Deep in Canadian forests, a unique freeze-thaw phenomenon allows the sugar juice to be collected from the maple tree. In spring, when the nights are still cold, maple trees begin to transport their nutrients from the roots to the buds in the form of plant sap. During the day, the plant sap is pressed back down. This is the perfect time to harvest.

In the main growing region of Québec alone, there are 34 million sugar maple trees in production. Together, they capture the same amount of carbon dioxide that 290,000 cars emit per year. In doing so, they store eight times what their production causes in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.

For the syrup, a portion of the maple sap is drawn off, but only enough so that the tree is not damaged. Only trees that have a trunk diameter of 20 cm may be tapped. As a rule, they have reached the age of around 40 years. The older a tree is, the more sap it produces.

Even grainy sweeteners can be replaced with maple syrup: replace the amount of sweetener specified in the recipe in a one-to-one ratio. At the same time, reduce the liquid ingredients (water, milk, juice) by 60 ml.

Mixtures of soy sauce and maple syrup are ideal for stir-fried dishes or as a marinade. Once you have found out which mixing ratio suits your personal taste, you can mix a larger quantity in stock and fill it into a bottle.

This also applies to homemade maple vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is a good mix partner for this. Such maple vinegar is perfect for rounding and deglazing vegetables, sauces and fish.