Everything You Must Know about Natural Maple Syrup
Simply put, maple syrup is a natural sweetener that is produced from the sap of the maple tree. People often eat it with pancakes, waffles and even French toast. It can also be used to make candy and other desserts, as well as flavouring in beer-making. I enjoy many maple treats including maple cookie recipe. The Native Americans are credited to be the first to collect and make use of maple syrup. Its use was later adopted by the European settlers.
A majority of maple syrup supply is currently produced in North America and most people associate the syrup 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 Vermont maple syrup.
The syrup is usually taken from either the sugar maple or the black maple because these two maple species have significantly high sugar content in their 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 was, however, a very labor-intensive method and required daily collection of the sap so producers found easier harvesting techniques such as the installation of plastic pipelines. These pipelines allow the sap to flow directly into the sugar house, where it is boiled to form maple syrup.
The period between February and April is the ideal time for maple syrup production because the warm days and freezing nights help induce the abundant flow of sap. About 40 litres of sap has to be boiled to produce a 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.
Consumers will be happy to know that maple syrup not only tastes good, but it is also good for the health. This is because the syrup is a very good source of manganese and zinc. Manganese has strong antioxidant properties and is also a natural energy booster. Zinc is also a potent antioxidant and even helps protect our hearts from damage normally caused by LDL cholesterol and oxidized fats. 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.
Men may even enjoy a couple of health bonuses from maple syrup. In a human body, zinc is mostly found in the prostate tissue, which means getting zinc from maple syrup can help you avoid 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.
