looking for recipes using lots of maple syrup

January 18, 2020 6:24 AM

We were given a quart of NY maple syrup and we're looking for ways to use it up. We've used maple syrup in cooking lots of times, but it's generally in small quantities. Any ideas for using up a substantial amount of this quart? Complications follow.

We need to keep a gluten free kitchen, so we're not making pancakes/waffles or doing any baking (and we haven't experimented much with gluten free flours yet). We've used maple syrup in mead before, but all the carboys are full at the moment so we won't be doing that.

posted by maurice to Food & Drink (30 answers total)

Halve acorn squash and bake with butter and maple syrup in the cavity. Use in baked beans in place of molasses. And if you have any left by the time summer comes make maple lemonade.
posted by Botanizer at 6:33 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Make candy with it, if you have snow in your area.
posted by soelo at 6:44 AM on January 18, 2020 [3 favorites]

Make a double batch of these harissa and maple roasted carrots. I added a lot more harissa than the recipe called for, but it's possible the jar I bought was just milder than normal. Don't skip the lemons.
posted by belladonna at 6:51 AM on January 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

Do you like granola? Use maple syrup instead of honey. It would be WOW
posted by tmdonahue at 7:00 AM on January 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

Be aware that maple syrup needs to be refrigerated. It's not like honey in having natural preservatives. It may crystallize out (the good stuff does) and that's OK, but you want to keep it in a closed container in the fridge if you want to keep some for later.
posted by zadcat at 7:05 AM on January 18, 2020 [7 favorites]

These are gluten-free, no weird flours, and use 1/2 C of syrup.
posted by juliapangolin at 7:18 AM on January 18, 2020

If you decide you do want pancakes or waffles without having to experiment, gluten-free Bisquick exists and produces entirely acceptable results with minimal fuss.
posted by jordemort at 7:19 AM on January 18, 2020

Be aware that maple syrup needs to be refrigerated

... and it will last for ages in the 'fridge, at least mine does.

I was going to type a bunch of places where you can add syrup, but then I saw you're asking to use up larger amounts. Mostly I use a tablespoon or less at a time, but somehow a quart disappears in my household in a couple of months - long before it would go bad.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 7:22 AM on January 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

Maple syrup makes a great sweetener for coffee or tea, and in smoothies.
It's also yummy drizzled on ice cream or fruit salad.
And on roasted sweet veggies like sweetpotato, carrot, or squash.

AND OH! MAPLE SYRUP IS GREAT ON BACONNNNN
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:25 AM on January 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

Buckwheat is gluten free and makes for excellent pancakes (random recipe link as they're all pretty much the same). As noted above maple syrup will last for many months in the refrigerator.
posted by plastic_animals at 7:40 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Seconding as a sweetener for granola. Also use it in smoothies and add to plain yogurt.
posted by Leontine at 7:56 AM on January 18, 2020

Maple syrup is a wonderful glaze for grilled meats and fish, especially salmon. Use it straight, or combine it with a little soy and ginger.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:04 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you want to put a little money into it, King Arthur Flour makes a very good gluten free pancake mix.

Also, if you have found any gluten free off the shelf bread you like, you can make French Toast with it.
posted by gudrun at 8:26 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Would you consider maple cream?

It is a bit time consuming, but it is a delicious way to use lots of maple syrup. You will end up with a smaller volume of maple cream than the maple syrup you started with.

The recipe above does not note that it takes 30-40 minutes of mixing to get the consistency right. I use my stand mixer with the dough hook attachment at the lowest speed but I am sure you can use the regular beaters too. You just want to avoid making too many air bubbles.

I added a bit of cinnamon to my last batch, which was lovely.

Edited to add: use a much bigger pot than the volume of the syrup, it will boil up to double its volume during the cooking.
posted by keeo at 8:37 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

I use maple syrup as my main sweetener and here are some things it can go in

- lemonade or other drinks alcoholic or non. Shrubs can be good with ample and a good fruit. (and mead, when you have a free carboy)
- granola with maple syrup is terrific (this is my recipe, can easily be tweaked to avoid the gluten)
- banana bread is a good one, but I don't have a good gluten free recipe (this is the non=GF one if you are handy with substitutes)
- I put it on root vegetables, particularly yams and sweet potatoes, to roast them
- I use it as the sweetener in applesauce
- it's great just over vanilla ice cream
- it's good with balsamic in salad dressing

I think the use the most of it, filling up the acorn squashes is the way. You can also use sap water (i.e. the stuff that comes out of the tree, but you can mimic it by diluting yoiur syrupp 20:1) to boil hot dogs or franks.
posted by jessamyn at 8:45 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you eat fish, maple syrup mixed with miso or soy sauce makes an awesome glaze for broiled fish.

