Maple Syrup Digest SUGAR PROFILES OF MAPLE SYRUP GRADES

Although many analyses of the chemical composition of maple syrup have been conducted, relatively little information exists on the differences in composition of the individual syrup grades. For example, although it is generally accepted that the amount of invert sugar increases with decreasing syrup light transmission (from lighter to darker grades), the composition of sugars within different grades has not been adequately characterized. Determination of the characteristic chemical composition of each grade will strengthen the existing basic knowledge of maple syrup chemistry and potentially provide a tool which can be used in the detection of syrup adultered by artificial decolorization. As a first step in acquiring this information we performed a study to determine the characteristic sugar composition of each maple syrup grade.