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Pure Maple Syrup
Pure Maple syrup is divided into two major grades: Grade A and Grade B, and is sold by liquid volume, not weight, and is approximately 33 percent water and 67 percent sugar. Maple syrup must be graded and labeled properly, in accordance with the color scale standards approved by the state the syrup is produced in (or province, in Canada). Pure maple syrup is the preferred toppings for pancakes, waffles, and French toast in North America, and is sometimes boiled down further to make maple sugar, a hard candy usually sold in pressed blocks, and maple taffy. Maple syrup can also be used for a variety of uses, including: biscuits, chicken, fresh donuts, fried dough, fritters, ice cream, hot cereal, and fresh fruit (especially grapefruit). Although most people use maple syrup in just one way, over pancakes or waffles, there are many, many ways to use maple syrup; as a sauce over ice cream or puddings, a natural glaze poured over ham, baked in the hollow of a winter squash, in many other dishes, and even in many elaborate "gourmet" recipes. Pure maple syrup can be used in just about any recipe where sugar is called for, but contains more moisture than the granulated sugar which the recipe called for so adjustments must be made. For substitution of maple syrup in general cooking, use three-fourths the amount of maple syrup as sugar. When substituting maple syrup for honey, use a one to one ratio. Pure maple syrup will tend to caramelize and burn on the top and around the edges before a batter using a solid sweetener like white granulated sugar. A tablespoon of maple syrup contains 50 calories, 29 grams of carbohydrates, a negligible amount of sodium and no protein, fat, or cholesterol. It is an excellent source of manganese and a good source of zinc, which can be sweet for your health. Pre-Columbian Native Americans, living in the northeastern part of North America, were the first people known to have produced maple syrup and maple sugar. Maple syrup and maple sugar were used during the American Civil War and by abolitionists in the years prior to the war because most cane sugar and molasses was produced by Southern slaves. During food rationing in World War II, people in the northeastern United States were encouraged to stretch their sugar rations by sweetening foods with maple syrup and maple sugar, and recipe books were printed to help employ this alternate source. Pure maple syrup and maple sugar became the household sweetener in the Canadian and American colonies throughout the nineteenth century, instead of refined white cane sugar, raw sugar, or molasses. American tribes of the northeastern United States and southeast Canada first showed French and British settlers how to draw the sap of Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, and reduce it into a sweet, thick liquid known today as pure maple syrup. European settlers introduced iron and copper pots into the process, which allowed the sap to be heated longer, removing more of the water and producing what we know as pure maple syrup today. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Ken Asselin is webmaster for the Selections Guide Series of Websites. Pure Maple Syrup |
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