Nutrition

Maple syrup is a syrup made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the exuded sap, which is processed by heating to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. Maple syrup is often used as a condiment for pancakes, waffles, French toast, oatmeal or porridge. It is also used as an ingredient in baking and as a sweetener or flavoring agent. Pure maple syrup contains 52 calories per tablespoon. The calorie content is comparable to honey (64 calories), sugar (48 calories), brown sugar (52 calories). A tablespoon of pure maple syrup contains about 14 grams of carbohydrates. Of those, 12 grams are from sugars. These sugars are primarily from sucrose, which is a complex sugar that your body breaks down to the simple sugars fructose and glucose at a one- to-one ratio. The fat in a tablespoon of pure maple syrup is 0.1 grams, with minute amounts of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Maple syrup contains some iron, calcium, zinc, manganese and potassium.