History
All of the pure maple syrup production in the United States is in the northern states of Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Canada is now the largest producer of maple products in the world, exporting 75 percent of the world’s supply, with more than 90 percent coming from the province of Quebec.
A group of maple trees used to produce maple syrup is called a sugarbush. Maple sap is usually harvested in the spring when the days are starting to get warmer and the trees are just beginning to bud. Below freezing temperatures at night followed by warmer daytime temperatures in the 40’s are required for sap flow.
Traditionally, Indigenous people like the Abenaki have used maple syrup to cure meats, as a sweetener for bitter medicines, and as an anesthetic. Maple sugar also contains nutritious minerals, including phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium. Maple syrup was also used as a trade item in the form of dried, portable sugar slabs.
Fun Facts
- It takes up to 40 quarts of sap to produce one quart of maple syrup.
- Other trees besides sugar maples can be tapped for syrup, including red maple, silver maple, and birch, though the sap of those trees usually has a lower sugar content.
- All grades of syrup have the same sugar content. Maple syrup that is produced earlier is lighter in color and gets progressively darker, as well as tastes more robust, as the season goes on.
Benefits
- Compared to white sugar, maple syrup has lower sucrose content.
- Maple syrup contains a number of minerals including calcium, iron, and potassium.