Maple sugar

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Maple sugar
Confectionery

Ziiga'igaans (maple sugar cubes) being made in a ziiga'iganaatig (sugar press-mould)
Place of origin:
Canada and the United States
Main ingredient(s):
Sap of the sugar maple tree
Recipes at Wikibooks:
 Maple sugar
Media at Wikimedia Commons:
  Maple sugar
Golden sugar maple tree

Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in Canada, and the northeastern United States. prepared from the sap of the sugar maple tree.

Preparation

Maple sugar is what remains after the sap of the sugar maple is boiled for longer than is needed to create maple syrup or maple taffy.[1] Once almost all the water has been boiled off, all that is left is a solid sugar.[2] By composition, this sugar is about 90% sucrose, the remainder consisting of variable amounts of glucose and fructose.[3] This is usually sold in pressed blocks or as a translucent candy.[4] It is difficult to create as the sugar easily burns and thus requires considerable skill.[5]

History

Maple sugar was the preferred form of maple by First Nations/Native American peoples as the sugar could easily be transported and lasted a long time. It is called ziinzibaakwad by the Anishinaabeg.[6] [7] Blessing of the Bay, the second ocean-going merchant ship built in the English colonies, carried maple sugar from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to New Amsterdam as early as 1631.[8]

Uses

It is today used to flavor some maple products and can be used as an alternative to cane sugar. Maple sugar is about twice as sweet as standard granulated sugar.[9]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maple sugar.
  1. ↑ http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/pdfpubs/7036.pdf
  2. ↑ Maple Sugar | baking911.com
  3. ↑ MMSA: Maple Facts, Figures, & References
  4. ↑ canadianmaplesyrup.com - canadianmaplesyrup Resources and Information. This website is for sale!
  5. ↑ http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/pubs/trees.htm
  6. ↑ Weshki-Ayaad, Lippert and Gambill. Ojibwe-English and English-Ojibwe online dictionary.
  7. ↑ http://www.morsefarm.com/pages/history.php
  8. ↑ Clark, William Horace (1938). Ships and Sailors: The Story of Our Merchant Marine. Boston: L.C. Page & Co. pp. 15–17. 
  9. ↑ Maple Syrup Storage, Cooking Tips, and Substitutions

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