Easy Maple Sugar Recipe: How to Make Maple Sugar

Maple sugar is a natural sweetener made from boiling maple syrup (the sap of maple trees) until the liquid evaporates and granulated sugar remains. You can use the pure maple sugar, which retains its maple flavor, in baking or in place of other sweeteners in everyday cooking. You can use maple sugar on foods such as yogurt or strawberries for added sweetness and flavor.

Making maple sugar at home is easy and only requires a large pan and a candy thermometer. In the US, maple sugar is typically made with pure Vermont maple syrup or Canadian pure maple syrup. Similar to brown sugar, you can store maple sugar in an airtight container in a cool, dry location. You should use maple sugar within two years, although the shelf life is longer if you store it in the freezer.

Granulated maple sugar is sweeter than white cane sugar and tastes like maple syrup, so take these factors into consideration when replacing cane sugar in a recipe.

You can substitute maple sugar for white sugar as a one-to-one swap in baking recipes, but your baked goods will turn out sweeter than if you had used cane sugar. Bakers usually advise to instead substitute only a portion of the white sugar with maple sugar. For example, if a recipe calls for one cup of white sugar, use a half cup of granulated white sugar and a half cup of granulated maple sugar.

Maple sugar contains the same amount of carbohydrates as cane sugar does; however, when you measure by volume, a teaspoon of cane sugar has 16 calories and a teaspoon of maple sugar has 11 calories. This is because maple sugar is less refined and has larger crystals than cane sugar, which means less maple sugar fits in a teaspoon.

Unlike granulated white sugar, maple sugar contains a high amount of manganese and other minerals. A tablespoon of maple sugar contains more than half the daily recommended amount of manganese, an element that helps support bone health. Maple sugar, like white sugar and brown sugar, is naturally gluten-free.