Maple Syrup

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Is it possible to graft a fruit tree and a maple?
That is an interesting question. But, what would you get? You usually tap the trunk of the tree to get syrup and the trunk is fruit tree. But, I don't know that you wouldn't just get fruity maple syrup. Or maybe, you could tap the maple branches.
 
Might work when the tree is several years old. But don't think you can tap into the branches when they are too young. By the time the sap has reached the branches, should you take the small amounts that divide off intothem, you will likely stunt their growth.
As interesting as all this is, the point Larry was making was that he wished he had planted them several years ago as they would now be big enough to tap. (I think)
 
We have a family a few miles from us that does a youtube channel. He has about an acre. Since he doesn't have enough maples, he went door to door in his neighborhood and asked permission to tap the mature maples. He showed drone footage of the neighborhood and the 17 trees he had permission to tap, which he did. Then he ran a big burner with a boiler on top and boiled off the sap, finished it in his kitchen. That's an option, maybe.
 
Might work when the tree is several years old. But don't think you can tap into the branches when they are too young. By the time the sap has reached the branches, should you take the small amounts that divide off intothem, you will likely stunt their growth.
As interesting as all this is, the point Larry was making was that he wished he had planted them several years ago as they would now be big enough to tap. (I think)
Yeah. In theory ( which I have no reason to doubt), they need to have at least 9 inch diameter before tapping or harm could be dont to the tree. Mine is about 7 inches, is in a place that I dont really want it ( potentially shading my garden) so if it goes, it goes. I can also use the wood to grow mushrooms if it goes. In front I have a red maple. Starts off as a relatively large trunk ( 12 inches +) but quickly separates into 4 smaller trunks ( 6 - 7 inches diameter). I tapped that one too. Boiled them up separately to do the taste taste ( not enough difference for me to be able to notice). Is it worth the effort? For a first time and ability to knock It off my bucket list, yes!!! Will I do it again next year, for the 3 or 4 Tablespoons of syrup? Knowing me, I probably will, cause what else am I doing late February / early March. They say maple trees are fast growers, so if I can find a spot for a few more, why not. May be 10 years before I can tap them. Over all, a fun learning experience . Glad I did it.
 
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Was cooking down my last batch of Maple sap ( about 2 quarts) and I did something stupid. I tried to speed up the process, then sat down for dinner and forgot about it. Now my house smells like burnt sugar :) At least I didnt mess up my pan. Til next year !!!
 
Oh boy... don't know what's worse - your burnt sugar or my burnt bacon.... neither is good.
As you say - but the pan's OK, so that a good thing!
 
I saw an interesting video on the Weather Network this morning. It's about the health advantages of maple syrup vs other sugars.

 
That actually makes a lot of sense to me. I follow this cooking block/ Chef who is vegan, and is very focussed on health and nutrition (he teaches yoga too). And he very often uses Maple syrup.

I remember the first time I tasted Maple Syrup. In general, I never really liked Maple syrup when I was a kid, cause all I had was that imitation crap. I was shocked when I tasted the real thing, cause it tasted nothing like the imitation stuff, to the point that I don't even know where they got that flavor from. It's like 2 totally different products. I love real Maple Syrup.
 
I remember way back, when agave syrup was being touted as a cure-all (well, almost), and better than any other sweetener for you! Well, the truth eventually came out, that it is actually higher in fructose than high fructose corn syrup! Let's face it, these stories about these kinds of things being so good for us are normally funded by the ones that sell the items. I'll still use the maple syrup, molasses, or honey, for flavor, and the palm sugar in my Thai foods (a small amount of maple syrup, plus brown sugar, is a good substitute for this), but I know it's not helping my health much.
 
I remember way back, when agave syrup was being touted as a cure-all (well, almost), and better than any other sweetener for you! Well, the truth eventually came out, that it is actually higher in fructose than high fructose corn syrup! Let's face it, these stories about these kinds of things being so good for us are normally funded by the ones that sell the items. I'll still use the maple syrup, molasses, or honey, for flavor, and the palm sugar in my Thai foods (a small amount of maple syrup, plus brown sugar, is a good substitute for this), but I know it's not helping my health much.
This is the way to look at it. The amount of any type of sugar - glucose, sucrose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, etc. - that people ingest is the most important consideration. Just like with all the minerals in Himalayan pink salt, it's not enough nutrition in proportion to make a difference in your diet or health status unless you're eating way too much of it, which obviates any health benefits.

So for people without pre-existing problems with insulin, enjoy in moderation, but no form of sugar is a health food.
 
Maple syrup is delicious, and that's that. Its recreational benefits are sensational so far as hard work is concerned, but its health benefits are marginal at best. Probably one's health would have to be truly precarious to justify using maple syrup for anything other than is superb flavor.
See these sites:
1. https://integrisok.com/resources/on-your-health/2022/june/is-maple-syrup-better-than-sugar
2. https://www.diabete.qc.ca/en/living-with-diabetes/diet/food-and-nutrients/maple-syrup-not-a-miracle-food-after-all/#:~:text=They have determined that eating,honey, molasses and agave syrup.
Quote something from that first link,
As empty as sugar is for your body, maple syrup contains some small added value. Maple syrup comes from tree sap and, because trees contain minerals, the syrup has antioxidants and a prebiotic called oligosaccharides that assists with gut health.
That was why I wrote, "It's about the health advantages of maple syrup vs other sugars." There's the slightly lower glycemic level. And the video ends by pointing out that Maple Syrup is still sugar.
 
Back
Top Bottom