posted by Robin

Maple syrup is a delicious natural sweetener that, while not raw, contains more nutrients and especially minerals than most processed sweeteners. About – Maple Syrup is made from the boiled sap of the sugar maple, red maple or black maple trees. These maple trees are tapped, or pierced, allowing the sap to run out freely and is collected in hanging buckets. The sap is clear and almost tasteless and very low in sugar content when it is first tapped. The sap is then concentrated by heating to evaporate the water and produces a syrup with its characteristic dark color and maple flavor and with a sugar content of 60%. There are three versions of Grade A maple syrup:  Light Amber, Medium Amber and Dark Amber, with the lighter the color, the more subtle the flavor. Maple syrup is also available in a Grade B and C, which is very dark and rarely used as table syrup but which contains more minerals. Nutrition – Maple syrup is an excellent source of B vitamins and manganese as well as zinc, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper and calcium.