The Maple Tree

Anyone who has tried to have a garden with one of these trees in the area knows how utterly annoying they (or more correctly, their seeds) can be. The seeds fall off the tree and helicopter down...usually after the garden has been tilled for summer planting. They also like to propagate along fences, houses, and any other structure where the lawn mower just can't reach.

However, maple trees are quite useful to humankind. The wood is used for building as well as for smoking meats. As they produce pollen earlier than many other plants out there, they are a very important source of pollen for honey bees.

All maple trees can make maple syrup, but that from the sugar maple is far, far superior to the rest. It takes about 40 liters of maple sap to make maple syrup. The original brown sugar was made out of maple syrup (today, it is usually cane sugar with maple flavoring added). Native Americans and pioneers would boil the sap down to make both syrup and sugar, and candy was made by dropping globs of hot maple syrup into snow. The syrup is usually gathered very early spring (often when there is still some snow on the ground), when the sap first begins to run after the tree's winter nap.

The leaves of the maple tree were traditionally packed around apples and other root cellar crops to help preserve them.

The seeds, as annoying as they are to those who take care of gardens or landscapes, are edible. They taste somewhere between peas and hominy. The more mature the seed is, the more tannin it contains, making it increasingly bitter the more mature they are. The general rule is smaller is sweeter, bigger is bitter. However, the bitterness can be removed by boiling them in a manner similar to that of acorns. They can be served not to differently from peas or hominy, or they can be dried or roasted and used like nuts. Dried Maple seeds can be ground into flour...however, like acorns, the flour may be too heavy, and it would be best to use it to stretch out flour supplies.

Real maple syrup is high in manganese and zinc, and has a decent amount of iron and calcium. Unfortunately, most of the "pancake" syrup we get today is simply corn syrup with maple flavoring added. I've been looking at the nutritional counter for 100 g of maple syrup and 100 g of corn syrup (with maple flavoring added), and found that not only does maple syrup have far surperior nutritional value (corn syrup has almost none), it also has fewer calories! Of course, it is far more expensive.

Caution The following is for your entertainment and informational purposes only. We are not doctors. We do not play on television. And we certainly do not offer medical advice. Please use your best judgment and make your own decisions.

Maple tree bark is mildly toxic. However, a tea made from the bark is often used to treat snake bites, or to help new mothers produce milk. However, with the toxicity of the bark, I would not use it for the latter.