Features of the manufacture of maple syrup. Composition and benefits for the body. Who is not recommended to use the product? Recipes and cooking applications. Speaking about the benefits of maple syrup, it should be noted that the functioning of the digestive tract and the thyroid gland improves, protection against depression and insomnia, and acceleration of metabolic processes.
Note! This product can replace sweet treats in the form of sweets, cookies, jams, preserves, etc., which will be especially appreciated by people suffering from diabetes.
Contraindications and harm of maple syrup
First of all, people with high blood glucose levels should be careful with it, since the product is very sweet and can cause a jump. In this case, dizziness, nausea and loss of consciousness will become possible. For the same reason, it is not recommended to get involved in them and people with high blood pressure.
Those who are overweight also need to be extremely careful due to the high calorie intake. If the product is abused, you can quickly recover, because it contains only carbohydrates, and in considerable quantities.
Maple syrup can be harmful with individual intolerance, which is quite common. If consumed by people with sensitivity to the components of the liquid, there is a likelihood of rash, itching, redness and other symptoms of diathesis on the skin.
Note! Due to the high risk of developing allergies, it is worth excluding this liquid from your diet for pregnant women, especially in the last trimester, children, especially small ones, and the elderly.
How is maple syrup prepared?
Before preparing maple syrup, sap is first extracted, usually in early spring or late winter, after buds appear on the branches. For this, only healthy, young trees are used. Their bark is incised to a depth of 5 cm, and special tubes are inserted into the resulting voids. Then they are sent to a bucket or jars, where the liquid flows down. This process is a lot like collecting birch sap.
After receiving the liquid, it is filtered to exclude the remnants of the bark. It is then filled into non-stick pans and evaporated under the lid for 30-60 minutes. It is not recommended to do this for a longer time, otherwise the product will turn out to be too thick, as a result of which there may be difficulties with sugaring. It can also reduce the shelf life. At the same time, it is best to boil the juice outside, since at this time the steam evaporates, which then remains on the furniture in the kitchen, leaving a sticky film.
After acquiring maple syrup at home with a more or less thick consistency, it must be cooled a little, poured into cans and hermetically sealed with plastic lids. Store it in a refrigerator or basement for a maximum of one year.
Maple Syrup Recipes
This product is widely used in cooking. It is used for cooking fruits, meat and even fish. It makes quite tasty sweets and pastries. It is an excellent substitute for honey and sugar in jams, preserves, and marmalades. He showed himself perfectly in buns, pies, waffles. It can not only be added to the dough, but also used as an additive to pancakes and pancakes.
Pay close attention to the following maple syrup recipes:
- Baked apples … First, prepare a mixture of cinnamon (a pinch), pre-soaked, dried and ground white raisins (100 g) and walnuts (one glass). Then pour boiling water over and leave for 30 minutes large, not wormy green apples with a sour taste (5-7 pcs.). After that, cut off the top from them, remove most of the pulp and fill the grooves made with the pre-prepared filling. Next, put all this on a baking dish and pour maple syrup on top, mixed in proportions 1: 1 with boiled cooled water. Bake the fruit in the oven at the lowest temperature for 20-30 minutes. Ready apples can be poured with melted ice cream before serving.
- Hen … First clean it, wash it, rub with salt, pepper and lemon, letting it sit for 30 minutes. At this time, combine cinnamon (pinch), maple syrup (60 ml), water (70 ml), and crushed walnuts (100 mg). Then place this mixture on a baking sheet, greased with butter and lined with parchment paper, and bake for about 10 minutes. Next, refrigerate this filling and fill the peeled bird with it. Place the chicken on a baking sheet, drizzle with maple syrup on top and place in the oven for an average of 40 minutes.
- Cupcakes … Break chicken eggs (3 pcs.) Into a saucepan, pour in butter (120 g) melted over low heat, add soda slaked with vinegar (1 tsp.) And sugar (100 g). Then beat the mass and gently add the sifted flour into it, stirring occasionally, which needs so much to make the dough a little thicker than for the pancakes. Then peel and chop the apples, add to the saucepan, and pour in the maple syrup (5 tablespoons). Stir the mixture, brush the molds with vegetable oil and spread the dough over them. Bake the muffins for 25 minutes at no more than 200 degrees. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or maple syrup when ready.
