It's agribiz that supplies TJ's - you can't be
imagining that thousands of little pickup trucks
come in from Vermont and upstate and drop things
off at the stores. Actually, not only is it agribiz
it appears to be Canadian agribiz.

Yep, it sure is. The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers is a government sanctioned cartel of over 8000 small producers who all
have quotas and sell all their product through the federation which
sets prices. Maple farms can do direct sales to consumers but not
commercial bulk sales outside of the federation. They control over
90% of Canadian production and therefore 75% of world production.

It does make sense, this economic circling of the
wagons. I'm a little surprised by the numbers,
because out east there is so much emphasis on New
England and New York production, which out of the
local context must be pretty puny.

The federation handles on average 10M gallons a year, And the
storage tanks in the strategic reserve they fill in high production
years can hold up to 2.2 M gallons.

That's a bunch of syrup. I looked up the numbers,
and that reserve alone is half the total production
of the US (most from the northeast). Speaking of
strategic reserves, I had a taste of US government
surplus cheese the other day. It had been properly
stored so was not that different from anyone else's
mature Cheddar - not bad at all. Perhaps the USDA
should go into the aged cheese business.

This next recipe isn't from Quebec but is straight out of maple
country ...
Title: Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken
1/2 c Dijon mustard
2 1/2 ts White wine
1/4 ts Worcestershire sauce
1 pn Black pepper
1 ts Shallot; finely diced
2 1/2 ts Maple syrup; pure

To qualify for the monicker, I'd expect more maple
in relation to the mustard - but then I am not a
fan of large quantities of mustard, considering it
mostly a noxious weed with culinary benefit only
when very sparingly used.

Recipe By: Best Recipes of Berkshire Chefs by Miriam Jacobs

I'm curious who this particular Berkshire chef was.
There's nothing particularly notable about the
recipe - even the would-be personal touch of the
Worcestershire doesn't seem to be that distinctive.

Easy Baked Maple Glazed Arctic Char
categories: fish, main, New England, Asian
servings: 4

4 fresh Arctic Char fillets (6 oz ea)
3 Tb maple syrup
2 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb fresh ginger
1/2 Tb cornstarch, dissolved in
1 Tb water
1 scallion, sliced thin (white part
- plus 2 or 3 in of the green)
1 Tb toasted sliced almonds (optional)

In a small bowl whisk together the syrup through
cornstarch solution until smooth. Place the fish
fillets skin-side-down in a shallow baking pan.
Pour the syrup mixture over. Bake about 10 min
at 375F until the fish flakes easily; baste with
glaze halfway through cooking. Sprinkle with
scallion and almonds before serving.

City Fish Market, Wethersfield CT
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Quoting Michael Loo to Jim Weller <=-

Title: Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken
1/2 c Dijon mustard
2 1/2 ts Maple syrup; pure

To qualify for the monicker, I'd expect more maple
in relation to the mustard

I agree. That's unbalanced.

From a maple expert ...

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Maple Kielbasa Bites
Categories: Polish, Sausage, Grill, Glaze
Yield: 6 Servings

12 oz Kielbasa
2 tb Dijon Mustard
1/4 c Maple Syrup
Skewers

Cut Kielbasa into bite-size pieces. Dip pieces into a mixture of
maple syrup whisked with mustard. Thread kielbasa on skewers and
grill over medium heat, about 3 minutes per side or until browned and
heated through.

SHARED BY:Jim Bodle 3/92

MMMMM

Cheers

Jim


... There's no such thing as bad whisky. Some are just better than others.

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