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I never let our cupboard run empty with good, ol’ maple syrup. My kids adore the stuff, especially with their favorite breakfasts. People eat it on things like toast, waffles, pancakes, french toast, or even on pasta. I was afraid after a point that I was being to easy and giving them too much sugar (this is a problem because I have a MAJOR sweet tooth and I can’t stay away from the sugar myself even). When I looked into it I was shocked to learn that out of everything maple syrup can be one of the best sweets to be given to children that is readily available. A benefit is that it has less calories then a person would think, and has far fewer amounts of sugar than honey does. Another good thing is that it contains a small amount of zinc and manganese which are two essential minerals for peoples bodies, building the immune system and antioxidant defenses.  

What should I have done when I knew I deceived my little picky children by giving them something sweet and tasty when it is actually quite healthy? To get it started simply!

Since then I started using pure organic canadian maple syrup to add to things like squash, on fries, or even on “maple and banana sandwiches” in place of peanut butter. My kids also love organic maple butter on their waffles and drizzled on their pancakes.An easy way to make maple butter is to blend a pound of normal butter with 1/2 a cup of maple syrup, then just stick it in the fridge and use it as you like.  For an easy snack or school lunchbox treat, I make maple cookies, which is really just low-fat oatmeal or plain cookies with a maple glaze on top. To make the glaze, just combine 1 C pure canadian maple sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a little maple extract, a few teaspoons of unsalted butter, all together on medium until it comes to a slow boil then you can brush it on your hot cookies. Let cool before serving (tip: the cookies taste better the next day).

Here’s something to keep in mind when you go shopping, really look for organic and pure maple syrup instead of picking up cheap flavored and colored synthetic syrup. It is generally more expensive, but because you don’t get diluted syrup you get a richer, tastier flavor and is worth whatever small amount of extra money it costs. Keep in mind a simple rule; the lighter the syrup, the more subtle the flavor will be. If you want to use syrup to cook try to get darker amber syrup as opposed to lighter stuff.  Finally, remember that everything should be consumed in moderation and for goodness’ sake, don’t forget to brush those tiny teeth afterwards!

Maple time of year is late winter and early spring. At this time, profitable and pastime maple producers in northeastern North America knock trees, gather sap, and process it to manufacture maple syrup. Genuine maple syrup is an unadulterated, innate item for consumption with an exceptional zest. Alone it’s a delight to the taste-buds, or served as an alternative to sugar in gourmet meals. Or simply as added flavor over pancakes, waffles, ice cream, snow-cone, or any other foods preferred. The uses of maple syrup don’t just stop at a sweet sappy delight, but can be made into countless other forms from granulated maple sugar, delectable maple candy, maple butter, and countless other variations. These maple variations are simple to formulate, appetizing to devour, and they also make outstanding presents.

Maple trees are bored and then sap are allowed to drip in order to be processed as maple syrup or made in to any other variant. Maple candy is heated further than syrup, until a soft candy consistency is reached, and maple butter is stirred constantly until it is just thick enough to be spread like butter. As far as the maple sugar is concerned, until granules are formed. These are few of the many wonders one maple tree can make. Sugar camp is a term coined by people who make maple syrup to talk about when they all get together during very cold weather. When the French settlers came, the natives taught the foreigners how to sap and boil the maple juice. Through the years, the tap was refined and boring was known. The rather traditional way of sap gathering using pails is replaced by pipes that lead the dripping sap directly to the sugar house. During the war, maple syrup served more than just a pancake topping. It was employed as sugar substitute because sugar was in scarce at that time and maple syrup is a rather good source of sugar. Because maple syrup is so very popular, and because the economy is going down the tubes (to name a few of many reasons) there are many maple syrup imitators out there. They are sold as hot as pancakes simply because they are cheaper than the original syrup.

The purest maple syrup is made nowhere else in the world but solely in the Northeastern part of America. It takes more than thirty years for a tree to be eligible in tapping and then once yearly from then on. All that is done to the maple sap is evaporation of some of the water, making it a completely natural food with no colors and preservatives.Before anyone, history tells us that the Indians discovered the sweet concoction called maple syrup. According to lore an Indian threw his tomahawk at the maple tree, and caused sap to burst fourth. The Indians mistook the liquid as water which they later brought to boil thereby leading to the production of a sweet sticky substance popularly known as maple syrup owing its name for the maple tree where it came from.