Nthing squash or sweet potato roasted in maple syrup.

As for doing large batches of stuff that will use lots of syrup and in turn keep for a while, there are tons of maple syrup-roasted nuts recipes out there -- great with rosemary or a bit of heat from sriracha, chili powder, etc.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:03 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Nobody has mentioned you can also freeze it! My parents buy it from a maker in big bulk and deep freeze it in smaller containers, and it’s excellent when it thaws.
posted by centrifugal at 9:18 AM on January 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

I also came in to recommend the Bisquick gluten free pancake mix. I honestly prefer them to the regular mix, and I say this as someone who loves gluten in all its forms.

My favorite breakfast smoothie is: a frozen banana, about a cup of milk, a glug of maple syrup, a teaspoon of vanilla, and some cinnamon.
posted by lyssabee at 9:32 AM on January 18, 2020

It's great on cornbread, or in the vein of pancakes, hoe cakes, which can both easily be made gluten free.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 10:27 AM on January 18, 2020

Here's a delicious recipe for maple sesame caramel corn that uses about 1/2 cup (and I'm pretty sure I doubled the topping amounts last time I made it...) It's SO GOOD!
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:28 PM on January 18, 2020

My standard salad dressing is maple syrup/balsamic vinegar/olive oil in a rough 1/2/3 ratio with a good pinch of salt and a little mustard. It's really easy and it's thicker than most vinaigrettes which I find kind of thin, and it's strongly flavored enough to use it on shredded raw Brussels sprouts salads as well as 'ordinary' salads.

We go through it pretty fast, actually.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 1:17 PM on January 18, 2020

As a Canadian I cannot really parse your question but I do offer:

Maple creme brûlée
Slow cooker maple baked beans
Maple old fashioned
Maple ice cream
posted by warriorqueen at 1:38 PM on January 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

Maple syrup kept in the fridge will last for well more than a year without spoiling. Well more. So there's no rush to have to use it up fast.
posted by Miko at 3:06 PM on January 18, 2020 [3 favorites]

A lovely, light salad dressing:
2 parts lemon juice
1 part olive oil
1 part maple syrup
Pinch each sea salt + black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced for each part olive oil

And yes, maple syrup will keep in the refrigerator for a long time.
posted by Dolley at 4:54 PM on January 18, 2020

I use maple syrup on plain Greek yogurt with some pecans or walnuts as a daily snack. You can probably use it up pretty quickly that way!
posted by KMoney at 8:24 PM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Maple syrup pie!! My friend made this once and it was yummy. Not sure what recipe she used but there are several out there and this one is well-reviewed: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/7437-maple-syrup-pie-the-best
posted by jglitter at 1:26 AM on January 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

It doesn't use up a whole lot of syrup at one time, but other than pancakes my favorite use of maple syrup is in what I call "Canadian coffee". Pour one shot of whiskey into a coffee mug, or a traditional glass Irish coffee mug, along with a shot or so of maple syrup. Add hot coffee to fill the mug, stir, and then top with whipped cream.
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:27 AM on January 19, 2020

We’ve made Pioneer Woman’s cranberry sauce which is quick - 1 bag of cranberries, 1cup of maple syrup & some orange juice are the main ingredients. It’s online and GF IIRC.
posted by childofTethys at 7:24 AM on January 20, 2020 [1 favorite]

Try adding some to chili. Adds a hint of sweetness, and can help reduce the heat a hit.

Mind you, I'm not from Texas.
posted by Pablo MacWilliams at 8:08 AM on January 20, 2020

I make a maple syrup caramel sauce for carrot cake that’s amazing and uses quite a bit of syrup
https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/salted-maple-caramel-sauce-easy-recipe/
This is pretty much the same recipe and the caramel is good on everything. Everything.
posted by yodelingisfun at 7:56 PM on January 21, 2020 [1 favorite]