I love pork chops but sometimes I find they can be a little dry. I…
Pork chops with apple and maple syrup
Pork chops with apple and maple syrup are really easy to make. The combination of apple and maple syrup gives the chops a lovely flavour.
As a child I had a penpal who lived in Canada. I used to be fascinated by her tales of life in Canada and the snow fall. She used to enjoy activities like ice skating which I had never tried.
We used to exchange presents on our birthdays and one of the books she sent me was a Prairie Boys Winter. The book was full of lovely illustrations and was all about how life got hard when it got cold. It was a much loved book.
Being an avid reader I also used to read the Little House on the Prairie books which are set in America. One of the things I loved reading about was maple syrup.
Maple syrup comes from the sap of maple trees, during the hard winter the trees store starch in their roots and trunk. When Spring comes the sap is converted to sugar and rises up the tree. The syrup can be harvested by boring a hole in the tree and collecting the sap.
The books have lovely stories about special feasts to celebrate the maple harvest. The burst of sugar after a long cold winter must have been really welcome.
The first time I encountered maple syrup was on a visit to America as a child. We went for breakfast in a coffee shop and I had American pancakes smothered in maple syrup and served with crispy bacon. Being used to having cereal for breakfast it was an amazing experience, although I confess I could not eat them all as they were very filling. I love making pancakes at home, like cinnamon and maple syrup with pear pancakes. Maple syrup adds a wonderful flavour, it is like a burst of sunshine on the plate. Even better it is lower in calories than sugar and has high antioxidant and mineral levels. It can be used in all sorts of cooking, not just for topping pancakes.
Types of Maple Syrup
Did you know that maple syrup comes in different grades? I didn’t until the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers sent me some samples. The syrup comes in different colours depending on when it is harvested. These different grades taste slightly different and can be used for different things. The types are
- Extra Light – Harvested at the beginning of the season it has a sweet delicate flavour.
- Light – The next to be harvested and it has a delicate taste making it ideal for vinaigrettes or drizzling over dishes.
- Medium – This is the syrup that is most commonly used and it has a more pronounced maple flavour perfect for desserts or sauces.
- Amber – This is harvested last and has a rich distinctive flavour perfect for sauce or glazes.
You can find more information and lots of recipes at www.welovemaple.co.uk
Pork chops with apple and maple syrup
Since I had some maple syrup it seemed like a good idea to use it in a recipe. I had some apples in the fruit bowl that were rather unloved and needed using up so I decided to make pork chops with apple and maple syrup. Pork and apple is always a good combination and the maple syrup added a touch of sweetness to the whole dish that went perfectly. I chose to use the medium grade maple syrup as it seemed to be the best one to use in cooking. The dish was really simple to make and was a lovely warming dinner. Served with mash and peas, the sauce soaked nicely into the mashed potatoes giving them a hint of sweetness.
Pork chops with apple and maple syrup recipe
Pork chops with apple and maple syrup
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops
- 2 apples
- 1 large onion
- 60 ml maple syrup
- 100 ml chicken stock
Instructions
- Add some oil into a frying pan and gently brown the pork chops on both sides.
- Peel and chop the apple and onion, the apple should be in wedges.
- Add to the pan and cook until pork is nearly cooked though.
- Remove the pork from the pan.
- Cook the apples for a couple of minutes and then add the stock and maple syrup.
- Cook for two more minutes then return the pork to the pan and finished cooking.
Do you use maple syrup in your cooking? What do you like to make?
Fab post – loved all the info about maple syrup. Btw are you still in contact with your penpal?
Thank you. Sadly no, we lost contact over the years. Would love to know what she is doing now
This looks lovely – I love maple syrup!
Me too, it is so versatile
I love this combination of savoury and sweet, sounds like a great Winter meal
Thank you, it was really tasty
What a fabulous recipe. I love pork chops and have often had them with apples but never thought to add maple syrup into the mix. I bet it works brilliantly. I’m pinning this recipe for future reference. I really loved reading the Little House on the Prairie stories as a child. I read them over and over again and the bit where they go and collect maple syrup was one of my favourite bits…Just waiting for my kids to be old enough to read the stories to them. Eb x
Thank you, it was really nice. I loved those stories as well, they are magical
I knew the maple syrup is different (like honey), but I had no idea why. It’s fascinating to discover new flavours and to use them for cooking. xx
I hadn’t realised there were different grades of maple syrup, quite fascinating to see the difference
Ohh I always use honey, but maple syrup is a great switch up!
.:Marta:.
#tastytuesdays
Thank you, it worked really well
I meant to tell you I made this recipe last week. Who knew apples and maple syrup went well with porkchops? Clearly you and not me! and it was so delicious!
Aw thank you. I am really glad you enjoyed it. I did think it worked really well
This sounds delicious. I might try to convert son2 to pork chops with it, as he keeps telling me he is going to get a minecraft dog and feed it pork chops
Now that I would love to see 🙂
Oooh this sounds lovely – I made pork with mild mustard and maple syrup a while ago which worked well too 🙂
That sounds nice, the mustard would add a little tang
Maple syrup is wonderful, such a super ingredient. I have recently read Little House on the Prairie (3 books in the series). Love your recipe, beautiful and delicious
They are a series, I will have to dig them out and read them again
We are a little bit maple syrup obsessed in our house. When we ate meat, we loved adding it to pulled pork, which was amazing.
I will definitely have to try that, pulled pork is one of my favourites