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Making maple syrup is a wonderful, time honored tradition that has been passed on for generations.  Maple syrup is made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species and even birch trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the sap, which is processed by heating to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. Most trees can produce 5 to 15 US gallons of sap per season.   Maple syrup was first made and used by the Indigenous peoples of North America. The practice was adopted by European settlers, who gradually refined production methods. Technological improvements in the 1970s further refined syrup processing. Virtually all of the world's maple syrup is produced in Canada and the United States.   Maple syrup is graded according to the Canada, United States, or Vermont scales based on its density and translucency. Sucrose is the most prevalent sugar in maple syrup. In the US and Canada, syrups must be made exclusively from maple sap to qualify as maple syrup and must also be at least 66-67 percent sugar.   Maple syrup is often used as a condiment for pancakes, waffles, French toast, oatmeal, or porridge. It is also used as an ingredient in baking and as a sweetener or flavoring agent. Culinary experts have praised its unique flavor, although the chemistry responsible is not fully understood.