Maple Facts
The Legend of Maple Syrup
One early spring day, a Native American chief stuck his tomahawk in a maple tree outside his lodge. The next morning, as the chief took his tomahawk from the tree on his way to go hunting, maple sap began to run out of the gash left by the tomahawk. All day, the sap pooled in a bowl that happened to be at the base of the tree. That evening, as the chief’s daughter prepared dinner, she noticed the bowl. Thinking the bowl was full of water, the girl decided to boil the sap with dinner for later use. As she continued making dinner, the sap water boiled away, and by the time she finished preparing the meal it had become the first maple syrup ever made. From that point on, maple syrup was an important part of Americans’ diets. Today, real maple syrup links us to America’s origins and gives us a distinct taste of America’s ancient forests.
In some respects, very little about the process of making maple syrup has changed over time. Of course, modern sugar-makers have a number of time- and labor-saving innovations at their disposal: technologies ranging from plastic tubing to reverse osmosis machines. These innovations only hasten the transition from sap to syrup--in no way do they diminish maple’s magic. The flavor, quality, and wholesome goodness of maple syrup have improved over the years, if they’ve changed at all. In an age when so many of our comestibles are nothing more than machine-made synthetics, maple syrup remains an oasis of purity, still made on the farm by men and women whose connection with the earth is a part of their daily lives.
Maple Facts
Maple syrup has mineral substances that are important for the growth and development of humans that are not found in regular white sugar. Compared to ordinary sugar, maple syrup is far healthier! While maple syrup and cane sugar have the same amount of calories per tsp., maple syrup also has significant amounts of potassium and calcium, and trace amounts of iron and folic acids. With no cholesterol and a low sodium content, maple syrup is the superior alternative.
Over 100 species of maple trees are found in North America and Europe. While most maple trees have a sweet sap, the sugar maple, also known as the rock or hard maple, has the best sap for making maple syrup and sugar. The sugar maple’s sap has a higher concentration of sugar than other members of the maple tree family. A slow-growing hardwood tree, it can reach heights of 120 feet and live for hundreds of years.
It takes four maple trees, each at least forty years old and 12 inches in diameter, to yield enough sap in four to six weeks to produce just 1 gallon of maple syrup. To make syrup, the temperatures need to be in the 20’s at night and in the 40’s during the day. Prolonged warm or cold weather stops sap flow, so nature is truly in control of how much sap water the trees produce each season. Trees may be tapped as early as the end of January, but the main sap flow occurs in late February and March and lasts approximately four to six weeks.
Tapping, if done correctly, does not harm the trees; trees can be tapped every season for generations if it is done with care. Syrup-makers work around the clock to keep up with the high volumes of sap, called “runs.” The sap is collected around the clock on very steep and rocky terrain in some of the worst weather in the late evening and early night, and is boiled down as soon as it is collected. It takes one or more cords of wood (or 65-70 gallons of oil) to boil 800 gallons of sap water, and depending on the size of the evaporator, it takes anywhere from two hours to two days! It takes about 45-55 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of maple syrup, so the farm help are working around the clock for six weeks to harvest as much sap as they can.
At the end of the season, the temperature rises with the coming of spring, and bud water flows through the trees. This is used to make Grade B maple syrup which is ideal for baking and cooking. Once the sap stops flowing, the season is over until the next year.
If you think about inflation, the price of a gallon of maple syrup has stayed the same for the past century. The general rule of thumb for local farms is a gallon of syrup costs the same as a day’s wages for the farm helpers. In the 1890’s a gallon of syrup cost $1. In the 1930’s, it cost between $2-$3, and the same holds true today. The average farm help is $7.50-$8.50 an hour, and a gallon of maple syrup is $38.00-$45.00. In addition to the farm help cost, other expenses are fuel, equipment, buckets, tubing, spiels, sap sacks, containers, holding tanks for storage, and maintenance for tractors, trucks, and equipment. These are only some of things that factor into the cost of making maple syrup, so when you add everything together, the cost of the syrup makes much more sense.
Grading Syrup
Eagle’s camp makes both Grade A and Grade B syrup. Grade A is processed in 3 grades of amber. These grades are determined at the time of the syrup bottling. Eagle uses the standards for grading maple syrup that is used by the Maple Producers Association in the Northern States.
Light Amber: This is best used as a table syrup.
Light amber syrup has a delicate maple flavor; it is usually what is considered maple water at the beginning of the syrup season. This syrup has a higher content of sugar, thereby it takes less fuels and time to process. It takes 27-35 gallons of sugar water to make 1 gallon of syrup. This syrup is good for making candy.
Medium Amber: This is best used as an all-purpose syrup.
Medium amber syrup is slightly darker than the light amber syrup. It is usually collected in the middle of the syrup season. This syrup is a good table syrup with a stronger maple flavor.
Dark Amber: This is best used as an all-purpose syrup.
Dark Amber is best used as a table syrup and as a cooking syrup. It is usually harvested towards the end of the syrup season. It is usually darker than medium syrup and has a more robust maple flavor. Usually this syrup is made later in the season when the days get longer and warmer. It takes 50-55 gallons of sugar water to make 1 gallon of syrup.
Grade B:
Grade B syrup comes at the end of the season as the “Bud Water” rises. It has a very dark and strong flavor. It can be used for table syrup, but is used best when it is used for cooking and baking. Grade B is sold to health food stores for its nutritional value. This syrup is also great for making maple pecan pies.
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Other Maple Products
Maple Cream:
Also called maple butter, this is made by heating maple syrup, cooling it, then stirring until it reaches a thick, creamy consistency. Maple cream is delicious on toast, raisin bread, bagels, doughnuts, cookies, cake, and more.
Maple Candy:
The syrup is cooked at a higher temperature than maple cream, then quickly poured into molds. Maple candy makes a great old-fashioned, melt-in-your-mouth treat for kids!
Maple Sugar:
Maple sugar is made by boiling down maple syrup until it crystallizes. In the early days on Eagle’s Farm, most of the maple syrup was made into sugar blocks for easier storage. When they needed sugar, they would shave sugar off the blocks. They would reconstitute the sugar back into syrup by adding water and boiling until it reached the right consistency. Maple sugar is great served over hot cereals, ice cream, and french toast. It is also a sugar substitute that can sweeten coffee or tea.