Sunday, February 19, 2012

Syrup!

So one of our first projects for this Spring is tapping trees in order to make syrup. My husband Cody has some experience here, but this is a learning process for me! Here is a fun little fact about syrup: It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap in order to make 1 gallon of syrup! Seems like a lot of work for a little syrup right? Well here is a little comparison to give you some insight about why it is so important to make your own syrup (well, food in general)!

Ingredients in 1 bottle of store bought syrup:

  1. Water
  2. Sugar Syrup
  3. High Fructose Corn Syrup
  4. Cellulose Gum
  5. Salt
  6. Sodium Benzoate and Sorbic Acid
  7. Caramel Color
  8. Phosphoric Acid
  9. Natural and Artificial Flavor
  10. Corn Syrup
  11. Sodium Hexametaphosphate
  12. Molasses
  13. Malted Barley and Corn Syrup


Ingredients in one jar of homemade Maple Syrup:

  1. Sap


Big difference right?

The only processing needed to make our homemade syrup is extracting it from the tree via a hole drilled into the tree, and boiling down the sap to concentrate the sugar.

My personal belief is that if you can't pronounce it then you probably shouldn't consume it!

All natural or home grown food has less chemical ingredients and less processing. The more processing a producer does, the less healthy a food becomes, and the more expensive it is. These are just a few reasons we feel it is important to try to produce your own food as much as possible, and become less dependent upon large corporations.


1 comment:

  1. I couldn't agree more! :) I can't wait to see how this adventure turns out for the two of you! The best off luck to you guys! :) -Amanda

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