Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About Maple Syrup

Earlier this month I wrote about the "Great Maple Syrup Heist" (You will find my post about it at this link.) 3,000 tons of maple syrup—worth a massive $18 million CAD was stolen in 2012 by siphoning $18.7 million CAD worth of syrup from a heavily guarded reserve in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Quebec, and then replacing it with water to avoid immediate detection. The sticky thieves were eventually arrested, convicted, and sentenced to prison. This was the "Great Maple Syrup Heist".

Today I thought I'd write about Maple Syrup again and share some of the extremely interesting things I've learned about Canada and Maple Syrup - did you know . . .

• Canada produces roughly 70% to 80% of the world's maple syrup supply, with Quebec acting as the main global hub.
• It takes about 40 liters of tree sap to make just 1 liter of pure syrup.
• Short Season: The harvest happens in late winter and early spring. It only lasts for 4 to 6 weeks.
• Sap flows best when nights are freezing cold and days are warm and sunny.
• Trees must be 30 to 40 years old before people tap them.
• Out of 13 native Canadian maple types, only three main species are used: the sugar maple, red maple, and black maple.
• Boiling removes extra water from the watery sap until it reaches at least 66% sugar content.
• Pure maple syrup contains helpful minerals like manganese, calcium, potassium, and zinc.

You will find my full post about Canada and Maple Syrup at this link.