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Molten syrup being poured on clean snow to create the soft maple candy.
Maple taffy (sometimes maple taffee in English-speaking Canada, tire d'érable in French-speaking Canada; also sugar on snow in the United States) is a confection made by boiling maple sap past the point where it would form maple syrup but not so long that it becomes maple butter or maple sugar. It is part of traditional culture in Quebec and northern New England. In both Québec and Northern New England, it is poured onto the snow and then lifted either with a small wooden stick, such as a popsicle stick, or a metal dinner fork. The event in New England is called a sugar on snow party, and the soft candy is traditionally served with yeast-risen donuts, sour dill pickles, and coffee. The pickles and coffee serve to counter the intense sweetness of the candy.
The confectionery is made by boiling maple syrup to about 234 degrees F. It is best to use a candy thermometer. The thick liquid may be kept hot over a very low flame or in a pan of hot water, but should not be stirred as it will form grainy crystals. This liquid is then poured in a molten state upon clean snow whereupon the cold causes it to rapidly thicken. If the syrup runs rather than hardens when it is poured on the snow, then it has not yet been boiled long enough to make the soft maple candy. Once sufficiently hardened the candy can be picked up and eaten. The higher a temperature you boil the initial syrup, the thicker the final result will be. As it is popularly eaten soft it is usually served fresh. It is most often prepared and eaten alongside the making of maple syrup at a sugar house or cabane à sucre. Traditionally, sugar on snow is served with sour pickles (to cut the sweetness) and plain donuts.
In Friends, Ross gets hooked on Maple candy while on a trip to Vermont.
