
In the United States, Vermont is the largest producer of maple syrup; several other northeastern states also produce significant quantities. But Canada produces far more—I mean, the country’s flag has a maple leaf on it, for crying out loud—and I see Canadian maple syrup on supermarket shelves more often than American maple syrup. (This was even more true when I was living in France—maple syrup was in the exotic imported foods aisle, as a Canadian delicacy.) Regardless of where your maple syrup is made, however, today is a good day to put your favorite breakfast food underneath it and enjoy. (In some parts of Canada, they put maple syrup on snow and eat it like snow cones…well, I guess I can think of worse things to put on snow.) Personally, I never acquired much of a taste for maple flavor. It’s OK, but I honestly prefer the taste of syrups with artificial maple-like flavoring to the real thing.