The Vermont maple law requires packaged maple syrup have a density of between 66.9 and 68.9 degrees Brix. Brix is a measure of sugar concentration in a pure sugar solution. Although we know there are other many dissolved minerals in maple syrup th...
International Maple Syrup Institute
The International Maple Syrup Institute (IMSI) was founded in 1975 to promote and protect pure maple syrup and other pure maple products. Its mission remains largely unchanged: The organization provides an important international framework for com...
Gardeners know that earthworms can be beneficial for growing vegetables and flowers by helping with soil aeration and producing fertilizer through their castings. Sugar makers may not know that earthworms and relatively newer invaders the so-calle...
As late summer progresses so-called late-season defoliators are beginning to become visible in Vermont woods. Two such insects are maple leaf cutter and maple trumpet skeletonizer. The first report of damage from maple leaf cutter was in 1911 when...
There are four grades of pure maple syrup; Golden Color/Delicate Taste, Amber Color/Rich Taste, Dark Color/Robust Taste and Very Dark Color/Strong Taste. Each grade has a range in color as defined by its light transmittance. Knowing the color of p...
The law is very clear on what can be sold as pure maple syrup; only "the liquid derived by concentration and heat treatment of the sap of the maple tree". No processing that "adds or removes naturally occurring soluble materials" is allowed. This ...
Sugar maple flowers that are fertilized in spring, will develop into mature seeds in late summer. The seeds come in the form of winged samaras (sometimes referred to as helicopters or whirligigs). Sugar maple samaras develop in pairs but generally...
Most people know that to make maple syrup you have to do a lot of boiling. You collect the sap from the trees and you evaporator the water while concentrating the sugars. You might not know that to determine if you actually have correct density sy...