ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603060029
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
Saturday and Sunday, and again on March 16 and 17, sweet maple syrup will star at the 38th annual Highland Maple Festival. During the two weekends, 2,600-person Highland County will host an estimated 70,000 visitors, all anxious to experience what life - and making syrup - were like in simpler times.
Highland County - or "The Switzerland of Virginia," as it's often called - is the United States' southernmost point for commercial maple syrup manufacturing. At 2,500 feet, it boasts the highest mean elevation of any county east of the Mississippi River. It's about 2 1/2 hours by car from Roanoke.
The festival, with its variety of antiques, crafts and special attractions has, for the seventh consecutive year, been cited by the Southeast Tourism Society as one of the top 20 events. An open-air museum, built like an old-time sugar house, traces sugaring from when American Indians snapped off tree twigs to determine whether the sap was flowing to state-of-the-art reverse-osmosis machines. Plus there are ongoing self-guided tours of maple sugar camps, each with distinct sugaring methods, that demonstrate the process from tapping the trees to bottling the finished products.
Any festival worth its flags offers food, and this one promises plenty, including fresh trout, chicken, country ham, sausage, bacon, French fries, apple dumplings, maple-flavored funnel cakes, maple-flavored doughnuts and, of course, pancakes.
The festival's homey pancakes - buckwheat or plain - mostly will be served with rich, creamy butter and maple syrup. But that's certainly not the only way to present them.
Pancakes have moved from breakfast-only status to the center of the plate during other meals too. They're quick to fix for lunch or dinner, or on an errand-filled Saturday afternoon or a weeknight after work. And they can be anything from appetizer to main course or dessert.
To make perfect pancakes:
Don't overbeat batter; some lumps will remain. Overbeating causes pancakes to be tough.
Cook on a hot griddle. Test by sprinkling a few drops of water on the heated griddle. If the droplets ``skitter'' or sizzle and bounce across the surface, the griddle is ready.
For uniformly shaped pancakes, pour the batter from a 1/4-cup measure or ice-cream scoop.
Turn pancakes when edges are slightly dry. Pancakes need to be turned only once. To flip pancakes like a pro, slip spatula under cake. Give a sudden lift-and-tilt to spatula. The second side takes only half the time needed to cook the first side.
To keep pancakes warm for a short period of time, arrange them on a cookie sheet or stack them between pieces of waxed paper and place in oven set at the lowest temperature.
The festival will offer plenty of that perfect pancake topping as well as other ways to use maple syrup. Festivities start at about 7:30 each morning. For specifics, call 468-2550.
SWISS MOCHA TURNOVERS
WITH CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM
FLUFFY PANCAKE STACKS
WITH TROPICAL FRUIT FILLING
VANILLA PANCAKES
WITH DRIED CHERRIES AND PEACH TOPPING
UPSIDE-DOWN OVEN PANCAKES
WITH TURKEY SAUSAGE LINKS
FOUR-GRAIN PANCAKES WITH MAPLE-HONEY SYRUP
see microfilm for recipes
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Pancakes can be savory or elegant highlights of anyby CNBmeal. Try Swiss Mocha Turnovers with Chocolate Whipped Cream, Fluffy
Pancake Stacks with Tropical Fruit Filling or Upside-down Oven
Pancakes with Turkey Sausage Links. color