Maple sugar features maple juice, and cooking techniques. Energy value and useful assets. Can anyone switch to exotic sweetness? Recipes and interesting facts about maple sugar.
Maple sugar is a product made from the juice of red, black, or sugar maples. The plant is found in a limited area – in the United States and Canada, so the product is popular in these countries. The sweet color is light or dark brown, the aroma is fruity, it is compared to the smell of melted honey caramel, fermented molasses, or overripe apples and pears. The aftertaste is sweetness. The consumer is offered maple sugar in the form of sands or bars which are then crushed by it.
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How is maple sugar made?
Tree juice is collected by flowing juice, just like birch sap in Siberia. The trunk is chopped at human height, a gutter is placed and a container is attached to it. The depth of the hole in the trunk should not exceed 4 cm to avoid the death of the tree. The raw material accumulates in sediment tanks where it is purified and clarified when heated to 110-116 ° C.
Furthermore, the syrup is made from raw material by evaporation. The Indians left juice containers in the sun or cooked them on the fire in open boilers. Now the syrup is produced in special vacuum devices and heats the liquid with steam which is supplied through a closed piping system. The syrup is then poured into a centrifuge, where it is separated into liquid and crystalline dark sugar.
Such a product is produced in the form of a rod, in which the residual syrup is contained – the crystals quickly stick together. If further purification is required, the mixture is remixed with syrup, filtered, and sent back to the centrifuge. The resulting sugar is dried, clarified if necessary, and packaged.
One of the product names for maple sugar is Agron. Under this brand, it comes to Europe, especially in the territory of Russia. But in the United States and Canada, it is called “maple sugar” (“maple tsukor”) or “Acer sugar” (“acre tsukor”). “Aker” in English is “maple”.
To make 1,814 kg of maple sugar, you need 35-40 liters (131.5-150 L) of juice or 1 liter (3.75-4 L) of syrup.
Composition and caloric content of maple sugar
The nutritional value of the product is high; it is unwise to use it to lose weight. Despite the sweeter, almost sugary taste, more of it is needed to sweeten dishes, as only 90% of the sucrose is in the composition and the rest is fructose and glucose.
The caloric content of maple sugar is 354 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Protein – 0.1 g;
- Fat – 0.2 g;
- Carbohydrates – 90.9 g;
- Water – 8 g;
- Ash – 0.8 g.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Vitamin B1, thiamine – 0.009 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin – 0.013 mg;
- Vitamin B4, choline – 2.1 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid – 0.048 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine – 0.003 mg;
- Vitamin PP – 0.04 mg.
Macronutrients in 100 g:
- Potassium, K – 274 mg;
- Calcium, Ca – 90 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg – 19 mg;
- Sodium, Na – 11 mg;
- Phosphorus, P – 3 mg.
Micro-components per 100 g:
- Iron, Fe – 1.61 mg;
- Manganese, Mn – 4.422 mg;
- Copper, Cu – 99 micrograms;
- Selenium, Se – 0.8 micrograms;
- Zinc, Zn – 6.06 mg.
- Digestible carbohydrates are represented by monosaccharides and disaccharides – 84.87 g per 100 g.
Fatty acids per 100 g:
- Omega -6 – 0.1 g;
- Palmitic – 0.036 g;
- Steric – 0.004 g;
- Omega -9 – 0.064 g;
- Linoleic acid – 0.1 g.
The most useful product is considered to be sold in the form of rods. It contains the following acids:
- Benzoic – a strong antiseptic effect, inhibits the important activity of fungi;
- Cinnamon – increases local immunity, and stimulates the renewal of coverage;
- Gallic – activates peristalsis in the intestine and prevents the development of rotting processes in the stomach.
Maple sugar contains a substance that is missing from the original ingredient – juice. They are formed during the production process of the final product – by heating, welding, and evaporation. The most valuable is Quebecol, a phenolic compound called Quebec, the province of Canada where it was isolated. The effects on the body are reminiscent of the drug Tamoxifen, which is used to prevent and treat breast cancer.
The drug causes a large number of side effects, in contrast to its natural counterpart. Quekebol has antioxidants, slows down the breakdown of carbohydrates in the gut, and can be used to prevent malignant intestinal mucosa.
Benefits of maple sugar
The most important effect of the sweetener is to improve energy reserves. With its help, you can quickly recover from tiring physical exertion, nervous breakdown, or stress.
Benefits of maple sugar:
- Adjust the normal path of nerve impulses, stop depression, and restore healthy sleep.
- Prevents the formation of unconventional cells in the body.
- It has an antioxidant effect.
- Adjust pancreatic function, and accelerate insulin production.
- Strengthening strength in men increases libido. Admittedly, American doctors believe that it is better to use syrup rather than maple sugar to improve the reproductive system of men.
- It speeds up the digestive system and prolongs the life of liver cells – liver cells.
- Stops degenerative changes in the body.
- Stimulates the production of red blood cells, red blood cells, helps to deal with anemia quickly.
- Creates favorable conditions for the presence of beneficial microorganisms in the small intestine.
Maple sugar is invaluable in home cosmetology. Masks with this product gently clean the surface of the epithelial cell from keratin particles, have a nourishing effect and prevent the development of infectious diseases skin diseases and increase local immunity.
If you have a choice, you must give this sweetener a choice. When you eat sugar beets, your body gets empty calories and maple sugar fills your body with useful substances.
Contraindications and harm of maple sugar
Sweetness will be eliminated in the case of diabetes and individual intolerance to the raw material – maple juice. There are no other restrictions on changing your diet – switching from sucrose to sugar beet to vegetable juice – there are no other restrictions.
