Does maple sap turn into sugar before syrup?

Yes, maple sap is first boiled down to produce maple syrup before any sugar can be crystallized from it. The sap contains a high concentration of sugar, primarily sucrose, which is concentrated through boiling. If further processed, syrup can be turned into maple sugar through additional cooking and evaporation, which crystallizes the sugars. Thus, syrup is an intermediate product before any sugar crystallization occurs.