Maple syrup

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Bottled maple syrup produced in Quebec.

A sugar shack, where sap is boiled down to maple syrup.

Maple syrup is a sweetener made from the sap of maple trees. It is most often eaten with pancakes or waffles. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in baking, or in preparing desserts.

1 Production
2 Chemistry
3 Grades
- 3.1 U.S., Vermont, and Canadian grading
- 3.2 Off-flavours
4 Use
5 Imitation maple syrup
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Production

Maple syrup comes from eastern Canada, particularly Quebec, and the northern United States, especially Vermont and Maine. However, given the correct weather conditions, it can be made wherever maple trees grow (see below). Usually, the maple species involved are the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and the black maple (Acer nigrum) because of the high sugar content in the sap. A maple syrup production farm is called a sugarbush or the sugarwoods. Sap is boiled in a "sugar house" (also known as a "sugar shack" or "cabane à sucre"), a building which is louvered at the top to vent the steam from the boiling maple sap.

Canada produces more than 80% of the world's maple syrup; in 2005, it produced about 7 million gallons [1]. The province of Quebec is by far the world's largest producer, with about 75% of the worldwide production (6.5 million gallons in 2005). The provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick produce smaller amounts. Vermont is the biggest U.S. producer, with 410,000 gallons in 2005, followed by Maine, New York and then a half-dozen other states with similar production.

In New England, Quebec and extreme eastern Ontario, the process has become part of the culture, and urban and suburban dwellers often go to the sugar houses, or in Quebec cabanes à sucre in early spring, where rustic meals are served with maple syrup-based products. Tire sur la neige, also known as sugar on snow, is a seasonal treat of thickened hot syrup poured onto fresh snow then eaten off sticks, as it quickly cools. This thick maple syrup-based candy is served with yeast-risen doughnuts, sour dill pickles and coffee. Owing to the sugar maple tree's predominance in south-eastern Canada (where European settlement of what would become Canada began), its leaf has come to symbolize the country, and is depicted on its flag. Several U.S. States, including New York and Vermont, have sugar maple as their state tree. A scene of sap collection is also depicted on Vermont coins in the series of 50 State Quarters.

Traditionally, maple syrup was harvested by tapping a maple tree through the bark and into the wood phloem then letting the sap run into a bucket; more advanced methods have since superseded this.

Production is concentrated in February, March and April, depending on local weather conditions. Freezing nights and warm days are needed in order to induce sap flows. The change in temperature from above to below freezing causes water uptake from the soil, and temperatures above freezing cause a stem pressure to develop, which along with gravity, causes sap to flow out of tapholes or other wounds in the stem or branches. To collect the sap, holes are bored into the maple trees and hollow tubes (taps, spouts, spiles) are inserted. Sap flows through the spouts into buckets or into plastic tubing. Modern use of plastic tubing with a partial vacuum has enabled increased production. A hole must be drilled in a new location each year, as the old hole will produce sap for only one season due to the natural healing process of the tree, called walling-off.

A small scale evaporation pan used in Ohio

During processing, the sap is fed automatically from the storage tank through a valve to a flat pan to boil it down until it forms a sweet syrup. The process is slow, because most of the water has to boil out of the sap before it is the right density. It takes approximately 40 litres of sap to make one litre of maple syrup, and a mature sugar maple produces about 40 litres (10 gallons) of sap during the 4-6 week sugaring season. Trees are not tapped until they have a diameter of 25 centimetres (10 inches) at chest-height and the tree is at least 40 years old. Most people use a 7/16" bit or 1/2" bit to drill with and they drill it 2 and 1/2" deep.

Starting in the 1970s, some maple syrup producers started using reverse osmosis to remove water from sap before being further boiled down to syrup. The use of reverse osmosis allows approximately 75 to 80% of the water to be removed from the sap prior to boiling, reducing energy consumption and exposure of the syrup to high temperatures. Microbial contamination and degradation of the membranes has to be monitored.

Maple syrup is sometimes boiled down further to make maple sugar, a hard candy usually sold in pressed blocks, and maple toffee. Intermediate levels of boiling can also be used to create various intermediate products, including maple cream (less hard and granular than maple sugar) and maple butter (creamy, with a consistency slightly less thick than peanut butter).

[edit] Chemistry

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Maple syrup contains about 67% solids of which about 89% is sucrose; the remainder is primarily fructose and glucose, with traces of other sugars. [2][3]. Maple syrup is produced by heat, with no added ingredients, and must reach 66 °Bx (degrees brix) in order to legally be "pure maple syrup". It possesses some nutritional value, containing calcium (greater than milk, by volume), potassium (more than bananas, by weight), manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, and thiamin. It also contains traces of vitamins B2, B5, B6, riboflavin, biotin and folic acid, and many amino acids and phenolic compounds.^[1] A serving that includes 50 ml of maple syrup contains the following reccommended daily allowances: Calcium 6%, Iron 5%, Manganese 2%, Thiamin 6%, Riboflavin 2%.^[2] Its caloric value is around 40 per tablespoon (15 ml), compared with 64 for honey and 60 for corn syrup.

