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| Maple Syrup History |
| The process of making maple syrup is an
age-old tradition of the North American Indians, who used it
both as a food and as a medicine. They would make incisions into
trees with their tomahawks and use birch barks to collect the
sap. The sap would be condensed into syrup by evaporating the
excess water using one of two methods: plunging hot stones into
the sap or the nightly freezing of the sap, following by the
morning removal of the frozen water layer.
When the settlers came to North America, they were fascinated by this traditional process and in awe of the delicious, natural sweetener it produced. They developed other methods to reduce the syrup, using iron drill bits to tap the trees and then boiling the sap in the metal kettles in which it was collected. Maple syrup was the main sweetener used by the colonists since sugar from the West Indies was highly taxed and very expensive. As sugar became cheaper to produce, it began to replace maple syrup as a relied upon sweetener. In fact, maple syrup production is approximately one-fifth of what it was in the beginning of the 20th century. |
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Did You Know?
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Maple syrup is made only in
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- Sap begins to run when the days are above freezing, and the nights are below freezing. - Maple sap can run at the rate of up to 150 drops-per-minute. - Taking a small amount of sap does not damage the tree. - Each tap in a tree will produce approximately one quart of syrup. - Pure maple syrup has no fat, no cholesterol, and no proteins, and is a good source of three essential elements – calcium, iron, and thiamin. - Maple syrup is low in sodium and has no more calories than sugar – 200 calories per ¼ cup. - It requires an average of 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. - The boiling point of maple syrup is 219 degrees Fahrenheit, or 7 degrees above the boiling point of water. - To be sold legally, maple syrup must have 66% sugar content. - The maple syrup season lasts from three to six weeks. - As soon as the buds on the trees begin to open, the sap is no longer suitable for making maple syrup. - Larger maple trees can safely be tapped with more spiles. - A maple tree has to be around 40 years old before it is large enough to tap for syrup production. |
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Grades of Maple Syrup Maple syrup available from producers or on the shelves of your local markets must meet exacting standards of purity. These standards, called grades, are established by the US Department of Agriculture. Grades distinguish the color and flavor of the syrup. High quality syrup can be made only by the evaporation of pure maple sap, and by weight contains no less than 66 percent sugar. The darker the syrup, the stronger the maple flavor will be. Please remember the difference between grades is a matter of taste preference – not quality. - light amber color, delicate maple bouquet - delightfully mild maple flavor, excellent on ice cream, pancakes, or on foods which permit its subtle flavor to be appreciated - usually made earlier in the season when the weather is colder - a bit darker amber color, stronger maple bouquet - a more pronounced maple flavor - popular for table and all-around use - usually made after the sugaring season begins to warm about mid-season - dark amber color, robust maple bouquet - heartier maple flavor - also very popular for table and all-around use - usually made late in the season as the days get longer and warmer - darkest table grade - extremely strong maple taste as well as hints of caramel - often used for cooking and baking when you want the pronounced maple flavor to shine through - usually made at the very end of the season |
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Storage of Maple Products
Proper
storage of your |
 - Robert
Serfass Webmaster |
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