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MAPLE SUGARING
Maple syrup comes from eastern Canada, particularly Québec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the northern United States, especially New England, New York State and the Great Lakes states. However, given the correct weather conditions, it can be made wherever maple trees grow. Usually, the maple species involved are the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and the black maple (Acer nigrum) because of the high sugar content in the sap. A maple syrup production farm is called a sugarbush or the sugarwoods. Sap is boiled in a "sugar shanty", "sugar shack", or "sugarhouse", a building which features a top vent to remove the steam from the boiling maple sap. Canada produces more than 80% of the world's maple syrup. The province of Québec is by far the world's largest producer (about 75% of the worldwide production). In New England, Québec and extreme eastern Ontario, the process has become part of the culture, and urban and suburban dwellers often go to the sugar houses in early spring, where rustic meals are served with maple syrup-based products. Sugar on snow is a seasonal treat of thickened hot syrup poured onto fresh snow then eaten as it quickly cools. This thick maple syrup-based candy is served with yeast-risen doughnuts, sour dill pickles and coffee. Owing to the sugar maple tree's predominance in south-eastern Canada (where European settlement of what would become Canada began), its leaf has come to symbolize the country, and is depicted on its flag. Several U.S. States, including New York and Vermont, have the sugar maple as their state tree. Production is concentrated in February, March and April, depending on local weather conditions. Freezing nights and warm days are needed in order to induce sap flows. The change in temperature from above to below freezing causes water uptake from the soil, and temperatures above freezing cause a stem pressure to develop, which along with gravity, causes sap to flow out of tapholes or other wounds in the stem or branches. To collect the sap, holes are bored into the maple trees and hollow tubes (taps, spouts, or spiles) are inserted through the tree bark and into the wood xylem, which transports sap up the tree.. Sap flows through the spouts into buckets or into plastic tubing. Modern use of plastic tubing with a partial vacuum has enabled increased production. A hole must be drilled in a new location each year, as the old hole will produce sap for only one season due to the natural healing process of the tree, called walling-off. During processing, the sap is fed automatically from the storage tank through a valve to a flat pan to boil it down until it forms a sweet syrup. The process is slow, because most of the water has to boil out of the sap before it is the right density. It takes approximately 40 liters of sap to make one liter of maple syrup, and a mature sugar maple produces about 40 liters (10 gallons) of sap during the 4-6 week sugaring season. Trees are not tapped until they have a diameter of 25 centimeters (10 inches) at chest-height and the tree is at least 40 years old. Starting in the 1970s, some maple syrup producers started using reverse osmosis to remove water from sap before being further boiled down to syrup. The use of reverse osmosis allows approximately 75 to 80% of the water to be removed from the sap prior to boiling, reducing energy consumption and exposure of the syrup to high temperatures. Microbial contamination and degradation of the membranes has to be monitored. Maple syrup is sometimes boiled down further to make maple sugar, a hard candy usually sold in pressed blocks, and maple toffee. Intermediate levels of boiling can also be used to create various intermediate products, including maple cream (less hard and granular than maple sugar) and maple butter (creamy, with a consistency slightly less thick than peanut butter). Grading standards are the same for most of the United States, maple syrup is divided into two major grades named Grade A and Grade B. Grade A is further broken down into three subgrades; Grade A Light Amber (sometimes known as Fancy), Grade A Medium Amber, and Grade A Dark Amber. Grade B is darker than Grade A Dark Amber. The U.S. state of Vermont Agency of Agriculture uses a similar grading system of color and taste. The grade "Vermont Fancy" is similar in color and taste to U.S Grade A Light (Fancy). The Vermont grading system differs from the U.S. in maintaining a very slightly higher standard of product density. Vermont maple is boiled just a bit longer for a slightly thicker product. The ratio of number of gallons of sap to gallon of finished syrup is higher in Vermont. Maple syrup is sold by liquid volume, not weight, however a gallon of Vermont Grade A Medium Amber weighs slightly more than a gallon of U.S. Grade A Medium Amber. The Vermont graded product has one-half percent more solids and less water in its composition. The grades roughly correspond to what point in the season the syrup was made. Grade A Light Amber is early season syrup, while Grade B is late season syrup. Typically Grade A (especially Grade A Light Amber) has a milder, more delicate flavor than Grade B, which is very dark with a robust flavor. The dark grades of syrup are primarily used for cooking and baking. In Canada, there are three grades containing several color classes, ranging from Canada #1 (including Extra light, Light, and Medium) through #2 (Amber) and finally #3 (Dark). A typical year's yield will include about 25-30% of each of the #1 colors, 10% Amber, and 2% Dark. A non-table grade of syrup called "commercial", or Grade C is also produced. This is very dark, with a very strong flavor. Commercial maple syrup is generally used as a flavoring agent in other products. Sometimes off-flavors are found in maple syrup. While this is more common toward the end of the season in the production of commercial grade product, it may also present early in the season even during the production U.S. Grade A Light or Canada #1 grade. Identification of off-flavor in table grades is cause for ceasing production and either dumping the product or reclassifying as commercial grade if the off-flavor is slight. Off-flavors are described as: metabolism, derived from metabolic changes in the tree as spring arrives and having either a woody, popcorn, or sometimes peanut butter-like flavor; buddy, referring to the swelling of the new buds and it impact on the flavor and having a bitter chocolate or burnt flavor; and ferment, an off-taste caused by fermentation and having a honey or fruity flavor, it is often accompanied by surface foam. Maple syrup is the preferred toppings for crêpes, pancakes, waffles, and French toast in North America. Maple syrup can also be used for a variety of uses, including: biscuits, fresh donuts, fried dough, fritters, ice cream, hot cereal, and fresh fruit. It is also used as sweetener for apple sauce, baked beans, candied sweet potatoes, winter squash, cakes, pies, breads, fudge and other candy, milkshakes, tea, and coffee. An interesting historical note is that during the American Civil War, and the ten year period previous to it, maple syrup and maple sugar were substituted for cane sugar and molasses by New Englanders because it did not involve the use of slave labor. Many "maple-flavored" syrups on the market today in the United States are imitations (table syrups), which are less expensive than real maple syrup. The primary ingredient is most often dark corn syrup flavored with sotolon, with little (2-3%) or no real maple syrup content. They are usually thickened far beyond the viscosity of real maple syrup. Since US labeling laws prohibit these products from being labeled "Maple Syrup", many manufacturers simply call the imitation "Syrup" or "Pancake Syrup". In fact, in Québec, imitation maple syrup is often referred to as "pole syrup", implying that it was made from tapping a telephone pole. It is widely known that real maple syrup is far superior in taste and quality than imitation syrups. Source: Wikipedia |
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