Maple syrups

Evaporating maple sap — roughly forty litres reduced to one — yields maple syrup, a concentrated sugar solution. About 60% of its weight is sucrose, the dominant sweetener, accompanied by smaller amounts of hexoses such as glucose and fructose; flavour compounds (syringaldehyde, vanillin, pyrazines) and natural colorants create the characteristic taste and amber colour. Colour grades from golden to very dark signal increasing flavour intensity, shifting with the season and processing. Quality control targets density (66–68°Brix), clarity and freedom from defects such as buddy or fermented notes — and from adulteration with cheaper syrups, a classic fraud detected by isotopic and chromatographic testing.