By Shenandoah Marr
Once I made sure my pantry would always be stocked with bird-friendly coffee I turned my attention to other bird-friendly food products. Along with wildlife, food and cooking are favorite interests of mine so why not continue my obsession with bringing bird friendly products into my kitchen? Turn to bird-friendly maple syrup and other maple products. Having spent my whole life on the West coast I’d never given much thought to where maple syrup comes from other than observing that the Canadian flag has a maple leaf on it.
As it turns out, Audubon Vermont has a Bird-Friendly Maple Project. I was intrigued. Like Smithsonian Certified Bird-Friendly coffee, biologists work with sugar maple farmers to best manage their forests to maximize habitat for birds and other wildlife. Bird-Friendly Maple farms, or “sugarbushes,” are managed to promote tree species diversity, multiple layers of vegetation, standing dead trees and snags with cavities, and logs and branches left to decompose on the forest floor. In other words, exactly the type of ecosystem I wanted to support.
Thankfully, the holiday season was fast approaching so I had the perfect excuse to purchase some maple products. After browsing through many of the 40 or so small, family-owned sugar maple farms in Vermont who sell Bird-Friendly Maple products I decided to buy some items from Couching Lion Maple Sugar Farm. They offered a unique product in a maple sugar/smoked paprika rub I really wanted to try. Then I had to decide between the tantalizing names of “amber rich” or “dark robust” syrup (who knew?). After mulling it over I finally decided on the amber rich because it sounded more like what I was used to and I didn’t want to get too exotic.
This is like no other maple syrup I have tried. It has a complexity and richness that I have never tasted in the mass-produced maple syrups. A little goes a long way and I have eaten it over pancakes, yoghurt, and roasted vegetables. It adds a touch of sweetness to a refreshing summer cocktail. The smoked paprika maple sugar rub? Fantastic on roasted or sauteed vegetables and white fish. These Bird-Friendly maple goods are a decadent treat for sure, but one I enjoy both for taste and for the birds. With the holidays once again quickly approaching I may need to expand my horizon into the dark robust syrup.
For more information on Vermont Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Maple Project, visit this link.