Maple Acer saccharinum

The mountain maple or sugar maple is the best known maple species for producing maple syrup, though other maple species like the box elder(A. negundo)can also be used. This traditional breakfast delight has adorned pancakes for generations, and also serves as an ingredient in many compound herbal formulas and makes an excellent vinegar and of course molasses. Sap from the trees is only available in the early spring when cold nights and warm days cause the sweet sap to flow.

Sugar maple trees need freezing temperatures at night to sustain sap production, and the warmest March on record in 2012 caused yields and syrup quality to plummet in Vermont and New Hampshire. While the shortage has not caused an appreciable jump in prices so far due to the reserve held in Quebec, who produce the majority of the world's maple syrup supply,¹ the current trend of global warming does not bode well for this beautiful and useful tree species. Always read labels carefully; many products on the supermarket shelves that are labeled as maple syrup are just corn syrups with artificial maple flavoring.