Toronto Jim Maple Syrup Candy

Jim Vanderberg, a Toronto Canada resident, is also known as “Toronto Jim” and makes and sells his maple candy. All ingredients are directly sourced from local maple suppliers and maple candy is made in Toronto Canada.

Family History

Jim Vanderberg was born James Maple Vanderberg in Toronto, Canada. He is the son of parents from Eastern Europe. Jim’s parents immigrated to Canada with other relatives when they were children. Jim’s grandparents were candy makers by trade and used their skills to get to Canada. They were able to purchase land in Eastern Canada that was suitable for them to settle down and start a family. They found a lot of maple trees on the land, and decided to make the most of the sap. The family was able to make a lot of money from this venture, eventually acquiring more land with more trees. This led to a large-scale business in Eastern Canada.

Jim’s grandparents moved to Eastern Europe in the 1980s after the family business was sold. Jim has continued the family tradition, harvesting maple sap every year from the family’s land and making maple candy. It was a family tradition that was never meant to become a business. He decided to start Toronto Jim’s Maple Candy in the 2020s after he quit his job as a corporate recruiter.

Family Life

Jim lives in Toronto Canada with his wife, three kids, and two dogs. Jim’s children enjoy working on the family’s maple tree sap harvesting land. Jim dreams of one day being able to hand over the whole maple candy business to his children.

Jim Vanderberg and his Maple Candy

Toronto Jim’s maple candy was one of the family’s old recipes. Jim began with his family’s maple candy recipe, but he found it took too long to get the results he desired. It was also not cost-effective to mass-produce. After many years of experimentation, he realized that maple candy could be made faster using modern technology (e.g., a hotter oven). The original ingredients and the recipe are still the same, except for the cooling and heating process. This is the exact same recipe his grandparents used for almost 50 years.