If you haven't discovered the magic of maple syrup, you're missing out on one of nature's sweetest wonders. Maple syrup was once the only affordable sweetener around, which explains why so many eighteenth-century American recipes relied on it. When Caribbean trade made cane sugar readily available, maple syrup was relegated to dressing griddle cakes and corn mush. But it's great to break maple syrup out of the box. Most of us think only of pouring it straight from the bottle over pancakes and waffles, but you can also use it to sweeten pancake batter. Or try mixing it with fresh orange juice and berries for a thick, chunky syrup that tastes as great as a glaze for chicken and pork as it does poured over French toast.

-Michel Nischan, Pure & Simple