Maple syrup, the Canadian liquid gold
The maple leaf is among the most iconic symbols of Canadian culture, which is also represented on the Canadian flag. Maple syrup, also known in Canada as liquid gold, is a truly special product. Created from the sweet sap of the maple tree.
History of maple syrup
Indigenous peoples living in northeastern North America were the first groups known to have produced maple syrup and maple sugar. According to Indigenous oral traditions, as well as archaeological evidence, maple tree sap was being processed into syrup long before Europeans arrived in the region. There are no authenticated accounts of how maple syrup production and consumption began, but various legends exist; one of the most popular involves maple sap being used in place of water to cook venison served to a chief. Indigenous tribes developed rituals around sugar-making, celebrating the Sugar Moon (the first full moon of spring) with a Maple Dance. Many aboriginal dishes replaced the salt traditional in European cuisine with maple sugar or syrup.
Source of Maple syrup
Not all the maple trees can be used to produce maple syrup. Only the maple trees with high sugar content (roughly two to five percent) in their sap are predominantly used to produce maple syrup. Most of these trees grow in the middle and east-north of North America. Maples are usually tapped beginning at 30 to 40 years of age. Each tree can support between one and three taps, depending on its trunk diameter. The average maple tree will produce 35 to 50 litres of sap per season, up to 12 litres per day. This is roughly equal to seven percent of its total sap. Tap seasons typically happen during late winter and spring and usually last for four to eight weeks, though the exact dates depend on the weather, location, and climate.
Production of maple syrup
Québec is the pioneer of maple syrup production, from its beginnings to the latest technologies that optimize yield and quality.
Each year it begins anew. Weather conditions in the forest gradually change from winter to spring. The sugaring season generally occurs between late February/early March and the end of April to early May. That’s all of 8 to 10 weeks in Québec.
And in any given sugar bush, all that magic—the entire year’s production of maple syrup—happens in only 20-25 days! The time frame varies between regions, as the season may be coming to a close in the south-west of the province when the sap harvest farther north and to the east is just beginning.
1 TAPPING THE TREES
In January and February, maple producers go out to their trees to drill holes in them and insert taps. Each tree will take one to three taps, depending on its size. The maples are then all connected by a tubing system that’s kilometres in length.
2 THE SAP FLOWS
The sap suitable for maple syrup comes from only two species: the sugar maple and the red maple. In summer, trees generate sugar through a reaction with the sun called photosynthesis, converting light energy into chemical energy. This sugar content allows the tree’s cells to breathe, promotes its growth, and accumulates in its roots as starch for the winter’s sleep. When spring thaw comes, temperatures vary between night and day, making the sap flow up and down within the tree. Warm daytime temperatures cause the tree’s wood to expand. The sap in its branches is subjected to strong pressure and it flows into the trunk, dripping out the taps. When it gets frigid again at night, the wood contracts, squeezing off the flow, and more sap rushes up the tree from its cache in the roots. It’s a cycle that occurs because of the previous summer’s photosynthesis.
3 HARVESTING THE SAP
In the early days, people with maple forests at hand collected sap by hammering a tap into the tree and hanging a bucket on it. The pails would fill and be emptied into a barrel on a sled or wagon, which would be pulled by a horse or tractor to the sugar shack for boiling.
Today, in most operations, taps are carefully inserted into the trees and connected to a tubing system.
4 CONCENTRATING MAPLE SAP BY REVERSE OSMOSIS
The tubing system deposits the sap into stainless steel containers. It’s then pumped into a reverse osmosis system that uses high pressure to reduce the sap’s water content. This concentrates its sugar content and reduces evaporation time, saving energy.
5 MAPLE SAP BECOMES SYRUP THROUGH EVAPORATION
In the evaporator, the sap is boiled for several hours at a temperature of 104° C, until the sugar content and other molecules attain a level of 66%, known as 66 degrees Brix.
It takes an average of 40 litres of sap to make one litre of maple syrup.