[edit] Grades

[edit] U.S., Vermont, and Canadian grading

U.S. Syrup grades. Left to right, Vermont Fancy, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber, Grade B

Grading standards are the same for most of the United States, maple syrup is divided into two major grades named Grade A and Grade B. Grade A is further broken down into three subgrades; Grade A Light Amber (sometimes known as Fancy), Grade A Medium Amber, and Grade A Dark Amber. Grade B is darker than Grade A Dark Amber. The U.S. state of Vermont Agency of Agriculture uses a similar grading system of color and taste. The grade "Vermont Fancy" is similar in color and taste to U.S Grade A Light (Fancy). The Vermont grading system differs from the U.S. in maintaining a very slightly higher standard of product density. Vermont maple is boiled just a bit longer for a slightly thicker product. The ratio of number of gallons of sap to gallon of finished syrup is higher in Vermont. Maple syrup is sold by liquid volume, not weight, however a gallon of Vermont Grade A Medium Amber weighs slightly more than a gallon of U.S. Grade A Medium Amber. The Vermont graded product has one-half percent more solids and less water in its composition.

In Canada, there are three grades containing several colour classes, ranging from Canada #1, including Extra Light (sometimes known as AA), Light (A), and Medium (B); through #2, Amber (C); and finally #3 Dark (D). A typical year's yield will include about 25-30% of each of the #1 colours, 10% Amber, and 2% Dark. Extra light syrups are reccommended for making maple surgar candy, on pancakes and waffles; Light for French toast, desserts and cereals; Medium for glazing, sweetening, or eating on its own. Number 2 grade syrups are intended for baking and flavouring. In addition, Canada #2 Amber may be labelled Ontario Amber for farm sales in that province only.^[3] Number 3 grade syrup is heavy, and restricted for use in commercial flavourings.

A non-table grade of syrup called "commercial", or Grade C is also produced. This is very dark, with a very strong flavour. Commercial maple syrup is generally used as a flavouring agent in other products.

The grades roughly correspond to what point in the season the syrup was made. U.S. Grade A Light Amber and Canada #1 Extra Light is early season syrup, while U.S. Grade B/Canada #2 and #3 is late season syrup. Typically Grade A (especially Grade A Light Amber) and #1 Extra Light has a milder, more delicate flavor than Grade B or #3, which is very dark with a robust flavor. The dark grades of syrup are primarily used for cooking and baking.

[edit] Off-flavours

Sometimes off-flavours are found in maple syrup. While this is more common toward the end of the season in the production of commercial grade product, it may also present early in the season even during the production U.S. Grade A Light or Canada #1 grade. Identification of off-flavour in table grades is cause for ceasing production and either dumping the product or reclassifying as commercial grade if the off-flavour is slight. Off-flavours are described as: metabolism, derived from metabolic changes in the tree as spring arrives and having either a woody, popcorn, or sometimes peanutbutter-like flavour; buddy, referring to the swelling of the new buds and it impact on the flavour and having a bitter chocolate or burnt flavour; and ferment, an off-taste caused by fermentation and having a honey or fruity flavour, it is often accompanied by surface foam.

[edit] Use

Two taps in a maple tree, using plastic tubing for sap collection.

Maple syrup and its artificial imitations are the preferred toppings for crêpes, pancakes, waffles, and French toast in North America. Maple syrup can also be used for a variety of uses, including: biscuits, fresh donuts, fried dough, fritters, ice cream, hot cereal, and fresh fruit (especially grapefruit).

It is also used as sweetener for apple sauce, baked beans, candied sweet potatoes, winter squash, cakes, pies, breads, fudge and other candy, milkshakes, tea, coffee and hot toddys.

During the American Civil War, and the ten year period previous to it, maple syrup and maple sugar were substituted for cane sugar and molasses by New Englanders because it did not involve the use of slave labour.

[edit] Imitation maple syrup

Most "maple-flavoured" syrups on the market today in the United States are imitations (table syrups), which are less expensive than real maple syrup. The primary ingredient is most often dark corn syrup flavored with sotolon, with little (2-3%) or no real maple syrup content. They are usually thickened far beyond the viscosity of real maple syrup. Since US labeling laws prohibit these products from being labelled "Maple Syrup", many manufacturers simply call the imitation "Syrup" or "Pancake Syrup". Québécois often refer to imitation maple syrup as Sirop de poteau ("Pole Syrup"), implying that it has been made by tapping telephone poles.