Vermont sugar maple sap buckets the first step in making maple syrup. Photo by Putneypics / Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution).
Official State Flavor of Vermont
Maple was designated as the official state flavor of Vermont in 1993. The U.S. Mint's Vermont quarter also commemorates sap collecting for maple syrup. All State Foods
Vermont is home to over 7 million sugar maple trees, which produce the sap that is used to make maple syrup. The sap is collected in the springtime, when the weather is warm enough to start the sap flowing. The sap is then boiled down to create maple syrup. The longer the sap is boiled, the darker and richer the syrup will be. Vermont maple syrup is graded according to its color and flavor. The highest grade is Grade A, which is light and amber in color with a delicate flavor. It takes 40 gallons of sugar maple sap to boil down to 1 gallon of grade A maple syrup (the sugar maple is also Vermont's state tree). Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S., producing over 2 million gallons of maple syrup each year.
