The production of maple syrup,
or 'sugarin', hasn't changed much since the time of the Indians.
Maple syrup comes from the boiled down sap of the sugar maple tree.
There are soft maple and red maple trees, but they are not commonly used for the production of making syrup. A sugar maple tree must be at least 10 inches in diameter for the tree to be tapped. When a tree is 'tapped,' a hole is made in the tree and a spout is placed in the hole for the sap to flow. This sap is caught by a bucket. The buckets are then gathered and put in a large cooker. It takes 40 gallons of sap to boil down to one gallon of maple syrup. After the syrup has been boiled, it must be strained, cooled, and boiled again. It is first graded, and then ready for containers. In Pennsylvania, we have
four grades. Grade a light, grade a medium, grade a dark, and grade b. Currently the grade b is our most popular. This is commonly known as the cooking grade, but I believe there are more nutrients included in this grade simply because it is less strained.
In our opinion, either the grade a dark or the grade b have the most flavour.
The grades are based basically on color and standards set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
One great thing about maple syrup is that it doesn't go bad. When kept in the fridge or the freezer (maple syrup does not freeze), it keeps almost forever. The best container for storage is glass. We do not ship in glass, but you may certainly transfer your syrup to a glass container after you receive it.
The best way to repackage maple syrup to maintain its quality is to pour the syrup into clean 1/2 pint, pint or quart glass freezer jars to one inch from the top and freeze.
Another great thing about maple syrup is that it's better for you than sugar. Sugar doesn't digest, it goes directly into the blood stream causing a rise in blood sugar. Usually the swift rises are then followed by a sharp decline. Maple syrup, however, is one of the few sweet treats that does digest in the system helping to keep the blood sugar more even. So it not only tastes good, but is also good for you. We use maple syrup all the time as a sugar alternative.
Maple can be substituted for granular sugar in almost any baked product with the following modifications to the recipe:
Use 1-1/2 cup of syrup for each 1 cup of granulated sugar.
Decrease the liquid in a recipe by one-half.
Add 1/4 teaspoon soda for each cup of maple syrup used in substitution.
Decrease oven temperature by 25 degrees F.
Maple syrup is also one of the three ingredients in "the lemonade diet" also called "the master cleanser"... Most people use the grade b syrup in this.. it has all of the
nutrients you need...
There are soft maple and red maple trees, but they are not commonly used for the production of making syrup. A sugar maple tree must be at least 10 inches in diameter for the tree to be tapped. When a tree is 'tapped,' a hole is made in the tree and a spout is placed in the hole for the sap to flow. This sap is caught by a bucket. The buckets are then gathered and put in a large cooker. It takes 40 gallons of sap to boil down to one gallon of maple syrup. After the syrup has been boiled, it must be strained, cooled, and boiled again. It is first graded, and then ready for containers. In Pennsylvania, we have
four grades. Grade a light, grade a medium, grade a dark, and grade b. Currently the grade b is our most popular. This is commonly known as the cooking grade, but I believe there are more nutrients included in this grade simply because it is less strained.
In our opinion, either the grade a dark or the grade b have the most flavour.
The grades are based basically on color and standards set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
