
  EQUIPMENT
• saucepan (non-stick works best)
• candy thermometer

Instructions:

1. Cook syrup over very low heat until it begins to boil, stirring frequently.
2. Continue boil until it reaches 233°F on the candy thermometer.
3. Remove from heat and cool for aproximately an hour, or until the temperature on the candy thermometer reads about 110°F
4. Add the vanilla extract and heat until smooth.
5. Shape this mixture into small patties, or while still warm you can pour onto pans of clean snow as Laura did in Cabin in the Big Woods.
   If you don't have now, you can use crushed ice cubes and place into a pan before pouring the maple candy. You can also just pour the maple syrup into candy molds.
6. Maple candy must be stored in airtight containers to prevent the candy from drying out.
   
   Enjoy!