- This is Mark Isselhardt, Maple Specialist
with University of Vermont Extension.
This is a Vermont Maple Minute.
Maple sap, what's in it?
Maple sap is a dilute solution of mainly water ranging
between 95 and 99%, and a little bit of sugar,
somewhere between one and 5%, along with trace amounts
of other substances, including organic acids,
free amino acids, protein, minerals, and phenolic compounds.
Sap flowing directly from a tree
looks like water and has only a slight sweet taste.
Most of the sugar in maples sap is sucrose,
which chemically is the same as table sugar
with only very small amounts of other sugars present.
It is important to note
that maple sap is not just dilute syrup.
It's fundamentally a different product
and only the heat of an evaporator can cause the color
and flavor that makes maple syrup what it is.
This has been a Vermont Maple Minute.
I am Mark Isselhardt, Maple Specialist
with the University of Vermont Extension.