All About Maple Syrup

If you are the one who likes to have all those sugar-coated delicacies at an annual family gatherings to give your sweet tooth a kick and then later end up regretting about the extra calories which you have just added up, then it is good for you to know that there are a lot of sugar alternatives which can be selected so as not to compromise with your favorite after meal dessert. One such alternative is the maple syrup which is also the most popular sweetener. Read on to know everything you should about maple syrup.

Maple syrup is the sap of maple tree which is produced when the tree mixes groundwater with the sugar made by its leaves during summer, stored as starch in the root tissues. This sap is turned into syrup after collecting it and then evaporating the excess water until the sap thickens and sugar caramelises. Maple trees are found in North Africa, Asia, and to a great extent in European countries as well as in U.S and Canada and also in all other regions which are cooler and wetter. Maple trees are rapidly growing trees with over hundreds of varieties thus, it will not be surprising if you discover one in your backyard too as an ornamental tree, but for the sake of foodies, the best sap is produced by sugar maple and rock maple.

Whenever we see television commercials stating various types of sugar alternatives to diabetes patients, the immediate thought that follows is not to be one after reaching the fifties. And then there are these endless discussions by the nutritionists about a large intake of sugars, deteriorating our metabolism. Samael Aun Weor, once said, “The healthy man is the thin man. But you don’t need to go hungry for it: Remove the flours, starches and sugars; that’s all.” And therefore the real hunt is finding something reliable.

The best thing about maple syrup which makes it quite different and interesting over refined sugar is that it not only contains antioxidants, but also a good amount of minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese and yes, a lot of sugar too. It improves the health of the heart and immune system due to its good zinc content and can easily be served as a replacement for sugar in all the sweets. Although, it must be noted that it is certainly not much better than refined sugar. Since it has been used traditionally for a long time, implies that it does not have such adverse effects as compared to those being identified with the use of refined sugar.

Now, you may also find this tussle going around between the real maple syrup and the table or pancake syrup. So do not get confused, as Charles Muller, clinical associate professor of clinical nutrition at NYU (New York University) cast lights on the health differences between them neither of which are that great. Therefore, do not wait for too long and just go on grabbing that pancake with some maple syrup to add to the woody, sweet and caramalised taste.

References:

“Nutrition Quotes (196 Quotes).” (196 Quotes), www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/nutrition.

Smart, Kathy. “Pure Maple Syrup Has Some Oh-So-Canadian Health Benefits.” HuffPost Canada, HuffPost Canada, 24 Apr. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.ca/kathy-smart-/maple-syrup-health-benefits_b_15476492.html.

Thomson, Julie R. “This Is Frustrating News For Real Maple Syrup Purists.” Huffington Post India, Huffington Post India, 15 Sept. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/maple-syrup-vs-table-syrup_us_59ba9563e4b086432b04e2d1.