Maple Sugar Series ….. A local farmer checks on his batch of maple syrup. He uses a traditional scoop to watch what it looks like as it drips back down into the pan. When he stops getting separate drops, but instead starts getting the liquid joining together into more of a stream or sheet, then it’s done. …. Scientists have found that maple syrup’s natural phenols – potentially beneficial antioxidant compounds – inhibit two carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes that are relevant to type 2 diabetes. In the study, 34 new compounds were discovered in pure maple syrup, five of which have never before been seen in nature. Among the five new compounds is quebecol, a phenolic compound created when the maple sap is boiled to create syrup. ….. Canada produces 80% of the world maple syrup. Vermont is the biggest US producer, with over 1,140,000 US gallons (4,300,000 l) during the 2011 season, followed by New York with 564,000 US gallons (2,130,000 l) and Maine with 360,000 US gallons (1,400,000 l). Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut all produced marketable quantities of maple syrup of less than 120,000 US gallons (450,000 l) each in 2011.[44] As of 2003, Vermont produced about 5.5 percent of the global syrup supply. ….. Photography by Edward M. Fielding