Enjoy a spring treat in autumn

For people who don’t live in Canada or New England, autumn is maple syrup season.

Which is, really, kind of silly. By October, the sweet sap of the maple tree has already been sitting in your fridge or freezer for several months. Syrup is made in February, when the trees are exposed to the first deliciously warm rays of almost-spring sun during the day — and to below-freezing temperatures at night. It’s that one-two weather punch that creates the pressure that forces the sap up and out of the trees.

Now that we’re all more conscious of where our foods come from and how they’re made, we should be clear on this point: Maple syrup is a spring food, like baby peas and fiddlehead ferns.

And now that we’ve dispensed with the Eat Local lecture, let’s be honest: Autumn is the time of year when you dream of pouring a pot of warm maple syrup (melt some butter into  it!) over a short stack, or some waffles.

It’s autumn and your bulky sweaters are coming out of the closet (in spring, when the fresh syrup is ready to eat, you’re thinking more about your swimsuit — and your hips).

So here’s the question: Is  maple syrup more or less fattening than processed white sugar?

Surprisingly, white sugar is relatively low in calories. The livestrong.com website says 1 tablespoon  has 35 calories; maple syrup has 50 (honey has 60).

But there are advantages to eating syrup instead of sugar.  Maple syrup (and honey) are natural products and, like all earth-generated products, they bring some minerals and vitamins to the table.

Honey has niacin, riboflavin, calcium, copper, iron, manganese, potassium, zinc. It is also believed to help strengthen your body against allergies — but only if you buy local honey. It’s the homeopathy theory, which is that you fortify your immune system by ingesting small amounts of your environment’s allergens. (If you want local honey, visit the Millerton Farm Market on Saturday mornings between 9 a.m. and noon, it should be open for the rest of this month).

Maple syrup mainly provides  manganese (which is a cancer-fighting antioxidant and also, in the words of one website “participates in the production of sex hormonesâ€) and zinc (which strengthens your heart and helps protect the male prostate).

Also, with syrup and honey and all local foods, you strengthen your immune system by eating foods that grow in your own environment.

And you support your local farmers, which in turn protects our rural landscape.

Enjoy this recipe for Indian Pudding, provided by Clare Rashkoff of Lakeville.

Indian Pudding

Adapted from “Vineyard Seasons†by Susan Branch

Serves four

2 3/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup cornmeal, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/8 cup molasses, 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, pinch of salt, chopped candied ginger optional as a garnish

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Butter a small baking dish (3-by-5 inches is probably a good size). In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the milk without allowing it to boil (wisps of steam will start to rise from the top). Gradually whisk in the cornmeal and stir until the mixture begins to thicken (this can take as long as 10 minutes).

Whisk in the remaining ingredients (except the candied ginger) and continue to stir until they’ve all had a chance to get warm. Pour into your buttered baking dish and put in the oven for three hours, until the sides of the top are browned and sticky looking. Let it cool slightly; it should firm up.

Serve with ice cream and/or whipped cream and candied ginger.