- Biscuits … Melt the butter (200 g), combine it with granulated sugar (150 g) and beat with a blender. Then pour in maple syrup (5 tablespoons), add baking powder (1 teaspoon), beat in eggs (2 pcs.) And add wheat flour, which needs about 2 cups. Knead the resulting dough thoroughly, put in a bag and refrigerate for 1 hour. After this time, take it out, roll it out in a thin layer no more than 0.5 cm thick, cut out a maple leaf using special forms, lay it on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Top with your favorite jam, jam or condensed milk.
- Salad … Boil broccoli lightly in salted water (100 g), chop the cabbage, red apples without peel (2 pcs.), Red onion (1 pc.) And separate the grapes (100 g) from the twigs. Mix all this, sprinkle with chopped ginger root (5 g), top with maple syrup (2 tablespoons), olive oil (1 tablespoon), mustard (0.5 tsp) and apple cider vinegar (1 tsp. l.). Salt the dish to taste, refrigerate and use with your favorite side dishes.
- Baked salmon … Separate it from the peel, and if you have not bought a fillet, then you will need 4 fish steaks. Then rub it with lemon juice and salt, leave for 30 minutes, pour over maple syrup, wrap in foil and place on a greased baking sheet. Roast the salmon in the oven for about 20 minutes, then sprinkle with black pepper to taste and top with soy sauce.
The way maple syrup is eaten is usually straightforward. With it you can make ice cream, yoghurts, buns, cocktails, puffs. It is also suitable for replacing sugar in tea, coffee and other beverages. Its taste is so interesting that the product can be simply spread on bread and consumed as it is.
Interesting facts about maple syrup
The first written mentions of the product date back to 1760. In one of the documents, it was told about certain trees growing in Canada and giving a very tasty juice, which can be processed to obtain healthy treats. But there is evidence proving the fact that maple syrup was used by the indigenous Indians of North America even before Columbus landed on the coast of the continent. In Russia, they started talking about it only in the 20th century, it was then that the first attempts were made to produce delicacies from the juice of holly maples.
The most delicious is the syrup made from the sap of sugar maple, which, unfortunately, only grows in North America and Canada. By the way, it is the latter country that accounts for the largest percentage of product exports in the world. She earns about C $ 140 million annually from this. In the United States, Vermont, Maine and Pennsylvania are the leaders among the states in terms of product release. Here, the quality of the liquid is monitored by employees of a special committee.
From 40 liters of tree sap, only 1 liter of syrup can be prepared, which is why it is quite expensive. On average, 500 ml of a product from Canada costs 1500-2000 rubles. Most often, you have to buy it to order in online stores, since such a product is a rare "guest" in supermarkets. When choosing maple syrup, you need to make sure that it is transparent or translucent, with a brown tint. Intense colors may indicate the addition of artificial colors to enhance the presentation. It is equally important that the liquid smells like wood. Also, the label should not list any other ingredients other than the essence of the tree. The shelf life of maple syrup at low humidity in a refrigerator or basement ranges from a few months to 1-2 years. The longer it stands, the more it darkens and tastes more astringent.
It is an excellent cosmetic product that can be added to masks for the care of hair, lips, skin around the eyes, and so on. It moisturizes the skin well, saturates it with moisture, prevents dryness, scrubs and cleanses from toxins.
Maple syrup is one of the ingredients in an effective weight loss shake, formulated by renowned nutritionist Stanley Burroughs. He suggested combining hot ground cayenne pepper (a pinch), lime, grapefruit and lemon juice (2 tablespoons each) and the main product (20 ml). The finished drink should be taken at 300 ml per day as part of the Niira diet.
Below we provide a table that describes the countries with the highest consumption of the product.
| A place | Country | State / province |
| 1 | Canada | Quebec |
| 2 | USA | Utah, Vermont, Pennsylvania |
| 3 | France | Ile-de-France, Normandy, Champagne |
In Canada, this product has become so popular that in the province of Quebec, the Sugar Hut is celebrated every year. It falls on the time of harvesting the juice, the festivities are arranged right in the forest. During this time, guests are treated to maple syrup-based treats. Usually beans, chicken breast, ham and even beer with the addition of this ingredient are served on the table.
Since it is very difficult to find real sugar maple syrup in Europe, if necessary, due to the similarity in texture, color and taste, it can be replaced with agave essence or ordinary honey.
Watch a video about maple syrup:
Maple syrup is an overseas "delicacy", the high cost of which does not allow it to be used in cooking as often as we would like. Basically, with its addition, any original holiday dishes are prepared. As a result, you will be satisfied with both the taste and the benefits of the product.
