Several food products are created from the
sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
harvested from maple trees, which is made into sugar and syrup before being incorporated into various foods and dishes. The
sugar maple
''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prim ...
is one of the most important
Canadian trees, being, along with the
black maple
''Acer nigrum'', the black maple, is a species of maple closely related to '' A. saccharum'' (sugar maple), and treated by some authors as a subspecies of it, as ''Acer saccharum'' subsp. ''nigrum''.
Identification can be confusing due to the t ...
, the major source of sap for making
maple syrup.
Other maple species can be used as a sap source for maple syrup, but some have lower sugar contents or produce more cloudy syrup than these two.
[
]
Foods made from maple
* Maple syrup – in maple syrup production from the sugar maple
''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prim ...
, the sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
is extracted from the trees using tap placed into a hole drilled through the phloem, just inside the bark. The collected sap is then boiled. As the sap boils, the water is evaporated off and the syrup left behind. of maple sap are required to be boiled to produce only of pure syrup. This is the reason for the high cost of pure maple syrup. Maple syrup is often eaten with pancakes, waffle
A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe use ...
s, French toast, or oatmeal and porridge. It is also used as an ingredient in baking, and as a sweetener or flavoring agent.
* Maple taffy
Maple taffy (sometimes maple toffee in English-speaking Canada, tire d'érable or tire sur la neige in French-speaking Canada; also sugar on snow or candy on the snow or leather aprons in the United States) is a sugar candy made by boiling maple ...
– also known as maple toffee, is a confection
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...
made by boiling maple sap past the point where it would form maple syrup but not so long that it becomes maple butter or maple sugar. It is sometimes prepared and eaten alongside during the making of maple syrup at a sugar house
A sugar shack (french: cabane à sucre), also known as sap house, sugar house, sugar shanty or sugar cabin is a commercial establishment, primarily found in Eastern Canada and northern New England. Sugar shacks are small cabins or groups of cab ...
or
* Maple sugar – prepared from the sap of the sugar maple tree, it is a traditional sweetener in Canada and the northeastern United States. Maple sugar is what remains after the sap of the sugar maple is boiled for longer than is needed to create maple syrup or maple taffy. Once almost all the water has been boiled off, all that is left is a solid sugar. Maple sugar was the preferred form of maple by First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
/ Native American peoples as the sugar could easily be transported and lasted a long time. It is called by the Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...
g. ''Blessing of the Bay'', the second ocean-going merchant ship built in the English colonies, carried maple sugar from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to New Amsterdam as early as 1631. Today, specialty candy shops still carry "maple sugar candy": an individual-consumption-sized block of compacted maple sugar, usually molded into the shape of a maple leaf.
* Maple butter
Maple butter, also known as maple cream or maple spread, is a confection made from maple syrup, by heating the syrup to approximately , cooling it to around , and beating it until it reaches a smooth consistency. It is usually made from Grade A ...
– also known as maple cream or maple spread, it is a confection made by heating maple syrup to approximately , cooling it to around , and stirring it until it reaches a smooth consistency. It is usually made from Grade A Golden Color and Delicate Taste syrup (previously known as "Fancy" or "Vermont Fancy"), and is a light tan color. of syrup can make about of maple cream.
Beverages
* Jaan Paan Liqueur – a sweet paan-flavored spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
/ liqueur made with neutral grain spirit, Canadian maple syrup and a blend of herbs and spices, excluding areca nut
''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name ...
.
* Maple liqueur – various alcoholic products made from maple syrup, primarily in the Northeast United States and Canada.
*Maple beer – by fermenting the sugar in maple syrup to replace malt and other components, craft brewers create an ale with noticeable maple tones that is often reinforced in sweetness with residual sugars. However, due to maple syrup being more expensive than traditional sources of sugar, this beverage is considered more of a delicacy.
*Hot Toddy
A hot toddy, also known as hot whiskey in Ireland, is typically a mixed drink made of liquor and water with honey, (or in some recipes, sugar), lemon, herbs (such as tea) and spices, and served hot. Hot toddy recipes vary and are traditional ...
– contains whiskey, lemon, butter and maple syrup instead of honey.
Baked goods
* – an rectangular doughnut topped with a maple glaze.500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late: and the Very Best Places to Eat Them - Jane Stern, Michael Stern
p. 382. Varieties of maple bars include
Long Johns and
Maple bacon donuts.
*
Maple leaf cream cookies –
sandwich cookie
A sandwich cookie, also known as a sandwich biscuit, is a type of cookie made from two thin cookies or medium cookies with a filling between them. Many types of fillings are used, such as cream, ganache, buttercream, chocolate, cream cheese, ja ...
with maple cream filling.
Gallery
File:Plastic maple sap bucket on Red Maple tree.jpg, Maple sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
being collected in a bucket
File:MapleSyrupProduction.jpg, Maple sap being transformed into maple syrup at a sugar shack in Pakenham, Ontario
File:Vermont maple syrup in a tin issued by the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association.jpg, Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
maple syrup packaged in a tin issued by the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association
File:Maple syrup.jpg, A bottle of maple syrup from Quebec
File:Maple toffee.JPG, Maple taffy
Maple taffy (sometimes maple toffee in English-speaking Canada, tire d'érable or tire sur la neige in French-speaking Canada; also sugar on snow or candy on the snow or leather aprons in the United States) is a sugar candy made by boiling maple ...
being prepared in West Quebec
File:Maple sugar industry - NARA - 285762.tif, Native Americans preparing maple sugar by boiling maple tree sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
File:Maple Sugar Festival.jpg, Maple sugar being prepared at a maple sugar festival
File:Maple sugar cubes.jpg, Cubes of maple sugar being made in a sugar press mold
File:Maple butter.jpg, Maple butter
Maple butter, also known as maple cream or maple spread, is a confection made from maple syrup, by heating the syrup to approximately , cooling it to around , and beating it until it reaches a smooth consistency. It is usually made from Grade A ...
File:Bacon donut.jpg, A , topped with bacon
See also
*
Birch syrup
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 to ...
*
Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers
*
Frog Run (maple syrup) – a term used in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
that refers to the last sap run of the sugaring season. This final run is the last good
tree sap that can be distilled into maple syrup. It usually produces a very thick and darker grade of maple syrup.
References
{{reflist
*
Maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
Maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
Foods made from maple