Maple Sugar

Maple sugar

Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in Canada and the Northeastern United States, prepared from the sap of the maple tree.

Maple

Acer is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae. There are approximately 132 species, most of which are native to East Asia, with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, Acer laurinum, extends to the Southern Hemisphere. The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple Acer pseudoplatanus, one of the most common maple species in Europe. Most maples have easily identifiable palmate leaves and all share distinctive winged fruits. The closest relative of the maples is the small east Asian genus Dipteronia, followed by the more widespread genus Aesculus. Maple syrup is made from the sap of some maple species. It is one of the most common genera of trees in Asia. Many maple species are grown in gardens where they are valued for their autumn colour and often decorative foliage, some also for their attractive flowers, fruit, or bark.

Sugar

Sugar is a class of sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of two bonded monosaccharides; common examples are sucrose, lactose and maltose. White sugar is almost pure sucrose. During digestion, compound sugars are hydrolysed into simple sugars.

maple sugar

Noun

1. A type of sugar made by boiling the sap of the sugar maple.