Maple Tire

[Amber Gold]

Maple Weekend I had an older french-canadien woman come in looking for something she called cyr (spelling??)...also known as tire. She used to eat it all the time as a kid. I asked her if it was maple taffy and she didn't think so. She remembered it being very stretchy and harder than taffy. I think she'd have it on a stick and would take a bite and it would stretch a couple of feet before it broke off. I may not have all of this 100% correct, but this is what I can remember. I told her if I could find a recipe for it, I would make it for her.

Has anybody heard of this and do you know how to make it?

Thanks

[KenWP]

Josh you boil maple syrup to 231 up to 240 degrees depending how gooy you want it and pour it in containers before it gets to thick.I had it at 231 couple weeks ago and its not real stringy at that temp. I made some at 236 the other night and it was a lot tougher and stringy. They pour it on snow to eat also. Tire is just french for taffy but its not french for taffy. You have to understand french in Quebec to understand they have made up words. I get asked for it all the time. I asked she who has to be obeyed and she never heard it called cyr before and there is no such word that we can find. I will ask my teacher at school tomorrow if she don't know nobody does. Quebecois eat so much sugar its scarey. By the way they sell a cup of it for around $7 around here.
People buy the tire and then heat it up again to pour over snow or crushed ice.
The proper name for it is la tire as it's a female word. They use the term la tire sur la neige for what english call sugar on snow.

[TapME]

Ken you have it right. la tyre( or tire) is the is the right stuff, either on ice or snow. I remember it well from my younger days. There is no way I would do it now for the dentist would be the first visit.

[farmall h]

For some reason it always made me nausious as a kid...must have been the pickle I chased t with.;)

[Ausable]

Maple Weekend I had an older french-canadien woman come in looking for something she called cyr (spelling??)...also known as tire. She used to eat it all the time as a kid. I asked her if it was maple taffy and she didn't think so. She remembered it being very stretchy and harder than taffy. I think she'd have it on a stick and would take a bite and it would stretch a couple of feet before it broke off. I may not have all of this 100% correct, but this is what I can remember. I told her if I could find a recipe for it, I would make it for her.

Has anybody heard of this and do you know how to make it?

Thanks

Hey Amber Gold - found this on WIKIPEDIA - close to what KenWP says - That French Canadian Maple Syrup Makers would have breakfast at their Sugar Shacks - often being Sausages and Beans followed with Sugar on Snow or "Tire sur la neige" made by pouring thick - hot - maple syrup on fresh snow and then wraped on and eaten off of a stick -- Mike

[KenWP]

Man I love these guys that just have to get their two bits in around here. it's like they figure everybody is stupid but them.

[70 Buick]

Hey Amber Gold - found this on WIKIPEDIA - close to what KenWP says - That French Canadian Maple Syrup Makers would have breakfast at their Sugar Shacks - often being Sausages and Beans followed with Sugar on Snow or "Tire sur la neige" made by pouring thick - hot - maple syrup on fresh snow and then wraped on and eaten off of a stick -- Mike

you wouldn't believe how popular that is around Quebec
we pass St Eustache every weekend on the way to our cottage
there are 5 or 6 "sugar Shacks" in a row on the highway each seats between 3 & 5 hundred people, and you can't even get near the places jam packed with cars and buses at between 20.00 to 30.00 a head Big business

[Amber Gold]

Thanks for all the info. I'll give it a shot. So you're basically making candy without mixing it...pretty easy.

I wasn't sure on the spelling. When she said it, that's the way it sounded...the T sounded like a C.

[TapME]

Man I love these guys that just have to get their two bits in around here. it's like they figure everybody is stupid but them.

Hope your not refering to me Ken. Just look at your post for the time you have been here, sounds like you know it all. Enough said.

[Big_Eddy]

Tire (pronounced teerrr) is the french word for pull. "Tire sur la neige" is maple taffy on snow. Depending on how much you boil it, it will be hard and glassy, or tough and stretchy. Typical french tire is tough and stretchy, and would be wound onto a popsicle stick or a spoon. That's where the "pull" comes from.

