In early spring, when the days are warm but the nights are still freezing, sap starts to move up the trunks of maple trees. Farmers drill a small hole in the bark and put in a tap (like a tiny tube). The sap drips out slowly, drop by drop, into a bucket.
Sap on its own is almost as clear and runny as water - and only very faintly sweet. To turn it into maple syrup, you have to boil it for a long time so the water steams away and the sugar gets stronger and stronger. It takes about 40 litres of sap to make just 1 litre of syrup.
A single maple tree only gives a small amount of sap each year - about enough for one bottle. The trees aren't harmed by tapping, and the same tree can be tapped year after year, sometimes for over 100 years.
Maple syrup goes on pancakes and waffles, on porridge, into baking, and even onto bacon. In Quebec, families visit special 'sugar shacks' (cabanes à sucre) in spring, where they pour hot syrup onto fresh snow. As it cools it turns into chewy maple taffy you eat on a stick.