Maple Facts & Recipes
Maple Syrup
Grading System
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Golden - mild, delicate maple flavor; used to make maple candy and cream
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Amber - slightly stronger maple flavor; most popular table syrup
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Dark - heartier maple flavor, also popular for table use
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Very Dark - strongest maple flavor and most nutrient rich; often used in cooking
Health Benefits
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Pure maple syrup contains zinc and manganese which help provide antioxidants to maintain heart health and boost immunity
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Pure maple syrup is sweeter than sugar and can be substituted 2/3 part syrup to 1 part sugar or to replace white sugar use ¾ cup of maple syrup for every one cup of sugar.
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When it comes to baking, that same amount is used but also be sure to reduce the amount of overall liquid in the recipe by about 1/4 cup.
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Pure granulated maple sugar can be substituted one for one anywhere you use white processed granulated sugar.
Production Facts
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It takes anywhere from 40-80 gallons of raw maple sap to produce 1 gallon of pure maple syrup
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Pure maple syrup is approximately 67% sugar and 33% water
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Tapping maple trees inflicts no permanent damage to the tree
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There are about 200 different species of maple trees, but sap can only be collected from 5 of them
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The maple season lasts around 4-6 weeks, but the flow of sap is heaviest for only a portion of this time
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Sunny days and frosty nights are the best conditions for sap flow
Nutritional Facts
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The glycemic index defines foods by how quickly it causes your blood sugar to rise. Sugars naturally rank higher on the glycemic index, however, maple syrup is clearly the better option as it has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar.
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Real Maple Syrup has a glycemic index of 54. Maple syrup is defined as having a "medium" index.
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Honey has a glycemic index of 58 and is defined as having a "medium" index.
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According to Livestrong.com, Real Maple Syrup is full of antioxidants that are anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-bacterial. An article published by Livestrong.com that describes Real Maple nutrition even explains that "Researchers have also recently discovered that maple syrup is a source of phenolics, a class of antioxidants that are found in berries."
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Real Maple Syrup has significantly more calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, and manganese than honey. These minerals do great work for your body including things like cell formation, maintaining healthy red blood cells, and immune support.
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Both honey and maple syrup contain equal amounts of phosphorus and selenium, while according to this Livestrong.com article, "maple syrup is lower in sodium, making it suitable for low-sodium diets. The syrup also has 15 times more calcium than honey."
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The chart below shows syrup winning in a head to head on mineral activity.
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Sources:
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https://www.livestrong.com/article/412144-nutrition-of-pure-maple-syrup-vs-honey/
