Maple syrup is big business in Québec, supplying 80% of the world’s demand for this golden syrup. The syrup isn’t cheap, with prices of about $40 per gallon -- or about $10.50 per litre for those of us living in the metric world. A band of thieves clearly thought it was valuable enough to steal $30 million worth of maple syrup in late 2012 from a reserve controlled by a Canadian maple syrup quasi-cartel, which in turn inspired the late night shows to crack jokes at the so-called cartels.
I, for one, have not contributed much to the maple syrup industry. I’m a sorry excuse for a sweet tooth. I didn’t grow up eating a lot of sweets, I can only vaguely remember one occasion in my younger days when I had pancakes with maple syrup -- during a holiday trip to America (I think). But my lack of sweet-tooth-iness by no means dampened my enthusiasm for my then impending visit to a sugar shack.
