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Maple syrup is often marketed as a healthy alternative to sugar – and a must have for fluffy American-style pancakes!
But is it really healthy?
Learn all about maple syrup, what it does in our bodies, and if it’s really healthy here.
Maple syrup comes from just one place in the world: North America, with the most popular producer being Quebec in Canada – hence the Canadian colours on most bottles!
It's a sap collected from maple trees during springtime. Quite a sensitive product, maple syrup can only be harvested when the climate is just right.
They need cold freezing night times and warm days so that the sap can flow out from the trees properly.
The most popular kind of maple tree for this sweet syrup is the sugar maple, as it has the highest sugar content (around 2%).1
A whole load of sweetness!
Maple syrup is around 60% sucrose (table sugar), but what sets it apart from refined sugar are its nutrients.
Just 20g (1 tablespoon) of pure maple syrup contains:2
It also contains vitamins B2, B5, B6, niacin, biotin and folic acid, as well as traces of amino acids.3
However, although maple syrup does provide a decent amount of some minerals, they will come with a pretty hefty serving of sugar.
The fact that maple syrup has desirable nutrients means that it could be a great alternative to refined white sugar, but it is not a ‘health food’ in itself, due to its sugar content.
As you probably already know, too much refined sugar can lead to an array of health problems, including obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.4
* Percent Daily Values (%DV) are for adults or children aged 4 or older and are based on a 2000 calorie reference diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower based on your individual needs.
A tablespoon serving of maple syrup contains approximately:5
Energy | Carbs | of which sugars | Fat | Protein | Fibre | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amount | 52kcal | 13.4g | 11.9g | 0g | 0g | 0g |
It is considered healthier than refined white sugar by most people, but it is a bit of a reach to claim that it’s a full-blown health food!
However, there are some reported health benefits of maple syrup.
Here are 9 reasons you may want to try maple syrup:
Yes, 100% pure maple syrup is vegan as long as it hasn’t had any additional non-vegan ingredients added. It does come straight from a tree, after all!
Make sure you check the label for ingredients like milk and honey.
Although it is rare that you’ll find non-vegan ingredients in your maple syrup, they do sometimes pop up in processed products like maple-flavour ice cream sauces.
You may have heard that some maple syrup producers use animal fat in a process called defoaming.
However, this is not a common process that most maple syrups sold in the UK go through, so it shouldn’t be much of a concern.
If in doubt, always go for a clearly labelled vegan maple syrup – but as long as you go for 100% pure maple syrup you should be ok!10
Use it in place of honey to coat root veggies like carrots and parsnips – that way it’s vegan-friendly. It’s also a different flavour to try – you may enjoy it more than honey!
Here’s a Deliciously Ella maple roasted root veg recipe to get you started.
Instead of reaching for the honey, why not add some maple syrup into the mix instead?
Honey is more ‘floral’ whereas maple syrup is ‘woodier’, so they both complement different toppings and tastebuds.
Maple syrup is very sweet, so a little will go a long way in your smoothie.
Try to only use them in veg-heavy smoothies with very little sugar content, as it may be a bit much combined with lots of fruit.
Add a rich, decadent taste to your cookies, brownies, cakes and other bakes with maple syrup.
Try this Bonfire Night gluten-free maple cheesecake.
The classic way to use maple syrup is to drizzle it over fluffy American-style pancakes and waffles, and who can argue with that?
Bear with us… Carrot bacon is a new vegan creation that – you guessed it – replicates bacon with carrots!
Carrots are peeled and baked whole in salt, peeled again into ‘bacon’ strips and marinated in a sweet, smoky sauce. Maple syrup is a popular sweetener, due to its rich and earthy taste.
Maple syrup porridge is a real joy on cold wintery mornings.
Not only does it taste rich and delicious, it is also a more nutritious option than using white or brown sugar to sweeten your porridge.
You need to try this! Maple syrup drizzled over freshly popped popcorn tastes amazing – and makes you feel a bit posh, too!
Instead of honey, agave nectar or any other sweetener, why not try maple syrup in your salad dressing?
It goes lovely with mustards, balsamic vinegar, lemon and more.
If you eat or drink too much maple syrup on a regular basis, you may experience the following side effects.
It can contribute to weight gain, yes. Maple syrup still has (quite high) calories, so you should pretty much treat it how you treat sugar when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight.
Honey and maple syrup are both natural products but is one healthier than the other. We could do a whole other article on this! But here’s a quick summary:
We can safely say that maple syrup is healthier than white table sugar, but you still need to make sure you enjoy them both in moderation.
Last updated: 25 August 2021