A number of years ago, I had the good fortune to spend a few days in Vermont during maple sugaring season. It was an extraordinary experience that I will never forget. One of the many amazing individuals I met was Burr Morse, who runs the family sugaring business at the Morse Farm Maple Sugar Works, in Montpelier, Vermont. I also discovered his addictive maple kettle corn, featured in this post.
Burr aptly describes himself as a “real Vermonter,” with “roots that have reached into the same Vermont hillside for seven generations.” Other qualifications he mentions: “I constantly crave dried beef gravy, sugar on snow, and peas with new potatoes. To me, splitting wood and hefting bales are the two best exercises.” (In case you haven’t heard of it, sugar on snow is a simple taffy of boiled-down maple sugar that’s cooled by drizzling it over snow.)
Though Burr claims that his late father was the true larger-than-life character in the family, his quick, sly wit and cultivated air of back woods folksiness win him plenty of “colorful Yankee” character points of his own. For example, he says he was “agape the whole night,” the first time his son took him to a Boston Red Sox game, adding, “wow, I never realized the crucial role beer plays in a ball game…..bucket brigades of it went past us into the stands!”
Burr also has a great sense of whimsy that was evident everywhere when my husband and I visited Morse Farm. He likes to collect and rough-carve fanciful-looking old gnarled tree stumps and branches and turn them into folk art works that are displayed around the sugar shack yard. Among the “statues” shown in the pics here: 
A tree trunk shaped a bit like a reclining, armless woman, which he calls, “Venus de Maple.” Another exhibit features what resembles the head of an elephant and the rear of an ass; it’s titled “Republicans and Democrats.” The pic below, shows an intricate, toothy, totally charming dragon. I wish I had him for my yard!
Maple Kettle Corn
I’d never tried maple kettle corn until I visited Morse Farm, and I will now always associate it with my time there. Burr says he invented his maple kettle corn recipe out of dire necessity after he purchased a huge stock of pricey customized cardboard tubs to use in packaging maple gift assortments.
“I’d had to order over 17,000 containers, and customers just weren’t taking to the gift buckets like I anticipated,” he recalls. “The money I’d wasted really bothered me and I knew I just had to come up with a way to use up those tubs. As soon as I first tasted regular kettle corn at a farmers’ market in Florida, I had a brainstorm–make a maple version and sell it in the Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks buckets.” The Morse Farm website now offers maple kettle corn only in bags, so he must have used up all 17,000!
While Burr’s maple kettle corn (shown below, right) requires a 20-gallon kettle, canoe paddle, and an outdoor setting, I’ve come up with a substitute can be prepared in my kitchen using only ordinary kitchen equipment.
Maple Kettle Corn
I start by making popcorn the old-fashioned way–heating oil and popping the kernels in a large pot. Then, I cook the maple-salt-sugar mixture, and quickly stir the popcorn back into the syrup. The two-step cooking process doesn’t yield exactly the same taste or consistency as the all-in-one-pot method, but my stove-top maple “kettle” corn is tempting enough that almost nobody can stop eating till the bowl is empty. If this has put you in the mood for more maple treats, check out the maple pie or maple bars. You can also learn more about my visit to Vermont during sugaring season here.
Tip: If desired, you can ready (following package instructions) a 3.0 – 3.5 ounce bag of regular microwave popcorn instead of popping the corn on the stove. Homestyle, Natural Light and Old Fashioned flavors all work well. Avoid using popcorn with extra butter or special flavorings. In this case, since the package includes salt, omit the salt from the following recipe. (You will need about 6 to 7 cups of popped corn, the yield of most microwave bags. The following recipe is from my All-American Dessert Book.
Tip: If possible use grade A Dark Amber or grade B syrup. The grade A dark amber has a robust maple bouquet and hearty flavor that’s excellent for sauces and confections. Grade B is the strongest and darkest table grade syrup and is excellent in baked goods, where a subtle maple taste would be too muted or completely lost.
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, preferably grade A medium amber or dark amber, or grade B
3 tablespoons corn oil, canola oil or other flavorless vegetable oil, divided
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Generous 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unpopped popping corn
Set out a very large bowl for holding the popped corn. In a small bowl, stir together the maple syrup, 1 tablespoon oil, and sugar, and set aside.
In a 6-quart or larger pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 3 or 4 test kernels of corn over medium-high heat until the kernels pop. Discard them, and stir the remaining corn and the salt into the oil. Cover the pot and cook, frequently shaking the pot to redistribute the contents, until the corn begins to pop. If the pot begins to smoke, lower the heat slightly. Continue cooking, shaking the pot constantly, until the popping mostly subsides, about 2 minutes longer. (Don’t keep cooking until all kernels pop, as the bottom layer may scorch.)
Immediately turn out the popped corn into the large serving bowl, discarding unpopped kernels, if desired. Rinse out the pot and wipe it dry with paper towels. Add the maple syrup mixture to the pot. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a long-handled wooden spoon, until the mixture boils, then gradually thickens and darkens just slightly in color, about 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove the pot from the heat. Quickly and vigorously stir the popped corn into the maple mixture until evenly coated. Turn out the corn into the serving bowl. If desired, add a little more salt to taste; stir well to incorporate. Kitchen kettle corm is best when very fresh as it loses its crispness after a few hours. Makes a generous 1 quart kettle corn.
For yummy maple sundaes.
For my homey maple custard pie.
Hope you'll try it. A great change of pace from regular popped corn. And, yes, shows support for the hard working maple men (and women!).
I so admire all the people who take the time to make what is, let's face it, a VERY labor-intensive but also very yummy product. Thanks for this, Nancy. And I'll have to try the kettle corn; I've done candy corn, but I love the sound of this method.
Thanks so much. I've had that story rolling around in my head for a long time, and now had a little time to actually put it on paper. I love that photo, too; will actually I like them all. My hubby took them while I was interviewing Burr.
Nancy, what a delightful post! The story and the photos are wonderful. I absolutely love the photo of the jars of maple syrup in the window. I am a maple fanatic–maple syrup, maple sugar, and especially those sparkly maple sugar candies that practically melt on your tongue. I know Grade A maple syrup is the most coveted, but I prefer B grade. I think it has more flavor. Thanks for sharing this post.