Real maple syrup is made from the sap of the Maple tree. Each year the trees are tapped and the syrup runs into buckets, then heated to pasteurize and thicken it. The syrup is then packaged for sale and used on pancakes, waffles and in numerous confections and baked goods.
Vermont is the largest maple syrup producer in the U.S. and in fact we were the largest producer of maple syrup in the world. Canada took over as the largest produce in the 1990's and now produces over 80% of the world's production.