Discover Facts About Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is a natural sweetener that can be used in place of sugar and other sweetening agents. It is much better for you than sugar because sugar does not digest, instead going straight into the bloodstream, while this does digest helping to keep your blood sugar more even. Some people like to use it in their drinking tea, in the place of honey or sugar. Others like to have it on pancakes or waffles. It is also used in many recipes.
You get it from the sap of certain species of maple trees. In early spring time if you cut or drill into the bark of this certain species of tree, you will see clear liquid, the consistency of water seeping out. A bucket catches this flow and it is collected in a large holding tank. The sap is boiled down to get the water out turning it into a thick syrup, lastly being filtered and is then ready to store and eat. While boiling it can produce excess moisture in the air, so the use of a dehumidifier is often used indoors. The sap contains about two percent sugar.
The trees that this comes from are the sugar, red, silver and black maple trees. The sugar and black ones are the first choice, as they have a considerably higher sap sugar contents than the other kinds of trees, so there is less sap needed to produce a good volume of product. However, good flavours can be made from the silver and red trees, although it is often cloudy.
You may find cheaper imitations called ‘syrup-flavoured’ they are made from a mixture of ingredients including many refined sweeteners, and do not compare to the real thing. Also, they contain sugars and artificial sweeteners and are not pure having no genuine content in them. They do not taste like the genuine article, and they are also not as good for you as the natural produce. The real thing contains zinc and manganese, natural antioxidants which are great for the immune system, male reproductive system and may help prevent heart disease.
It can also be used in a number of recipes, including muffins, doughnuts, fudge, baked ham, chicken recipes, also decadent cakes and more. Even ciders and some beers make good use of this natural pure sweetener. Also, it caramelizes at a lower temperature than sugar, meaning the oven temperature is often reduced. There are many different brands and some specific types can be enjoyed by diabetics and people on low carbohydrate diets.
It takes up to 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. One tree may produce ten gallons of sap over the course of a month, and some trees have been reported as producing up to 80 gallons of sap in one year. Being an all natural product with no preservatives, the pure end produce keeps almost indefinitely. Once opened store in a refrigerator or freezer, it will not solidify. Transferring to a glass container after purchase is recommended, as it preserves the flavour and colour much better than other containers.
