The internet is full of fabulous facts about everything from current events to the history basket weaving and maple syrup fun facts. As we research for our daily content on food trucks, food carts and street food, we stumble upon some items of knowledge that we just did not know.

We have decided when these fun facts pop up, that we would share them with our readers in our section titled “Did You Know?”

For today’s Did You Know we will look at Maple Syrup fun facts.

 

Maple Syrup Fun Facts: Maple syrup was first collected and used by the indigenous peoples of North America. The practice was adopted by European settlers, who gradually improved production methods. Technological improvements in the 1970s further refined syrup processing.

  • The Canadian province of Quebec is by far the largest producer, responsible for about three-quarters of the world’s output; Canadian exports of maple syrup exceed 141 million USD per year.
  • Vermont is the largest producer in the United States, generating about 5.5 percent of the global supply.
  • December 17th is National Maple Syrup Day.
  • Sap becomes maple syrup when it reaches 7- 1/2 degrees above the boiling point of water. At that point, it is 67% sugar.
  • It takes 30-50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.
  • Maple syrup is boiled even further to produce maple cream, maple sugar, and maple candy.
  • It takes one gallon of maple syrup to produce eight pounds of maple candy or sugar
  • A gallon of maple syrup weighs 11 pounds
  • There are three shades of Grade A Amber – light, medium, and dark.
  • The sugar content of sap averages 2.5 percent; sugar content of maple syrup is at least 66 percent or more
  • Usually a maple tree is at least 30 years old and 12 inches in diameter before it is tapped.
  • As the tree increases in diameter, more taps can be added – up to a maximum of four taps.
  • Tapping does no permanent damage and only 10 percent of the sap is collected each year. Many maple trees have been tapped for 150 or more years.
  • Each tap will yield an average of 10 gallons of sap per season, producing about one quart of syrup.
  • The maple season may last eight to 10 weeks, but sap flow is heaviest for about 10-20 days in the early spring.

Maple Syrup Fun Facts We Missed

Let us know if we may have missed any maple syrup fun facts in the comment section below. If we can verify that the facts is just that, a fact, we will give the reader credit in the article.

Reference: Wikipedia: Fun Facts about Maple Syrup.

Recipe: Maple Syrup Creme Brulee

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