Name: Maple Alphabet Pasta & Vegetable Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 28 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients: 500 ml (2 cups) alphabet pasta (or orzo pasta); 750 ml (3 cups) assorted frozen vegetables, thawed and roughly chopped (or your choice of fresh chopped vegetables); 60 ml (1/4 cup) maple syrup (preferably golden syrup for its delicate flavour); 30 ml (2 tablespoons) wine vinegar; 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil; 60 ml (1/4 cup) your choice of pesto*; Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

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The sugar maple tree has existed in North America for more than 4,500 years.

Maple syrup is made from the sap of sugar maple trees.

Maple products are exported to more than 60 countries around the world.

In 2013, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield ate maple syrup in space

Every spring, the sugaring season lasts for about 20 days.

Quebec produces over 72% of all the maple syrup in the world.

Quebec maple syrup comes from 34 billion maple trees.

In 1536, Jacques Cartier and his crew became the first Europeans to taste maple sap.

In summertime, sugars are created through the process of photosynthesis in the leaves of the sugar maple

Maple syrup producers often work day and night to collect the maple sap and turn it into maple syrup.

The sugar maple and red maple are two tree species with the ability to convert starch to sugar.

Maple sap contains 46 molecules vital to the life of the tree.

Each year, maple forests capture an amount of carbon equivalent to what’s produced by 290,000 cars.

North America has 13 maple tree species, including the sugar maple.

It has to freeze at night and thaw during the day for the maple sap to flow

In about 1676, our ancestors, the First Nations people, were the first to boil maple sap, using iron pots.

Maple syrup from Quebec is pure and 100% natural.

In the sugar shack, the maple syrup producer uses an evaporator to heat maple sap to a temperature of 103.5° C.

It takes an average of 40 litres of maple sap to make one litre of maple syrup.

Maple Quiz

Preparation

20 minutes

Cooking

8 minutes

Portions

4 portions

Metric Imperial

Ingredients

Preparation

2 cups alphabet pasta (or orzo pasta)
3 cups assorted frozen vegetables, thawed and roughly chopped (or your choice of fresh chopped vegetables)
1/4 cup maple syrup (preferably golden syrup for its delicate flavour)
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup your choice of pesto*
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water about 8.
Drain well, but do not rinse.
In a large bowl, mix pasta with remaining ingredients.
For a heartier salad, add 500 ml (2 cups) diced cheese or ham.

* For a school lunchbox version, consider using a nut-free pesto.

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Learn the facts of maple

Pupils

Foods

Maple Alphabet Pasta & Vegetable Salad

Learn the facts of maple

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Learn the facts of maple

The Encyclopedia of Maple

The Encyclopedia
of Maple