Ice cream makes a good substitute for snow and is easier to come by at this time of year. Crushed ice works too, if you've got a number of kids to do. I've seen it poured out on ice in about 6" lines - hand the kids a popsicle stick - 50 cents a pull.

[mklarenbeek]

The only taffy I've ever made was salt water taffy. I got the recipe out of an old book I borrowed from the library. It pulled quite dramatically but the pulling did get difficult near the end. Definitely to much for small children to manage. There were flavour variations one of which was maple.

The only time I ever made it for a large crowd was at a Steam Show in the middle of August while it was too hot for it to really set firmly. I imagine though that if I'd tried this outside during the tail end of winter it might have gotten brittle enough to crack.

Is there anyone out there who has tried making both the Maple Cire and a more traditional taffy and could expand on the difference?
Other than flavour:rolleyes:

[Amber Gold]

Another question, how do you sell it? Do you put it in glass cream jars or on sticks? I'm thinking the former because I'm guessing it's going to be sticky and will make a mess of the wrapper.

Does it matter what grade syrup you use? I would think darker is better for more flavor.

[ctjim]

sorry to bring this back from the dead but i was out west in bc for my honeymoon and went to a farmers market and there was a producer there selling the tire he had a small camp stove w/ a nice stainless looking coffee pot and he would pour the syrup on some crushed ice he had in a big wooden 1/2 barrel then you got a wide popsicle stick and started to wind and pull and you got the tire. it was hot the day we were there about 24c and you had to eat it fast or it was messy. he was getting $3.00cdn for a "pull".

[Amber Gold]

I tried making taffy last night and it was a failure. I followed the directions in the NAMP Manual - heat to 244, let it cool for a few minutes, package then put in the freezer. This is what I did. I got up this morning and all but one jar had crystalized. I tried to minimize the amount of handling I did. Should I let it cool completely before I try to package it? I like the idea of hot packing because it won't go bad. Is there something I did wrong?

[red maples]

try adding a little cream of tater to a bit of water and mix it in and then bring it up to temp. like 1/8 tsp to a tbls of water the acid will stop the crystalization process.

[Amber Gold]

I made another batch of maple taffy a few weeks ago and it was basically a success.

I heated it to 238F and immediately packaged it and put it in the fridge. The first jar I opened was perfect until I left it on the counter. After being opened a few times, the entire jar crystalized. Also, at room temperature the taffy was too runny.

The second jar I kept it in the fridge. At the colder temperature, it's a perfect taffy consistency and it hasn't cystalized even after repeated raidings of the jar over the past two weeks.

I would like to get a product which is stable at room temp, if possible. This reminds me of a ticking time bomb...you never know when it's to blow. I haven't tried the cream of tarter because I'm trying to keep it 100% syrup. I may in the future though.

I will say, it's hard to keep out of the jar. This stuff is awesome.

I may offer this at this season's open house. What does a pull of taffy go for and how do you serve it?

[Maplewalnut]

Dip your food grade finger in the jar, scoop and enjoy

Seriously maybe popsicle sticks??? need something strong enough to separate out a wad of taffy but not take to much...

[maplwrks]

Any time I've seen this stuff, it was packged to be heated and eaten on snow or ice. I think Ruth Goodrich packaged the stuff for a while in microwavable dishes, with instructions printed on the top.

Maple syrup that has been cooked to this temp and left open at room temperature is going to crystallize, there's no stopping it! As far as adding cream of tartar to it---Who in the hell adds anything to syrup??

[innoxen]

How long do you keep it at the 236*F range?? After you reach that temp do you just pour it over the snow or chushed ice hot or do you let it cool to a certain temp?? Already making an appointment with the dentist, getting him ready....

[maplwrks]

Pour it over snow or ice while it is hot---The snow or ice will melt a little, but the syrup should become like taffy when you pull it off the snow. If the syrup just pours through the snow, take it a degree higher.