A Little History About Maple Syrup

Canada makes more than 80 percent of the world's maple syrup. Long before European settlers arrived, Canada's Native peoples were making a dark sugar from the sap of maple trees. In the spring, they made a diagonal incision in the trunk and inserted a strip of bark at the lower end of the cut to serve as a spile. The sap was collected in birchbark containers and then poured into hollowed-out logs. Rocks heated in a fire were placed in the sap to heat and evaporate it. Slowly the sap became syrup and eventually sugar. Early settlers learned from the Aboriginals and began making maple syrup to supplement their diets. They used spiles and wooden pails to collect the sap, which was boiled in the open in iron kettles. The art was handed down from generation to generation and is now part of our heritage. Over the years, the methods and equipment have greatly improved. Today, maple syrup production flourishes on a number of Canadian farms.