Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in Canada and the northeastern United States, prepared from the sap of the maple tree (" maple sap").

Sources

Three species of maple trees in the genus '' Acer'' are predominantly used to produce maple sugar: the sugar maple (''A. saccharum''), the black maple (''A. nigrum''), and the red maple (''A. rubrum''), because of the high sugar content (roughly two to five percent) in the sap of these species. The black maple is included as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...

or variety in a more broadly viewed concept of ''A. saccharum'', the sugar maple, by some botanists. Of these, the red maple has a shorter season because it buds earlier than sugar and black maples, which alters the flavor of the sap. A few other species of maple are also sometimes used as sources of sap for producing maple sugar, including the box elder (or Manitoba maple, ''A. negundo''), the silver maple (''A. saccharinum''), and the bigleaf maple (''A. macrophyllum''). Similar sugars may also be produced from

birch 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'' cont ...

or palm trees, among other sources.

Preparation

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. By composition, this sugar is about 90% sucrose, the remainder consisting of variable amounts of

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...

and fructose. This is usually sold in pressed blocks or as a translucent candy. It is difficult to create as the sugar easily burns and thus requires considerable skill.

Regulation for product labeling

In Canada, maple sugar is one of several maple products manufactured from maple sap or maple syrup, including maple butter and maple taffy. Under the Food and Drugs Act and Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, Canadian regulations require that maple sugar products identify the business identity and country of origin on the retail

product label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

History

Maple sugar was made by many First Nations/ American Indian peoples. Unlike maple syrup, it was easy to transport and long lasting. It is called ''ziinzibaakwad'' 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, Potawa ...

g. '' Blessing of the Bay'', the second ocean-going merchant ship built in the English colonies, carried maple sugar from the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as th ...

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

as early as 1631. French awareness of the process is indicated in at least one engraver's works, those of the mid-18th-century artist Jean-Francois Turpin, the engraver Bernard (including several for Diderot's 1755 ''Encyclopedie.'') and others.

Uses

Maple sugar is used to flavor maple products and as an alternative to

cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and ref ...

. File:Sugar Makak 1925.jpg, Sugar

makak Makak is a town in central Cameroon, in Central province. Transport It is served by a station on the national railway system. See also * Communes of Cameroon The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in ...

– 1925 File:Maple sugar demonstration 1.jpg, Demonstration of Native American technique of making maple sugar

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maple Sugar Canadian cuisine Cuisine of Quebec Sugar confectionery

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

Sugar substitutes Sugar