Maple Facts
➢ Maple sap begins to flow in the spring when the temperature climbs above freezing. It takes the fluctuating temperature, below freezing at night and sunny, above freezing temperature during the day, for the sap to continue flowing.
➢ It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup! That is a lot of boiling!
➢ The content of sugar in the maple sap is about 2 brix when it comes out of the tree. The content of sugar in the syrup needs to be 66 brix before it is called finished syrup.
➢ Maple syrup was first made by the Native Americans long before European settlers arrived in America. They then showed the settlers how to make the syrup.
➢ Maple sap is a complex combination of water, sugar, minerals, and vitamins.
➢ With a glycemic index of 54, maple syrup is considered a low glycemic product, which means it affects the blood sugar to a lesser degree than many other sugars.
➢ It is also rich in minerals- potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, manganese, phosphorus, iron, and selenium.
➢ Vermont is the #1 maple producing state in the U.S. making about 50% of the syrup produced.
➢ About one out of every four trees in Vermont is a maple.
➢ It takes a maple tree approximately 40 years to grow to the recommended 10 inches in diameter for tapping. A tree can grow for 200 years or more.
