The Facts You Must Know about Syrup from Maples

Maple syrup is a natural substitute for sugar and it is made from maple tree sap. It is usually eaten with French toast, waffles and pancakes. Other uses include desserts, candy and flavouring in the production of beer. I enjoy many maple treats including maple cookies. It is believed that the Native Americans were the first to ever collect and use maple syrup. European settlers later adopted its use for their own purposes.

Today, a large part of maple syrup production is done in North America and the product itself is most commonly associated with Canada. This is because Canada supplies 80% of the world’s maple syrup, with Quebec particularly leading the way. Given the right weather conditions, however, maple syrup can be made wherever maple trees grow. Some companies even make maple syrup in Vermont, which is the largest maple syrup producer in the United States. Many kitchen cupboards are graced with organic maple syrup.

The two maple species where the syrup is usually made from is the sugar maple and the black maple, chosen for the high sugar content in the sap. The type of syrup or grade depends on what type of tree and there are many types like grade b maple syrup. Harvesting sap in the traditional manner means one has to tap a maple tree and then gather up the sap in a bucket. This method required daily collection of the sap and is very labor-intensive, which is why producers came up with more advanced methods like the use of plastic pipelines. The sap can now flow directly from the pipelines into the sugar house where it is processed to produce maple syrup.

Production is often done between February and April because the warm days and freezing nights of this period effectively induces the flow of sap. An estimated 40 litres of sap is needed to produce one litre of syrup. As the sap is cooked, its density is measured with a hydrometer. It is important that the proper density of about 66% sugar be reached because if the density is too low then the syrup might spoil and if it is too high then the syrup might crystallize in the bottle. The boiling time and process may also be varied in order to produce other products such as maple cream, maple butter, or maple taffy.

The good news for consumers is that maple syrup is not only sweet to the taste, but it is also sweet for the health. The reason is that it is very rich in the minerals zinc and manganese. Manganese is an essential antioxidant mineral and is also important in our body’s natural energy production. Zinc, aside from being an antioxidant, also negates the damaging effects of oxidized fats and bad cholesterol to our hearts. Furthermore, manganese and zinc help strengthen the body’s immune system and a deficiency of these minerals has been known to compromise the body’s ability to fight off ailments and diseases.

There is even more good news for the male population. Zinc is most concentrated in the prostate and helps lower the risk for prostate cancer. Zinc is even known to reduce the size of the prostate. For its part, manganese benefits a person’s reproductive health because it has been proven to play an active role in producing sex hormones.