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Frequently Asked Questions and Little Known Facts Did you know that: The State of Maine is second largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S. Maine's Somerset County produces more maple syrup than any other county in the U.S. Maine has a very unique set of sugar producers. The Northern part of the State has many large commercial sugaring operations deep in the Woods. Many of these operations put out 20,000 or more taps!! Much of this land is owned by paper and timber companies and leased to the sugarmakers. The Central and Southern parts of the State have many smaller family owned operations where 1000 taps is plenty. There are parts of the Maine North Woods that have been tapped continually for over 100 years. One old timer recalls that when he was a child his family would shovel the snow out of the road to get the horses into the sugarbush. They set out 2000 buckets and lugged every drop of sap. The sugar maple is the preferred tree to tap. It has about 2.5% sugar in its' sap. It takes 30 to 40 years for a maple tree to grow large enough to be tapped.You have to collect 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup. One tap will yield about 10 gallons of sap per season. The sugar in sap is stored by the tree as starch throughout the year. In the spring, the starches convert to sugar and flow through the tree in its' sap. Maple syrup is sold in different grades. The grades reflect the syrup's color and point to its' taste. The grades are: Grade A Light Amber - Delicately sweet maple flavor. Grade A Medium Amber - More maple flavor, less sweet than the Light.. Grade A Dark Amber - Darker still, this syrup has a hearty maple flavor . Grade B - Dark as can be. Used for cooking and flavoring products. The best way to store syrup is in the freezer!! It won't freeze and will stay fresh for a long time. If you find that your syrup has formed crystals in the container, heat it gently on your stove until the crystals melt. Better yet, pick the crystals out and eat them as hard candy!! Should you find mold on top of your syrup, skim the mold off, bring the syrup to a boil, and strain it through cheesecloth. Still tastes good!! Maple syrup was one of the first natural sweeteners. It is 100% fat free and, unlike cane sugar, contains some vitamins.
Nutritional Information
Maple syrup contains: CARBOHYDRATES
CALORIES per 100 grams
ORGANIC ACIDS
AMINO ACIDS
VITAMINS
OTHER INFORMATION
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144 Heal Road, Lincolnville, ME 04849 * Tel. 207-763-3150 * Fax: 207-763-3037 Email: thecook@healssugarhouse.com
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