Editing Maple syrup (section)

== History ==
=== Indigenous peoples ===
[[File:Sugar-Making Among the Indians in the North.gif|thumb|left|''Sugar-Making Among the Indians in the North'' (19th-century illustration)]]
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous peoples]] living in northeastern North America were the first groups known to have produced maple syrup and [[maple sugar]]. According to Indigenous oral traditions, as well as archaeological evidence, maple tree sap was being processed into syrup long before Europeans arrived in the region.{{sfn|Ciesla|2002|pp=37, 104}}<ref name="mmsa"/> There are no authenticated accounts of how maple syrup production and consumption began,<ref name="history"/> but various legends exist; one of the most popular involves maple sap being used in place of water to cook [[venison]] served to a chief.<ref name="mmsa">{{cite web|title=History |url=http://www.mi-maplesyrup.com/about/history.htm |publisher=Michigan Maple Syrup Association |accessdate=20 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525093903/http://www.mi-maplesyrup.com/about/history.htm |archivedate=25 May 2011 }}</ref> Indigenous tribes developed rituals around syrup-making, celebrating the Sugar Moon (the first full moon of spring) with a Maple Dance.{{sfn|Eagleson|Hasner|2006|p=15}} Many aboriginal dishes replaced the salt traditional in European cuisine with maple syrup.<ref name="mmsa"/>

The [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]]s recognized maple sap as a source of energy and nutrition. At the beginning of the spring thaw, they made V-shaped incisions in tree trunks; they then inserted reeds or concave pieces of bark to run the sap into clay buckets or tightly woven birch-bark baskets. The maple sap was concentrated first by leaving it exposed to the cold temperatures overnight and disposing of [[fractional freezing|the layer of ice]] that formed on top. Following that, the sap was transported by sled to large fires where it was boiled in clay pots to produce maple syrup. Often, multiple pots were used in conjunction, with the liquid being transferred between them as it grew more concentrated. Contrary to popular belief, syrup was not typically produced by dropping heated stones into wooden bowls, especially in northeast North America where Indigenous cultures had been using clay pots for thousands of years.<ref>{{cite report|author=Chenevert, Brian|url=https://abenakitribe.org/maple-syrup|date=3 March 2021|title=Maple sugaring among the Abenaki and Wabanki peoples|archivedate=8 March 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308031917/https://abenakitribe.org/maple-syrup|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="history"/> However, modern and historic sources contain evidence that hot stones may have occasionally been used in the upper Midwest and Canada, where hollowed out logs and birchbark containers typically replaced clay pots.<ref>{{cite web|author=Diemer-Eaton, Jessica|url=http://www.woodlandindianedu.com/hotstonemaplesugaring.html|date=2014|title=Hot-Stone Boiling Maple Sap to Syrup: Theory, Basis, & Public Demonstrations|publisher=Woodland Indian Educational Programs|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322150820/http://www.woodlandindianedu.com/hotstonemaplesugaring.html|archivedate=22 March 2023|accessdate=22 March 2023}}</ref>

=== European colonists===
[[File:Sugar Making in Canada, 1852. By Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872).jpg|thumb|''Sugar Making in Montreal'', October 1852]]

In the early stages of European colonization in northeastern North America, local Indigenous peoples showed the arriving colonists how to tap the trunks of certain types of maples during the spring thaw to harvest the sap.{{sfn|Ciesla|2002|p=37}} [[André Thevet]], the "Royal Cosmographer of France", wrote about [[Jacques Cartier]] drinking maple sap during his Canadian voyages.<ref>Quoted in {{cite book|title=Sweet maple|author1=Lawrence, James M |author2=Martin, Rux |publisher=Chapters Publishing Ltd|year=1993|page=57|isbn=978-1-881527-00-8}}</ref> By 1680, European settlers and [[fur trade]]rs were involved in harvesting maple products.{{sfn|Ciesla|2002|pp=37, 39}} However, rather than making incisions in the bark, the Europeans used the method of drilling tapholes in the trunks with [[auger (drill)|auger]]s. Prior to the 19th century, processed maple sap was used primarily as a source of concentrated sugar, in both liquid and crystallized-solid form, as [[cane sugar]] had to be imported from the [[West Indies]].<ref name="history"/>{{sfn|Eagleson|Hasner|2006|p=15}}<!-- mention that Ben Franklin proposed making the new USA self-sufficient in sugar production (and thus not dependent on European colonies in the Caribbean) with maple sugar? -->