It is during the evaporation of sap that more remarkable magic takes place: the chemical process called the “Maillard reaction.” The amino acids in the sap react with its sugar, causing it to brown. This is its transformation into syrup, another natural phenomenon that produces the unique flavour of maple syrup, along with its desired colour, aroma, and antioxidant properties.
6 THE MAILLARD REACTION
It is during the evaporation of sap that more remarkable magic takes place: the chemical process called the “Maillard reaction.” The amino acids in the sap react with its sugar, causing it to brown. This is its transformation into syrup, another natural phenomenon that produces the unique flavour of maple syrup, along with its desired colour, aroma, and antioxidant properties.
Quebec and maple syrup
Quebec, Canada, is the main region for maple sugar productions, with thousands of maple syrup producers, accounting for more than 90% of all Canadian domestic production. Maple syrup, a distinctive product of Quebec, is recognized around the world. It is no coincidence that the province is the produces 71% of all world supply.
NUTRITION FACTS FOR MAPLE SYRUP
CONTRIBUTES TO A HEALTHY DIET
100% pure Québec maple syrup is natural, unrefined, sterile, gluten-free, vegan, with no artificial colourants, flavourings, or preservatives. It contains 100 essential nutritional compounds including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, phytohormones, and 67 polyphenols. No wonder maple syrup is the subject of scientific research in labs at home and around the world.
Maple syrup is a tasty and versatile addition to any kitchen pantry. Gently sweet and aromatic, maple has proven to enhance the flavour of whatever food it’s added to. It has the added advantage of being a good substitute for other sweetening agents.
A 60 ml (1/4 cup) portion of maple syrup provides 72% of the daily nutritional requirement of manganese, 27% of that of riboflavin, 17% for copper, and 6% calcium.
The maple leaf is among the most iconic symbols of Canadian culture, which is also represented on the Canadian flag. Maple syrup, also known in Canada as liquid gold, is a truly special product. Created from the sweet sap of the maple tree.
History of maple syrup
Indigenous peoples living in northeastern North America were the first groups known to have produced maple syrup and maple sugar. According to Indigenous oral traditions, as well as archaeological evidence, maple tree sap was being processed into syrup long before Europeans arrived in the region. There are no authenticated accounts of how maple syrup production and consumption began, but various legends exist; one of the most popular involves maple sap being used in place of water to cook venison served to a chief. Indigenous tribes developed rituals around sugar-making, celebrating the Sugar Moon (the first full moon of spring) with a Maple Dance. Many aboriginal dishes replaced the salt traditional in European cuisine with maple sugar or syrup.
Source of Maple syrup
Not all the maple trees can be used to produce maple syrup. Only the maple trees with high sugar content (roughly two to five percent) in their sap are predominantly used to produce maple syrup. Most of these trees grow in the middle and east-north of North America. Maples are usually tapped beginning at 30 to 40 years of age. Each tree can support between one and three taps, depending on its trunk diameter. The average maple tree will produce 35 to 50 litres of sap per season, up to 12 litres per day. This is roughly equal to seven percent of its total sap. Tap seasons typically happen during late winter and spring and usually last for four to eight weeks, though the exact dates depend on the weather, location, and climate.
Production of maple syrup
Québec is the pioneer of maple syrup production, from its beginnings to the latest technologies that optimize yield and quality.
Each year it begins anew. Weather conditions in the forest gradually change from winter to spring. The sugaring season generally occurs between late February/early March and the end of April to early May. That’s all of 8 to 10 weeks in Québec.
And in any given sugar bush, all that magic—the entire year’s production of maple syrup—happens in only 20-25 days! The time frame varies between regions, as the season may be coming to a close in the south-west of the province when the sap harvest farther north and to the east is just beginning.
1 TAPPING THE TREES
In January and February, maple producers go out to their trees to drill holes in them and insert taps. Each tree will take one to three taps, depending on its size. The maples are then all connected by a tubing system that’s kilometres in length.
