Maple Days: Day 7

Jack Wax. I like to think some poor guy named Jack fell asleep as he was finishing off some syrup. He wakes up, rushing over to find his syrup has boiled over. Catastrophe! Syrup everywhere, a sticky mess has congealed around his pans. He throws his hat down, stomping around and cursing all his wasted effort. In his growing frustration, he heaves the steaming pan outside, tossing the whole mess into the snowbank.

But what's this? Jack goes over to where he tossed the pan. The maple syrup has trickled out onto the snow, where's it's congealed into some foreign, waxy substance. He tastes, and his famous "sugar on snow" is born.

Well, that's probably not what happened. But it still tastes great none-the-less!

Jack wax is made by heating syrup to 35 degrees or so above the boiling point of water. This is more of a guideline however; the syrup should "thread" rather than drip to get that taffy-like consistency on the snow. When done properly, the syrup congeals instantly on contact, and with a fork, you simply roll up the syrup and eat. Probably one of the easiest recipes out there. Best eaten with friends or family; otherwise you're liable to go into sugar shock, having eaten all the jack wax yourself!