Maple sugar can only cause harm if it is abused by people suffering from obesity and an unstable pancreas.
It is advisable to have a new product in the children’s diet with caution. Indian children are accustomed to “sweet ice cream” from the first months of life, but for European children it is foreign.
Adults should also avoid overeating. For men, the permissible criterion is 150 kcal per day, which is 9-10 teaspoons, for women-100-120 kcal, which is 6-8 teaspoons.
Maple Sugar Recipes
This product is equivalent to cane sugar; it is added in the same amount. In the United States and Canada, “sweet ice cream” is chosen for the production of baby food, dairy products, and ice cream.
Maple Sugar Recipes:
- Sweet perra salad … 150 g of arugula leaves are rinsed with cold running water and nicely placed on plates. 2 large conference bulbs and the same amount of Chinese hard yellow bulbs are peeled, cut into 4 pieces lengthwise and core cleaned. To prevent the fruit from darkening, sprinkle them with lemon juice. Heat 150 ml of dry white wine in a pan, and add 1 tsp. maple sugar and wait for it to dissolve. When the wine has evaporated to half, conference lamps are dipped into it. On the arugula leaves, a darkened piece of soft fruit is mixed with fresh Chinese pears and sheep cheese, cut into thin strips, pepper, and salt, and seasoned with grape seed oil. Sprinkle with pine nuts before serving.
- Broccoli in fish sauce … Cabbage head (2 pcs.) Cut into flowers and fry one by one in sunflower oil, as in deep fat. While cooking, add salt and add grated fresh ginger. After 3 minutes, add 1 tsp. maple sugar, pour in oysters or fish sauce, and half a glass of chicken broth. Bake for 1-1.5 minutes. Serve hot.
- Ice cream … Beat a glass of 33% heavy cream and 100 g of maple sugar in an ice cream machine. You can add vanilla powder. When the volume of the sweet mixture doubles, they are transferred to mold cups, a sushi stick placed in the middle of each. Freeze in the refrigerator. Melt the chocolate; dip the molds in hot water for a few seconds so that the ice comes out easily. Dip the sweet cylinders halfway into the chocolate and put them back in the fridge to freeze. After an hour, you can enjoy your homemade ice cream.
- Fried … Pork, 400 g, cut into pieces and beaten like steaks. Spread in a deep frying pan, add 2 finely chopped onions, 3 green garlic feathers, and 2 bay leaves, and sprinkle with 1 tbsp. l. maple sugar, black pepper, and salt soak in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Apples, 3-4 pcs., Cut like a pie, spread in a layer on the meat, soy sauce poured – 5 tbsp. l. Cover with foil on top. They are baked in an oven at 220 ° C until soft until the pink juice no longer flows out of the meat. Al dente pork is not cooked.
- Stew … Turkey fillets, 400 g, fried in refined sunflower oil for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Take out the meat and fry 2 onions in a pan, bring to a golden color, and pour the tomatoes into cubes. Without removing from the heat, add spices and seasonings: 0, 5 tbsp. l. oregano, 1 teaspoon tomato paste with chili, 1 tbsp. l. an echo with tomatoes, 2 tbsp. l. maple sugar. Mix everything together, lay out the turkey, and pour 500 ml of cooked turkey or chicken broth. Cook for 20-25 minutes. Add cumin and herbs to each dish to taste.
- Sweet salmon … First mix the marinade together. Add a little grated ginger and plenty of maple sugar to the soy sauce so that the salty taste disappears completely. If the syrup is used, it is taken as much as the sauce. Fish fillets are soaked for 20-25 minutes, spread on the grill, and fried on both sides for 6-8 minutes, constantly turning and greased with marinade. Sprinkle with soy sauce before serving.
Interesting facts about maple sugar
This product was first described by the conquerors in 1760, which conquered America. They admired the sweetness that can be extracted from trees. At the same time, whites who settled in the country began to open their first sugar factories.
But long before the 15th century, the “discovery of America,” the natives learned how to make sweet juice and make syrup and sugar from it. Iroquois believed that God sent the sweet product. They worshiped sugar maple. In the spring, at the end of March, the whole village gathered around the tall trees. They lit a holy fire, gave the Creator gratitude, and only began to gather the juice. The leader’s blanket was always surrounded by sugar cane.
Mohicans, representing a large Indian tribe, discovered a link between snowmelt and sap flow. Legends have been passed down from generation to generation that the transparent syrup was said to be the oil that the heavenly hunters received after dealing with the great polar bear.
Native American tribes used this method to make maple sugar. The sweet juice was allowed to thicken in the sun. If the days were cloudy, the pots were buried in hot ashes. When the excess liquid had evaporated, the thick syrup was cooled and left to cool overnight. In the morning it froze and turned into candy. The name “sweet ice cream” has survived to this day. Now, this is the name of all the ice cream, whether it contains maple sugar or not.
Production declined sharply in the 18th century. They gained a foothold in the trade, but on the other hand, they began to import cheaper raw materials – beets and saffron. New sugar has almost completely replaced the usual one. But maple syrup, which is widely used in domestic recipes, has not lost its popularity. In 1989, this product increased Canada’s budget by $ 100 million.
The list of products made from maple juice, sugar, and syrup is not limited. It is used to make oil and vinegar.
Conclusion
You can buy maple sugar in the countries where it is produced, in the United States or Canada. It is only brought to Europe if booked in advance. You can buy a private one in an online store. The country of origin must indicate on the label of the original product and draw a red maple leaf – the trademark. If there is no label, the purchase should be stopped – an unethical salesman probably offers a surrogate mother. The best souvenir you can get from Canada is sugar maple.