Blogocentric Formulations

Day 27: "A Waffle is Like a Pancake with a Syrup Trap"

*Written as part of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" 

Day 27 Prompt: Pick an article in the news that caught your attention over the weekend and tell us about it (or do a basic recap of the top news stories or bizarre stories of interest over the weekend).

Fair warning: I'm a sucker for bizarre news stories. Random facts and trivia tend to stick with me and while my wife will just roll her eyes whenever I spout off something I heard or read that day, just remember that you did ask for this.

I originally heard about this article on the Slate Political Gabfest podcast and it drew my attention to this USA Today article  . Apparently a couple of researchers discovered that maple tree sap (a.k.a. maple syrup) does not necessarily have to come from fully-developed maple trees. Keep in mind that it's always been assumed that maple syrup needs to come from fully-developed trees; an assumption that dates all the way back to the very beginning of maple syrup harvesting (which predates European colonization of North America). However, these researchers found a maple tree missing it's crown (the top, leafy part) that still produced sap. Further analysis revealed that the sap doesn't actually come from the tops of the trees, but rather is drawn up from the roots, making it possible to produce maple syrup from much younger saplings rather than fully-grown trees.

Why is this significant? Because current maple syrup harvesting relies on existing forests full of fully-grown maple trees. Harvesters can only get about 40-50 gallons of syrup from a square acre of natural forests at present, which is why all those "real maple syrup" varieties at the grocery store are $6 to $10 for a little teensy bottle. With this new development, though, saplings can be planted and harvested like other crops. And since they can be planted and cultivated like an orchard or a vineyard with a much shorter " wait time

Standard maple trees are first "tapped" for syrup production around 30-40 years of age, while this new discovery means saplings could be tapped after just 3-5 years of growth

" for the trees to start producing sap, maple syrup producers may be able to produce as much as 4,000 gallons of syrup from the same square acre! And if that volume increase in production occurs, it's not unrealistic to expect that those expensive little maple syrup bottles at the grocery store could drop dramatically in price. Additionally, other regions that have the climate to support maple trees could start cashing in on this new potential cash crop. Who's ready to try North Dakota's Best? Or 100% Certified Organic, Non-GMO, All-Natural Idaho Premium Maple Syrup?

Obviously not everyone is pleased; there's a woman quoted in that USA Today article who seems a bit displeased at the idea that just anyone could make maple syrup... but hey, if it means $2-$3 maple syrups from all over the country, I think "The Maple Revolution" (note to self: look into trademarking that...) could be an interesting time for all of us.

ADDED BONUS: In addition to being a sucker for random news and bits of trivia, I'm also a sucker for a good click-through or related item, and I certainly wasn't disappointed because at the very bottom of that USA Today article, there was a link to this story   about a "brazen $18 million maple syrup heist." I won't ruin the article for you, but it's short and it's worth reading. HINT: It may (or may not) surprise you to know that these syrup thieves were Canadian.