The maple syrup started with the North American Indians, thousands of years ago. Tomahawks and North American Indians have made new incisions to remove the sap of the trees from the Maple. Birch barks were used to collect clear saps. It has then increased the popularity and demand for maple syrups. This sweetener is used in many recipes today.

There are many ways to extract the syrup. One is to place hot stones in the sap and freeze it. You wait for morning to remove the water layer. They tap the sap with iron drill bits to extract the syrup. Then, they will boil the syrup in metal kettles. The sap was so sweet that many people loved it especially the colonies of North America. They used it as a natural sweetener.

During these times, the price of sugar was very expensive and was concentrated to the West Indies only. Maple syrup was used as a cheaper alternative to sugar. However, come the twentieth century, sugar became inexpensive while maple syrup prices soared. And thus, sugar is now more common than maple syrups.

Maple syrup producing trees are not only in the selected regions of North America. They are present in the provinces of New Brunswick, Quebec in Canada, Nova Scotia and Vermont States and New York of United States.

Maple tree has a life span of up to thirty years. A single tree you plant will be enough to provide your needs for many years. The diameter of the tree increases by the time you start tapping the sap. If only 10 percent of the sap is being collected per year, there would be no permanent damage produced.

A maple tree can have a maximum of four taps. Each tap gives an average of 10 gallons of sap every season. This would yield to a quart of the syrup. It is quite easy to tap a maple tree. You just need a sap spout available in the market. The best time to tap the maple tree is at night when there is a colder temperature.

The season of maple last from four to six weeks but the heavy flow of sap is only from 10 to 20 days. The heavy flow of sap lasting for 20 days is called a run.

To be able to condense a gallon of maple syrup, you need to boil 30 to 50 gallons. Maple syrup should be boiled more than a stipulated time to produce candies, cream and sugar.

One gallon of syrup is required to produce an eight pound candy sugar. Sap has an average of 2.5 percent sugar content.

Syrup has an average of 66.5 percent of sugar content. A gallon of pure maple syrup is equivalent to 11 pounds.

Maple tree can be very useful if taken cared of properly. Aside from the syrup, the tree has other uses. The maple wood and leaves are also helpful in cooking, cleaning and other house works.

The colonists may have profited more of their maple tree. Rest assured that maple tree can be of good help to the health of a person.