3 books for maple syrup lovers

Time for the reading nook: a cookbook, fascinating homesteaders, and a cozy mystery novel.

Mar 20, 2025

Dear Climate Culinarians,

When I called this month’s newsletter series “Maple Syrup Mysteries”, I had no idea it would lead me to fiction. So if you expect explainer books in this newsletter … you’re still right. Then again, one of the nonfiction books I found has a back story that sounds like a novel, and would probably make an intriguing biography. Hey, fellow writers out there, are you listening?

Like every third Thursday, I’m sending you reading recommendations. They follow this month’s theme, of course, which is all about maple syrup. If you missed the previous editions, go read Part 1 „How maple syrup is made“ to learn about just that, and explore Part 2 „How maples respond to new threats“ for answers to climate-related issues and actions you can take.

Now, let’s find some books!

Maple Syrup: 3 books full of character(s)

I love to share what I’ve been reading - and also what’s in my “books to read next” stack. Here’s my special selection around maple syrup.

Maple experts from the 1950s who still have a following

The Maple Sugar Book by Helen and Scott Nearing (Chelsea Green, 2000 - originally published in 1950)

I need to get a hand on this book. It has been described as the first detailed and well-referenced study published on the history of maple sugar. And that’s just one reason to read it. Its authors are another one. Helen and Scott Nearing moved from New York City into the Vermont woods in the 1930s, and then to Maine 20 years later. They lived self-sufficiently. Mostly. Because you can’t grow tools, for instance. A cash source for the Nearings turned out to be maple sugaring. They got really good at it. But this book does not only explain how to produce maple syrup. It also showcases the authors’ philosophy: To Helen and Scott Nearing, homesteading was not a private decision, but meant to provoke social change. They were socialists, environmentalists, vegetarians, radicals. Today, the Nearings are seen as progenitors of the “Back to the Land” movement. The food for thought they created lives on at their Forest Farm homestead: It houses the Good Life Center honoring the Nearings’ legacy with educational programming.

A cookbook classic and a true fan

Maple Syrup Cookbook by Ken Haedrich (Storey, 2015)

Ken Haedrich is known for pie. He even runs his own Pie Academy! But before that all started, he did his best to explore where maple syrup would make sense in the kitchen. Spoiler: He thinks it makes everything taste better. Maybe that’s why his book gets reprinted in new editions again and again. Expect recipes from Maple Onion Marmalade to Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts to … pickles. With maple syrup, of course.

Murder plot and maple puns

A Doomful of Sugar - #1 in Maple Syrup Mysteries series - by Catherine Bruns (Poisoned Pen Press, 2022)

When I called this month’s newsletter series “Maple Syrup Mysteries”, I was unaware that there was a series of novels of the same name. Cozy mysteries set on a maple syrup farm in Vermont. The farm’s name? Sappy Endings. And no, that’s not the only pun in this book. As for the plot: After Sappy Endings’ owner is found dead, his daugher Leila reluctantly takes over the business - and tries to figure out how to run it while solving her dad’s murder. I like cozy mysteries, and this one’s no exception, perhaps a bit … sweet. Comes with the territory, of course. And believe it or not, there is another Maple Syrup Mysteries series by Emily James.

Have you read any of these books? Do you recommend other books that focus maple syrup? Share them with me and all the other Climate Culinarians in the comments!

Climate Culinarians