Contents
Properties of maple syrup
 Sugar maple leaf and fruit drawings
Flag of Canada with sugar maple leaf |
What is maple syrup?
Sugar maple, rock maple, curly maple or sweet maple (Acer saccharum) is a tree from northern North America up to 30 meters high.
It has leaves up to 13.5 cm long with 5 lobes and very indented margins. Bright green on the upper surface and pale green on the underside that acquire a bright yellow, red or orange color during autumn.
Erect trunks with dark brown bark that are smooth in youth and fissure as they grow.
It is a tree that is widely used in its area of origin for the quality of its wood, used in making parquet, furniture, musical instruments, etc.
The leaf of this tree is the one that is part of the flag of Canada.
Some states in the United States, such as New York, have adopted this tree as their national tree.
It is a very decorative plant as a plant for parks or large gardens. The seeds of this tree are highly valued by rodents and birds and the bark and young shoots are eaten by other animals such as squirrels or deer.
Obtaining maple syrup
What most characterizes sugar maple is its sap that has traditionally been obtained through incisions made in the wood and collected in containers.
In modern times, the sap is collected through tubes that are inserted into the bark and that flow into containers or directly into the so-called “sugar houses” which are the buildings where the sap is manipulated to turn it into syrup.
The tubes must be repositioned every year in the tree trunks so that the sap can continue to flow, since the bark manages to heal the wound.
Once the sap has been collected, it undergoes a boiling and filtering process through which it is purified by removing substances that could be harmful. Maple sap is very sweet due to the amount of sugar it contains, especially sucrose.
Syrups from other maples
In addition to this type of maple, the sap can be obtained from other maples: black maple (Acer nigrum), red maple (Acer rubrum) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum), the most productive and used being sugar maple. and black maple.
Canada is the largest producer of maple syrup. It is the country that produces the largest amount of maple syrup, since it accounts for 80% of world production. The province of Ontario is the main producer in Canada.
Properties of maple syrup. What is it for?
Maple syrup is a natural sweetener as it contains almost 60% sugar and is used with the same functions as cane or beet sugar.
It appears in the composition of donuts, waffles, ice cream, candies, cakes, etc.
The authentic maple syrup must be distinguished from many imitations, most of which are designated under the name of syrup.
These imitations are usually made with syrup extracted from corn, flavored with sotolon, a highly aromatic compound that is extracted from lovage (Levisticum officinale) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum).
Outside of its place of origin, maple syrup is mixed with the juice of certain palm trees to produce a food product that is used mixed with lemon juice and water for the famous maple syrup diet, a widely used diet to lose weight and to purify the body, mainly in spring and autumn diets.
More information on properties of fasting and diets
