Maple Taffy on Snow (Québec La Tire d'érable)

Watching maple syrup harden into taffy candy in snow is one of winter's endearing activities. The adult in us would advise the use of impeccably clean, freshly fallen snow (no Frank Zappa jokes here), while kids will just revel in the sticky fun and sugar high

Maple syrup is a sense of pride for many Canadians and rightly so. We produce 85 percent of the maple syrup that the world enjoys on their pancakes, waffles and crêpes. And here in Canada, we get to enjoy one quintessential Canadian experience - eating the oh-so-delicious taffy on snow.

Charlie Temple knows the joy of serving up the delicious golden sticks of taffy to visitors to Temple’s Sugar Bush in Ferguson’s Falls, Ont. Each year, he opens up his sugar bush and restaurant to the public, serving up lots of syrup and sharing the sweet secret to making liquid gold.

“It’s magic,” says Charlie, who’s been making syrup since the 1970’s. “The liquid pours out the trees and becomes the most wonderful tasting stuff.”

As guests walk through the trails in Temple’s 80 acres of sugar bush, they’ll see the criss-cross of tubes collecting sap from the trees each spring. As the days get warmer and warmer, the sap starts flowing from sugar maple trees and travels down the tubing to the boil house. There it’s boiled for hours until thick and golden. It takes about 40 L of sap to produce just 1 L of syrup.

Every year, visitors are excited to witness the process first-hand and learn how one of Canada’s favourite foods is harvested from the forest.

pure maple syrup
snow

Heat maple syrup in a saucepan until it reaches 232°F with a candy thermometer.

Pour the syrup onto clean snow in a straight line

Roll the maple taffy onto a popsicle stick.