About the Harvest
Maple Syrup:
All of the pure maple syrup production in the United States is in the northern states of Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Canada is now the largest producer of maple products in the world, exporting 75 percent of the world’s supply, with more than 90 percent coming from the province of Quebec.
A group of maple trees used to produce maple syrup is called a sugarbush. Maple sap is usually harvested in the spring when the days are starting to get warmer and the trees are just beginning to bud. Below freezing temperatures at night followed by warmer daytime temperatures in the 40’s are required for sap flow.
Traditionally, Indigenous people like the Abenaki have used maple syrup to cure meats, as a sweetener for bitter medicines, and as an anesthetic. Maple sugar also contains nutritious minerals, including phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium. Maple syrup was also used as a trade item in the form of dried, portable sugar slabs.
Beets:
Beets are most commonly a dark red color, but they can also be white, yellow, and striped. They are the taproot of the plant.
Beets contain a unique antioxidant called betalain, which is currently being studied as a potential weapon in the fight against cancer. Betalain give beets their red hue.
Beets originated along the Mediterranean and were first cultivated for their leaves. Before the beet became popular to eat, it gained fame for other uses. Since ancient times, the beet has been used for dyes, teas, and medicinal properties, like treating constipation, fevers, skin disorders, and circulation.
Beets contain a chemical called geosmin which gives beets their fresh rain-on-soil earthy smell and taste. 20% of the worlds sugar comes from sugar beets. Table beets are the variety we eat.