Behind the Scenes of Making Maple Syrup
You have definitely heard about maple syrup, but do you know why it is so popular in the U.S.? Let's find out. Maple syrup is more than a sweet topping; it is a part of American and Canadian cultural heritage. The Canadian flag features a maple leaf, and the maple tree is the official state tree of both Vermont and New York. North Americans have pride in well-produced maple syrup because it is a time-intensive process that requires care. Maple syrup reminds many Americans of their childhood, Sunday morning breakfast, and time spent with family.
Maple syrup is a sweet, processed tree sap served on top of foods like pancakes, waffles, and french toast. Sometimes, it is hardened and turned into candies. The process of collecting and refining maple syrup is a little tedious, but when the end result is so sweet, it’s easy to understand why people have continued to make maple syrup for hundreds of years.
Maple syrup was first documented by the Native Americans. Maple syrup was celebrated, used to cook foods, and regarded for its healing properties. The Native Americans did not use maple syrup in desserts and breakfast foods as we do today, but they used it for special occasions to cook meat in. Maple syrup was so culturally significant that the Native Americans named the first full moon of the spring the “Sugar Moon” because it indicated that they were able to start collecting maple syrup.
Today, most maple syrup is manufactured in the northeast United States and Canada. In the United States, the state of Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup. The reason why there is a localized, regional market for maple syrup is because the syrup is produced from the sap of maple trees. There are three varieties of maple trees used to make maple syrup: sugar maple, red maple, or black maple.
The process of making maple syrup starts in the late winter, when there is less snow. A spout is pushed into the tree. As the weather warms and the snow thaws, the sap of the maple trees will drip into a bucket. The sap is then taken to a sugar house to refine.
The unrefined syrup undergoes an evaporation process. It is held in an evaporator, where it is heated to get rid of excess liquid. After cooking, the maple syrup is then bottled, usually in glass jars. If it is cooked for additional time, the consistency of the syrup will change and become more like butter or a taffy. As mentioned before, these denser versions are eaten as candies.
In American grocery stores, there are many imitation maple syrup brands. These brands label themselves as “syrup,” but they do not actually contain any sap from maple trees. They are purely high fructose corn syrup. Real maple syrup is a bit harder to find and more expensive than imitation maple syrup, but it is well worth the few extra dollars.
Vocabulary List
Tree sap (n.): a sticky liquid that is released when a tree is punctured
Tedious (adj.): used to describe something that is boring or repetitive
Evaporation (n.): the process of turning liquid into vapor by heat
Taffy (n.): a chewy and sticky candy that is wrapped into wax paper
Imitation (n.): a false copy of a product that is intended to be like the original
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bridgette Lang is an undergraduate student studying International Relations at Boston University. On campus, she helps run a collegiate Model United Nations Conference and manages finances for BU College Democrats. In her free time, Bridgette enjoys traveling, trying to learn Spanish, and visiting with her friends and family back home in Pennsylvania.