Maple sugaring parties typically began to operate at the start of the spring thaw in regions of woodland with sufficiently large numbers of maples.{{sfn|Ciesla|2002|p=37}} Syrup makers first bored holes in the trunks, usually more than one hole per large tree; they then inserted wooden spouts into the holes and hung a wooden bucket from the protruding end of each spout to collect the sap. The buckets were commonly made by cutting cylindrical segments from a large tree trunk and then hollowing out each segment's core from one end of the cylinder, creating a seamless, watertight container.<ref name="history">{{cite book |last1=Koelling |first1=Melvin R |last2=Laing |first2=Fred |last3=Taylor |first3=Fred |editor1-first=Melvin R |editor1-last=Koelling |editor2-last=Heiligmann |editor2-first=Randall B |title=North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual |chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060701150215/http://ohioline.osu.edu/b856/index.html |year=1996 |publisher=Ohio State University (OSU) |chapter=Chapter 2: History of Maple Syrup and Sugar Production  }}</ref> Sap filled the buckets, and was then either transferred to larger holding vessels (barrels, large pots, or hollowed-out wooden logs), often mounted on sledges or wagons pulled by [[draft animal]]s, or carried in buckets or other convenient containers.{{sfn|Ciesla|2002|pp=37–39}} The sap-collection buckets were returned to the spouts mounted on the trees, and the process was repeated for as long as the flow of sap remained "sweet". The specific weather conditions of the thaw period were, and still are, critical in determining the length of the sugaring season.<ref name="production"/> As the weather continues to warm, a maple tree's normal early spring biological process eventually alters the taste of the sap, making it unpalatable, perhaps due to an increase in amino acids.<ref name="resource">{{cite book |last1=Heiligmann |first1=Randall B |last2=Winch |first2=Fred E |editor1-first=Melvin R |editor1-last=Koelling |editor2-last=Heiligmann |editor2-first=Randall B |title=North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual |chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060701150215/http://ohioline.osu.edu/b856/index.html |year=1996 |publisher=Ohio State University |chapter=Chapter 3: The Maple Resource }}</ref>

The boiling process was very time-consuming. The harvested sap was transported back to the party's base camp, where it was then poured into large vessels (usually made from metal) and boiled down to achieve the desired concentration.<ref name="history"/> The sap was usually transported using large barrels pulled by horses or oxen to a central collection point, where it was processed either over a fire built out in the open or inside a shelter built for that purpose (the "sugar shack").<ref name="history"/><ref name="production2">{{cite book |last1=Heiligmann |first1=Randall B |last2=Staats |first2=Lewis |editor1-first=Melvin R |editor1-last=Koelling |editor2-last=Heiligmann |editor2-first=Randall B |title=North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual |chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060701150215/http://ohioline.osu.edu/b856/index.html |year=1996 |publisher=Ohio State University |chapter=Chapter 7: Maple Syrup Production }}</ref>

