Canada

III: Canadian Culture

Culinary Culture: Maple Syrup

Introduction:
The maple leaf is a national emblem of Canada visible on its flag and national coat of arms, yet it was the aboriginal peoples who discovered that maple sap could be turned into syrup and eaten, long before any European settlers arrived in Canada. The process of maple syruping, or sugaring off, was learned by settlers throughout Canada and the United States and became an important springtime activity, still practiced today. The maple season is a time to revisit the heritage of Québec, to reunite with family and friends, and to enjoy the songs and traditions Québecois culture.

Resources:
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General Maple Resources
The Federation of Québec Maple Syrup Producers Web site, Siropcool for Kids, is an animated journey through all aspects of maple syrup led by Siropcool, a drop of maple syrup. This site includes a video that explains how maple is created, cartoons, recipes, pictures to print and color, and a quiz, all in a very kid-friendly format. In French and English.

The International Site on Maple

Maple Sugaring and Technology: A Unit Plan includes a history, links and images.

A list of print teaching resources available from the Massachusetts Maple Association

Penn State's Sustainable Forestry Teaching Resources include several lessons on maple syrup.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Web site contains a list of ideas for bringing maple syrup into the classroom, including recipes.

History and Origins of Maple Syrup
A thorough history of maple syrup in Canada.

A history of maple syrup in the US and Canada.

Several origin myths about maple:
The Algonquian Indian Legend
Early Indian Legend and Lore
Sugar Bush

A history of maple syrup in Canada.

A history of maple syrup that emphasizes the role of native peoples.

Maple Syrup Production
A thorough and illustrated explanation of maple syrup production.

Cornell University's Virtual Tour of maple production is informative and has lots of great images.

The Ohio State School of Natural Resources Fact Sheet on producing maple syrup as a hobby has lots of good information, and this resource could be used for a class project of making maple syrup.

The University of Maine's informative pamphlet “How to Tap Maple Trees and Make Maple Syrup.”

Graph showing the amounts of maple produced throughout Canada.

Maple Syrup Recipes
An index of recipes all containing maple.

Another index of recipes containing maple.

The Maple Producers Association of Nova Scotia recipe index.

The Michigan Maple Association's webpage of recipes.

A recipe for maple syrup snow candy for kids.

A recipe from Cooking with Kids for Mashed Maple Syrup Apples

Sugaring Off Time in Art
The Maple Sugar Paintings of Eastman Johnson

William Breedon's painting, “The Sugar Bush”

“Sugaring Off” by Grandma Moses

Currier and Ives' “Maple Sugaring” and “American Forest Scene: Maple Sugaring”

Patrick DesJarlait's painting, “Maple Sugar Time” painted in 1946 shows an Ojibwe family sugaring maple.

Michael McGovern's “Sugaring” painting.

Sugaring Off Time

The official Web site of the Festival Beauceron de L'Erable.

An explanation of sugar shacks.

A brief history of sugaring off time in Canada.

Slow Food International's Web site includes the article “Maple Syrup: A Unique Culinary Ingredient.”

The sap journal of the Sugar Moon Farm in Nova Scotia.

The Great Lakes' Radio Consortium has several interesting segments on maple syrup, which students can read or listen to:

The story, Tapping into Maple Syrup, discusses most Americans' preference for store-bought syrup over real maple syrup. Your students might enjoy trying a similar experiment in class or at home with maple syrup or any other traditional or store-bought food.

Maple Syrup Flows with Tradition discusses how maple syrup production techniques have changed very little over time.

Maple Syrup Starts to Flow describes the effects of warm weather on the production of maple.

This song by Canadian Michael Mitchell about the sugaring off time can be played for students.