If this maple syrup is heated to a boiling point of 230F and cooled rapidly without stirring it will crystallize and form maple sugar. 2000, February 23 Wednesay. Corvallis Gazette-Times, Corvallis, OR C2. I lived in Vermont for several years, where I acquired a love for real maple syrup made from the sap of the sugar maple that grows only in the northeastern part of the United states. What you typically see masquerading as syrup at supermarkets is artifically flavored corn syrup with caramel color.
Maple syrup is a traditional sweetener, which has been around for hundreds of years.
In the 1600s, maple sugar was the only form of concentrated sweetener in North America. Because the Indians converted most of the sap they harvested into sugar, it became known as Indian sugar. When it flows out of the sugar maple in late winter, the sap is watery with little maple flavor. This alone was worth the two years of isolation I spent working in the Green Mountains. Once tapped, it takes the average tree about 5.5 days to give off the 40 gallons of sap necessary to yield one gallon maple syrup.