===Since 1850===
[[File:Maple sugaring bucket (5571412972).jpg|thumb|right|A bucket used to collect sap, built {{circa|1820}}]]
Around the time of the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865), syrup makers started using large, flat sheet metal pans as they were more efficient for boiling than heavy, rounded iron kettles, because of a greater surface area for evaporation.<ref name="production2"/> Around this time, cane sugar replaced maple sugar as the dominant sweetener in the US; as a result, producers focused marketing efforts on maple syrup. The first evaporator, used to heat and concentrate sap, was patented in 1858. In 1872, an evaporator was developed that featured two pans and a metal arch or firebox, which greatly decreased boiling time.<ref name="history"/> Around 1900, producers bent the tin that formed the bottom of a pan into a series of [[flue]]s, which increased the heated surface area of the pan and again decreased boiling time. Some producers also added a finishing pan, a separate batch evaporator, as a final stage in the evaporation process.<ref name="production2"/>

Buckets began to be replaced with plastic bags, which allowed people to see at a distance how much sap had been collected. Syrup producers also began using tractors to haul vats of sap from the trees being tapped (the sugar bush) to the evaporator. Some producers adopted motor-powered tappers and metal tubing systems to convey sap from the tree to a central collection container, but these techniques were not widely used.<ref name="history"/> Heating methods also diversified: modern producers use wood, oil, natural gas, propane, or steam to evaporate sap.<ref name="production2"/> Modern filtration methods were perfected to prevent contamination of the syrup.<ref name="fgph">{{cite book |last1=Koelling |first1=Melvin R |editor1-first=Melvin R |editor1-last=Koelling |editor2-last=Heiligmann |editor2-first=Randall B |title=North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual |chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060701150215/http://ohioline.osu.edu/b856/index.html |year=1996 |publisher=Ohio State University |chapter=Chapter 8: Syrup Filtration, Grading, Packing, and Handling |display-authors=etal  }}</ref>

[[File:Sap plastic tubing.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Two taps in a maple tree, using plastic tubing for sap collection]]

A large number of technological changes took place during the 1970s. Plastic tubing systems that had been experimental since the early part of the century were perfected, allowing sap to flow directly from the tree to the evaporator house.{{sfn|Ciesla|2002|p=40}} [[Vacuum pump]]s were added to the tubing systems, and preheaters were developed to recycle heat lost in the steam. Producers developed [[reverse-osmosis]] machines to take a portion of water out of the sap before it was boiled, increasing processing efficiency.<ref name="history"/>

Improvements in tubing and vacuum pumps, new filtering techniques, "supercharged" preheaters, and better storage containers have since been developed. Research continues on pest control and improved woodlot management.<ref name="history"/> In 2009, researchers at the [[University of Vermont]] unveiled a new type of tap that prevents backflow of sap into the tree, reducing bacterial contamination and preventing the tree from attempting to heal the bore hole.<ref name="perkins">{{cite journal |last=Perkins |first=Timothy D |title=Development and testing of the check-valve spout adapter |journal=Maple Digest |date=October 2009 |volume=21A |pages=21–29 |url=http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/check-valve.pdf |accessdate=21 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229072138/http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc/check-valve.pdf |archivedate=29 December 2010 }}</ref> Experiments show that it may be possible to use saplings in a plantation instead of mature trees, dramatically boosting productivity per acre.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sorkin|first=Laura|title=Maple Syrup Revolution: A New Discovery Could Change the Business Forever|url=http://modernfarmer.com/2014/01/maple-syrup-revolution/|accessdate=20 January 2014|newspaper=[[Modern Farmer (magazine)|Modern Farmer]]|date=20 January 2014|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126065512/http://modernfarmer.com/2014/01/maple-syrup-revolution/|archivedate=26 January 2014}}</ref> As a result of the smaller tree diameter, milder diurnal temperature swings are needed for the tree to freeze and thaw, which enables sap production in milder climatic conditions outside of northeastern North America.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Reid|first1=Simon|last2=Driller|first2=Tenaya|last3=Watson|first3=Matthew|year=2020|title=A two-dimensional heat transfer model for predicting freeze-thaw events in sugar maple trees|journal=Agricultural and Forest Meteorology|volume=294|page=108139|doi=10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108139|hdl=10092/101100|hdl-access=free}}</ref>