Disclaimer: The findings discussed are lab based and further studies need to be done.
It’s Time to Make Room in Your Fridge for Maple Water!
Next time when you go for a drink, consider maple water. The newest product being considered in the maple industry is “maple water”. This water is a maple sap that comes straight from maple trees! The sap would still be sterilized and pasteurized like maple syrup is, but just not boiled into a thick syrup. Researchers are suggesting skipping this boiling step and offering maple sap as a practical, healthy drink. It would be similar to drinking coconut water, aloe water, and other alternative water products.
A study at URI compared maple sap in its original form to after it being pasteurized and sterilized to see if these processes would change the chemical composition and the potential health benefits. The results were promising and found that maple syrup and maple sap have a very close chemical composition after the purifying processes. Other important compounds like proteins, nutrients, minerals, and phenolics were also preserved. This new product could be a functional way for consumers to get the great benefits of maple without having to always use maple syrup. And most importantly, it is very refreshing!
Yuan, T.; Li, L.; Zhang, Y.; Seeram, N.P. Pasteurized and sterilized maple sap as functional beverages: Chemical composition and antioxidant activities. Journal of Functional Foods, 2013, 5, 1582-1590. https://web.uri.edu/maple/pasteurized-and-sterilized-maple-sap-as-functional-beverages-chemical-composition-and-antioxidant-activities/