According to the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, unopened maple syrup will keep indefinitely, but it must be refrigerated once opened.

In addition to refrigerating opened maple syrup, the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association recommends storing unopened maple syrup in a cool place. For long term storage, the Association says that maple syrup retains its flavor best when kept in the freezer (it will not freeze solid).

Crystalized syrup is just supersaturated and is still good to use.

No one in the family likes pure syrup, so I add it to pancake syrup, makes it much better.

Thanks, I will go put it in the refrigerator. I didn't know what to do with the crystallized thus, dumped. My best guess is I opened it last winter.

all you do is add a small amount of water to the container and then microwave it...good as new. Never throw it out. Same for honey..it just needs to be re-hydrated. c

Try grade b maple syrup...it's more flavorful than grade a.

Oh dear, what a horrible thing for good maple syrup. (sigh)

I agree that after it's opened it needs to be refrigerated, but I'd have definitely used it. Some time in the microwave and it's good for granola or maple oatmeal bread or maple shortbread or.....well, you get the idea. I love maple syrup.

As mentioned, I always get Grade B, I love the darker and more maple-y flavor. I get mine from Cook's Sugar Bush in Niles, Michigan, they are happy to ship it to me.

If it wasn't moldy, just crystallized, I'd probably have tried to whip it into maple cream or maybe even turn it into maple sugar, but I tend to be "experimental" and try things that I only THINK should work. Sometimes they do, LOL.

Annie

Grade B is hard to find in these parts.

I learned the hard way to refrigerate after opening. I just assumed it was like honey, or other artificial, maple flavored syrup (heaven forbid such foolish thoughts), and stored it in the pantry, Then, when I got it out to use it next time, it had mold on top. Now that syrup got thrown out, and I learned an important lesson. I also then noticed the small print instructing to refrigerate after opening.

Sally

It is a precious commodity around here. I also like the grade b. Always in the fridge. Not until i started reading about it did i realize why.
I'm tapping my trees this year and it needs to start processing, the boil, within a few days. It will sour like milk.
Kept cool, so timing is key. Keeping 20-30 gallons cool can get tricky. I just want to make at least a half gallon. About what we go through in a year, but will make more if i get a good pull/draw.
We have always gotten our from a friend who sells it and we do a trade. Last year we ended up with cheese instead...so i'll try making my own this year.

I hadn't known about the flavor difference between A and B, and was wondering why the batch we have now seemed to be less flavorful. Live and learn. And read the CF.

sleevendog, good luck, we used to tap the trees, I'll do it again. About 40 gallons of sap makes a gallon of syrup, so it's some serious work, that's for sure, but fun. Be sure to boil outside, I covered the house with a layer of sticky maple from the steam trying to evaporate on the stove, LOL.

Sally, I saw Grade B at Trader Joe's a couple of times, and I usually get "ungraded" syrup from the local Amish farmers, but I do get Grade B from Cook's Sugarbush. I can get 64 ounces for $26.00 or 128 ounces for $45.00, plus shipping. It's about the same at Belcher's, in Tustin, Michigan. I'm sure there are more, and that's just Michigan. I'm assuming shipping would be more on Canadian syrup and there may be more available in the New England states.

Annie

And as much as I don't want to start a controversy, our cousin from NH told us Ohio syrup is the best...I didn't believe him until he brought us a can...it really was good!

I get my grade b from trader joes.

I think food is best closest to home, usually, but maple syrup is pretty much maple syrup. I think it depends on the weather, on the trees (some tap only sugar maples, others tape different varieties of maple as well as sugar maples), on the person doing the boiling, and various uncontrollable environmental factors.

I think it's all good, though. I don't care for the fake "pancake" syrup, all corn syrup and caramel coloring and maple flavoring, I want the real stuff. Of course, that's what I grew up with, and I think that has a lot to do with what you like too.

Annie

Thanks for the suggestions on finding it. They've opened a couple of Trader Joe's in the Dallas area, but they're still quite a ways from where I live.

Sleevendog, I'd think it would be easy to keep things cool up there in Canada. (wink)

Sally

Growing up, only had Log Cabin for pancakes & waffles. Didn't really discover the REAL DEAL till well into adulthood?!? It DOES need to be refrigerated after opening or mold can form, an other posters mentioned.

