Essentials: Runny Maple Syrup
Cold, thin, light, and homemade
My grandparents kept a glass jar of their homemade maple syrup—cold, thin, and closer to the color of honey than the deep brown of storebought syrup—in their refrigerator door. Appropriately enough, Grandma and Grandpa lived in Mapleton, Wisconsin, which was really more an intersection than a town. Each spring, the maple trees lining their property sprouted little metal taps and big buckets that caught sap. They boiled the sap down to enhance the sweetness, but never so far that it was cloying or even thick enough to be a true syrup. It was more of an essence, still humming with the vibrancy of the trees—a taste of place and season that has to be homemade. —Paula Forbes
Paula Forbes is a cookbook author, critic, and the editor of Stained Page News, a cookbook newsletter. She grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and currently lives in Austin, Texas with a man, a dog, two cats, and a vegetable garden.
Kevin Necessary is a freelance illustrator and editorial cartoonist. He is currently the editorial cartoonist for The Cincinnati Enquirer. His cartoons are syndicated by GoComics, and his cartoons have been published in a variety of publications such as The Week and Politico. A Cincinnati native, Kevin will fight to the death defending Cincinnati chili. He lives with his wife, Julie, and three cats, Huckleberry, Grayson, and Bonnie.