 Ziiga'igaans (maple sugar cubes) being made in aziiga'iganaatig (sugar press-mould) | |
| Type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Canada and theUnited States |
| Main ingredients | Sap of thesugar maple tree |
Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in Canada and theNortheastern United States, prepared from the sap of the maple tree ("maple sap").
Three species of maple trees in the genusAcer are predominantly used to produce maple sugar: thesugar maple (A. saccharum), theblack maple (A. nigrum), and thered maple (A. rubrum),[1][full citation needed] because of the high sugar content (roughly two to five percent) in the sap of these species.[2][full citation needed] The black maple is included as asubspecies orvariety in a more broadly viewed concept ofA. saccharum, the sugar maple, by some botanists.[3] Of these, the red maple has a shorter season because it buds earlier than sugar and black maples, which alters the flavor of the sap.[4]
A few other species of maple are also sometimes used as sources of sap for producing maple sugar, including thebox elder (or Manitoba maple,A. negundo),[5] thesilver maple (A. saccharinum),[6] and thebigleaf maple (A. macrophyllum).[7] Similar sugars may also be produced frombirch orpalm trees, among other sources.[8][9]
Maple sugar is what remains after thesap of the sugar maple is boiled for longer than is needed to createmaple syrup ormaple taffy.[10] Once almost all the water has been boiled off, all that is left is a solid sugar.[10] By composition, this sugar is about 90%sucrose, the remainder consisting of variable amounts ofglucose andfructose.[11] This is usually sold in pressed blocks or as a translucent candy. It is difficult to create as the sugar easily burns and thus requires considerable skill.[10]
In Canada, maple sugar is one of several maple products manufactured frommaple sap or maple syrup, includingmaple butter and maple taffy.[12] Under the Food and Drugs Act and Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, Canadian regulations require that maple sugar products identify the business identity and country of origin on the retailproduct label.[12]
Maple sugar was made by manyFirst Nations/American Indian peoples. Unlikemaple syrup, it was easy to transport and long lasting.[13] It is calledziinzibaakwad by theAnishinaabeg.[14]Blessing of the Bay, the second ocean-going merchant ship built in the English colonies, carried maple sugar from theMassachusetts Bay Colony toNew Amsterdam as early as 1631.[15] French awareness of the process is indicated in at least one engraver's works, those of the mid-18th-century artist Jean-Francois Turpin, the engraver Bernard (including several for Diderot's 1755Encyclopedie.) and others.[16]
Maple syrup and maple sugar were used during the American Civil War and byabolitionists in the years before the war because most cane sugar andmolasses were produced bySouthernslaves.[17][18] For example,Lucretia Mott was known for giving out maple candies wrapped in papers that bore messages like "Take this, my friend, you need not fear to eat. No slave hath toiled to cultivate this sweet."[19]
Maple sugar is used to flavor maple products and as an alternative tocane sugar.[10]
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