Pure Maple Syrup
Pure Maple Syrup is a sweetener made from the sap of maple
trees, and production is centered in the Northeastern United
States and Southeastern Canada. Pure maple syrup can be
made wherever maple trees grow, and the maple season usually
lasts 4-6 weeks in the spring. Maple syrup and sugar were
among the earliest agricultural crops in Canada and in fact
was the standard sweetener in pioneer households until about
1875.
Pure Maple
syrup is divided into two major grades: Grade A and Grade B,
and is sold by liquid volume, not weight, and is
approximately 33 percent water and 67 percent sugar. Maple
syrup must be graded and labeled properly, in accordance
with the color scale standards approved by the state the
syrup is produced in (or province, in Canada).
Pure maple
syrup is the preferred toppings for pancakes, waffles, and
French toast in North America, and is sometimes boiled down
further to make maple sugar, a hard candy usually sold in
pressed blocks, and maple taffy. Maple syrup can also be
used for a variety of uses, including: biscuits, chicken,
fresh donuts, fried dough, fritters, ice cream, hot cereal,
and fresh fruit (especially grapefruit).
Although most
people use maple syrup in just one way, over pancakes or
waffles, there are many, many ways to use maple syrup; as a
sauce over ice cream or puddings, a natural glaze poured
over ham, baked in the hollow of a winter squash, in many
other dishes, and even in many elaborate "gourmet" recipes.
Pure maple
syrup can be used in just about any recipe where sugar is
called for, but contains more moisture than the granulated
sugar which the recipe called for so adjustments must be
made. For substitution of maple syrup in general cooking,
use three-fourths the amount of maple syrup as sugar. When
substituting maple syrup for honey, use a one to one ratio.
Pure maple syrup will tend to caramelize and burn on the top
and around the edges before a batter using a solid sweetener
like white granulated sugar. A tablespoon of maple syrup
contains 50 calories, 29 grams of carbohydrates, a
negligible amount of sodium and no protein, fat, or
cholesterol. It is an excellent source of manganese and a
good source of zinc, which can be sweet for your health.
Pre-Columbian
Native Americans, living in the northeastern part of North
America, were the first people known to have produced maple
syrup and maple sugar. Maple syrup and maple sugar were
used during the American Civil War and by abolitionists in
the years prior to the war because most cane sugar and
molasses was produced by Southern slaves. During food
rationing in World War II, people in the northeastern United
States were encouraged to stretch their sugar rations by
sweetening foods with maple syrup and maple sugar, and
recipe books were printed to help employ this alternate
source. Pure maple syrup and maple sugar became the
household sweetener in the Canadian and American colonies
throughout the nineteenth century, instead of refined white
cane sugar, raw sugar, or molasses.
American tribes
of the northeastern United States and southeast Canada first
showed French and British settlers how to draw the sap of
Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, and reduce it into a sweet,
thick liquid known today as pure maple syrup. European
settlers introduced iron and copper pots into the process,
which allowed the sap to be heated longer, removing more of
the water and producing what we know as pure maple syrup
today.