I've never had it crystalize in fridge, but wouldn't hesitate to revive it in a LOW/SLOW pot of simmering water. If in plastic container, might wanna make a coil of foil so it doesn't sit directly on bottom of pot.

I don't use a lot of honey, but always have it around. Eventually it'll crystalize in cabinet. I have mine in one of those "diner" style pourers. A short simmer brings it right back. Have very UNSUCCESSFULLY tried microwave with plastic/squeeze bottles. Even keeping a close eye on it, container can go from fine to totally deformed in a split second... can't imagine that being a good thing??

My DH pours it into those bear-shaped plastic containers before he serves it because he likes the bear. LOL.

I use a lot of maple syrup (cereal, pancakes, baked beans, etc) including grade B when I can find it. I stock up when I am in the area of a TJ's and I look for maple syrup opportunities when up I'm up north.

*TJ's coming to my town the end of the year, so no more stops in Atlanta.

LOL, I must be odd. I love, love, love the subtle maple flavor in the Grade A Fancy! To me, it has a creamy, maple-y flavor that I enjoy far more than the more forward flavors in the Grade B. If I am cooking with it, then the B works better. I order a gallon about once a year from a place in Vermont. Yum.

Cj

The grade B syrup I'm using now was purchased at BJ's, here in my town. It's another discount club type chain like Costco and Sam's Club. For years I ordered a half gallon jug from the Vermont Country Store, but that's now too much and too expensive for just me. I'm sure I've had different brands over the years, but they have all tasted good to me!

Luckily, I have a wonderful local honey source for several kinds of honey. They have their honey for sale in an old, tiny cabin - on the honor system. I get wildflower honey for baking and orange blossom honey for spreading on biscuits and adding to hot tea.

Teresa

Not sure i've ever had the same twice. Seems different year to year, batch to batch.
I usually get mine from smaller production sellers or neighbors. Must be a hundred different flavor profiles but i've never had more than just a few at a time. Not enough to really do a taste test. I do have a grade A amber dark right now that is rather pale and just has a hint of vanilla. Not very interesting so i prefer the darker maple B flavors. I like the smokey caramel.
I built an outdoor evaporator probably ten years ago but put it in the worst spot. Under 10 ft of snow now, maybe more. It gathers wind drift snow. When it is time to tap, this year maybe march 1st, we'll have easy access to the trees up the hill but the wood fired evaporator is way down by the garden and is the last area to thaw. And no way to dig it out. Pre-heating on the barn wood stove way uphill. Dumb planning.
We'll figure something out. I only have 10 taps and my pan in tiny. About 2x3 ft.
I'm just hoping for a gallon, 1/2 would even be super. Any more will be gifted. As long as we have fun, i'm game.

Sally2,
College friends had a maple farm in Vermont and used to gift everyone. Later, we purchased it from Vermont Country Store.
Whole Foods and Central Market have grade B, in addition to TJs. It wasn't until I bought syrup at Costco that I tasted Grade A, which I expected to be even better, i.e. more maple-y. Yesterday I learned that the grades are based on color, lighter (and subtler) is grade A. I guess I don't do subtle well. ; /

DS1 lives in Dallas; I'm between Austin and Houston.

cj47, I'm with you. Love the subtlety of Grade A, but it's almost impossible to find out here on the West Coast. We usually settle for Grade B from Canada, easier to find for the rare occasions when I make pancakes or French toast.

I grew up with maple syrup and can't stand 'pancake syrup' or fake sugar syrup as I lovingly refer to it, lol. We go through a lot of maple syrup and raw honey since I really don't use sugar for much of anything (can't remember the last time I even bought white sugar). I get it by the quart from the grocery store but it is so expensive.

We use it for everything - coffee brewed with pumpkin pie spice and sweetened with maple syrup is like a pumpkin-spice coffee, yum! We use it as the sweetener when we make hot cocoa. Plain yogurt with cinnamon and maple syrup is our favorite way to eat yogurt (my girls were never fans of fruit chunks in yogurt). I use it to sweeten my homemade granola. And obviously for topping homemade sourdough waffles and pancakes. It's good stuff!