2 THE SAP FLOWS
The sap suitable for maple syrup comes from only two species: the sugar maple and the red maple. In summer, trees generate sugar through a reaction with the sun called photosynthesis, converting light energy into chemical energy. This sugar content allows the tree’s cells to breathe, promotes its growth, and accumulates in its roots as starch for the winter’s sleep. When spring thaw comes, temperatures vary between night and day, making the sap flow up and down within the tree. Warm daytime temperatures cause the tree’s wood to expand. The sap in its branches is subjected to strong pressure and it flows into the trunk, dripping out the taps. When it gets frigid again at night, the wood contracts, squeezing off the flow, and more sap rushes up the tree from its cache in the roots. It’s a cycle that occurs because of the previous summer’s photosynthesis.
3 HARVESTING THE SAP
In the early days, people with maple forests at hand collected sap by hammering a tap into the tree and hanging a bucket on it. The pails would fill and be emptied into a barrel on a sled or wagon, which would be pulled by a horse or tractor to the sugar shack for boiling.
Today, in most operations, taps are carefully inserted into the trees and connected to a tubing system.
4 CONCENTRATING MAPLE SAP BY REVERSE OSMOSIS
The tubing system deposits the sap into stainless steel containers. It’s then pumped into a reverse osmosis system that uses high pressure to reduce the sap’s water content. This concentrates its sugar content and reduces evaporation time, saving energy.
5 MAPLE SAP BECOMES SYRUP THROUGH EVAPORATION
In the evaporator, the sap is boiled for several hours at a temperature of 104° C, until the sugar content and other molecules attain a level of 66%, known as 66 degrees Brix.
It takes an average of 40 litres of sap to make one litre of maple syrup.
It is during the evaporation of sap that more remarkable magic takes place: the chemical process called the “Maillard reaction.” The amino acids in the sap react with its sugar, causing it to brown. This is its transformation into syrup, another natural phenomenon that produces the unique flavour of maple syrup, along with its desired colour, aroma, and antioxidant properties.
6 THE MAILLARD REACTION
It is during the evaporation of sap that more remarkable magic takes place: the chemical process called the “Maillard reaction.” The amino acids in the sap react with its sugar, causing it to brown. This is its transformation into syrup, another natural phenomenon that produces the unique flavour of maple syrup, along with its desired colour, aroma, and antioxidant properties.
Quebec and maple syrup
Quebec, Canada, is the main region for maple sugar productions, with thousands of maple syrup producers, accounting for more than 90% of all Canadian domestic production. Maple syrup, a distinctive product of Quebec, is recognized around the world. It is no coincidence that the province is the produces 71% of all world supply.
NUTRITION FACTS FOR MAPLE SYRUP
CONTRIBUTES TO A HEALTHY DIET
100% pure Québec maple syrup is natural, unrefined, sterile, gluten-free, vegan, with no artificial colourants, flavourings, or preservatives. It contains 100 essential nutritional compounds including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, phytohormones, and 67 polyphenols. No wonder maple syrup is the subject of scientific research in labs at home and around the world.
Maple syrup is a tasty and versatile addition to any kitchen pantry. Gently sweet and aromatic, maple has proven to enhance the flavour of whatever food it’s added to. It has the added advantage of being a good substitute for other sweetening agents.
A 60 ml (1/4 cup) portion of maple syrup provides 72% of the daily nutritional requirement of manganese, 27% of that of riboflavin, 17% for copper, and 6% calcium.
QUEBECOL: UNIQUE TO MAPLE SYRUP
Pure Québec maple syrup contains 67 different polyphenols, 9 of which are unique to maple. One of these polyphenols, called Quebecol, appears naturally when sap is boiled to produce maple syrup.
Pure Québec maple syrup contains 67 different polyphenols, 9 of which are unique to maple. One of these polyphenols, called Quebecol, appears naturally when sap is boiled to produce maple syrup.
A NATURAL SOURCE OF ENERGY
Maple syrup is a natural fuel favoured by many athletes because it provides simple carbohydrates, which easily break down into glucose. People like these, with active lifestyles, eat or drink maple products in some form (and there are many) before, during, and after physical exertion.
Maple syrup is a natural fuel favoured by many athletes because it provides simple carbohydrates, which easily break down into glucose. People like these, with active lifestyles, eat or drink maple products in some form (and there are many) before, during, and after physical exertion.