Vermont Maple Syrup Facts "Nature's healthful sweetener."
Maple Syrup is a 100 % natural and organic product. To make maple syrup, water is removed from the sap, but nothing is added.
Maple Syrup has the same calcium content as whole milk.
Maple Syrup has only 40 calories per tablespoon, unlike corn syrup which has 60 calories per tablespoon.
Maple Syrup is rich in minerals such as calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron.
Maple Syrup is good for you! Vitamins B2, B5, B6, niacin, biotin, and folic acid are present in Maple Syrup.
Maple Syrup even contains trace amounts amino acids - the building blocks of protein!
Several types of maples are native to New England, but the sugar maple (also called rock maple or hard maple) and the black maple are considered the best types for maple sugaring.
Only a few places in the world have the right climate for sugar maples: New England, upstate New York, Michigan, the Maritime provinces, and southern Quebec and Ontario.
Vermont produces more maple syrup than any other state.
The flavor of maple syrup, like that of other natural products, can vary from region to region and even from year to year.
Usually maple trees are not tapped until they are at least 40 years old and 10-12 inches in diameter. As the tree's diameter increases, more taps can be added (up to a maximum of four taps).
When done properly, tapping does no permanent damage to the tree. Some maple trees have been tapped for over a hundred years!
Each tap will yield an average of 10 gallons of sap per season, producing about one quart of maple syrup. Or, to put it another way, it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. Real maple syrup is 100% natural and organic.
Maple syrup and maple sugar are 100% fat free.
The sugar content of sap averages 2.5 percent; the sugar content of maple syrup is at least 66 percent.
Real maple syrup contains no preservatives. Opened containers of maple syrup should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Maple syrup won't actually freeze.
The Vermont Department of Agriculture administers stringent quality requirements on the making and selling of Vermont maple products. Every product sold is required by Vermont State Law to carry a label showing the grade of the syrup and the name of the producer.
Visit Vermont during its maple sugaring season, usually late February in the south to mid-April in the north, depending on the weather, to view firsthand the centuries-old process of boiling maple sap to produce the sweet, golden brew known around the world as Vermont Maple Syrup. A one-of-a-kind experience to be cherished always!
