Not only does real maple syrup taste good, but it's actually good FOR you. There are valuable essential glyco-nutrients in it we don't commonly get in foods these days. It's great in the antioxidant defenses in the body due to the trace minerals zinc and manganese. "Zinc and manganese are important allies in the immune system. Many types of immune cells appear to depend upon zinc for optimal function."

I like Grade B for cooking because of it's rich flavor. Maple sugar or maple granules are great sprinkled on all kinds of foods.

Maple syrup - yummmmmmmmm!

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Health Benefits of Maple Syrup

I love real maple syrup and the fake stuff is not even allowed in my house. I only buy grade B as we love the flavor and I cook with it all the time. I find that buying it in half gallon jugs to be the most economical and I usually buy 6-8 every spring.

Nancy

"If I had kids they would have NEVER been allowed to slosh it all over stuff themselves".

Does this mean that you would you would pour it for them or that you would serve them the fake stuff?

Ann

It's liquid gold, isn't it?! My FIL taps his trees & gives everyone in the family a pint of his "home brew" for Christmas.

We supplement with syrup produced locally. Only use the real stuff here. It's one of the benefits of living in New England that offsets our never-ending winters, LOL. But the flavor is so intense, I find you don't need much. I measure out 1 TBS. every morning to drizzle over my steel cut oatmeal. Yum!

Lots of store here carry Maple Syrup, but it's always Grade A. I've never seen Grade B, and I've looked for it because B is specified in many recipes.

Kids should have the good stuff.

Cloudy, Exactly. Might as well educate their taste buds early.

The only time Matthew ever had the fake stuff was in restaurants and even as a young child he knew the difference.

Ann

Perhaps, but it doesn't hurt to start early with portion control either! Maple syrup is expensive.

I know with my Dad (who lives with us and is about a 6 year old most of the time) when we have syrup, he will fill his plate. Sometimes I am too busy and let him get away with it and then all the excess gets thrown away. Lately I have taken to putting the syrup on for him. It's just Country Cabin!
I do keep some Maple for me but Dad would never know the difference. Dh is a jam person.
And when we have guests I use real Maple, heated in a pitcher.

I simply cannot bear fake maple syrup. If we are having breakfast out, I ask first thing about their maple syrup, and if it isn't real I just don't order pancakes or waffles.

At home, I pour our syrup into little glass bowls, and we dip bites. It saves on syrup, and I can pour the remainder back into the bottle (straining out any crumbs!) Plus, it works the same way the old Weight Watcher's trick of dipping your bite of salad into the salad dressing (rather than tossing it) does. You get the bite of pancake, but the syrup gets to your tongue directly rather than being absorbed into the cake. You use less that way, which is helpful both economically and in terms of calories! You also don't lose syrup on the plate, or soaked into that last half pancake you can't eat.

Another thing I like, but can only get when I go Back East for a visit, is maple sugar candy. I'm not sure how it's made, but it is sweet, creamy and has that stunning real maple flavor. I can only eat a bit at a time, but a melting bit on my tongue takes me straight back to childhood.

I love the real deal and since I can't fine the grade b maple syrup, I order it from King Arthur's baking website.

Nothing like it! That is about the only thing I miss about living in upstate NY. We knew several people who made it every year and one year my ex and I made it. It was fun.
Kat

What I have always loved about Cracker Barrel is that they serve little bottles of Maple Syrup with their pancakes.

Petra you can find grade B maple syrup at a Trader Joe's if there is one near you. I buy it by the jug there, and it is cheaper that way.
I had never had it until about ten years ago when I went to a sugar maple pancake party at sapping time. My first thought was, "it's too thin and it doesn't taste the same." I did not like it. Then about 8 years ago I tried it again, and loved it. Now I would not use the other, although DH still prefers the fake stuff as do my grandkids.
But to tell the truth, hubby and I just do not really care for pancakes. We make them when the grandkids come, but we don't ever make them otherwise. Although I once bought a pumpkin pancake mix from King Arthur that was very light and delicate and was perfect with real maple.

Can remember pancakes SWIMMING in Aunt J or Log Cabin, with a lot of syrup just going down the drain or into garbage. I'd do the pouring to cut back on the amount of waste of the good stuff and cut back on unnecessary extra sugars.

I can't believe that major pancake restaurant chains don't have real maple syrup. Even in Maine, I seldom find real maple syrup in restaurants. If I intend to indulge myself in a sit down restaurant for breakfast I buy a tiny bottle of the real stuff in a gift shop and keep it in my purse to use if needed. It is often called "Northern Comfort" and comes in a look-alike bottle that looks like Southern Comfort. If a restaurant doesn't have the real McCoy and I don't have a little bottle of the real stuff with me, I order eggs and skip the pancakes or waffles.
Speaking of Maine, I am thinking of heading to "The County" next week to enjoy the fall colors. If anyone lives there or has good information about the amount of change in color, please advise. I checked online (Maine.gov) yesterday and Aroostook county was shaded in to indicate moderate change. I hope if I go in a week I will get some brilliant color. I will, of course, stop on my way north to indulge in a bowl of seafood chowder from the Camden Deli, a lobster dinner from a good lobster pound and a meal at Moody's Diner--mostly atmosphere, but I do love the walnut pie).
Nancy

Sheshebop, I WISH we had a Trader Joe's around here. We're in TX, and from what I've heard, they aren't planning to come here any time soon. And when they do, probably to a big city, we're in the boonies. I checked at World Market and Whole Foods a while back, but they also only carry Grade A. I might have to check online and order some.

There's nothing wrong with Grade A maple syrup. To me, some of the Grade B tastes great and some does not. I don't especially seek it out.

I love it but also like the watered down cheap stuff for pancakes.

A favorite sweetner when I make beans... just a touch. I make them for work potlucks and people love them but can't identify the flavor. It is actually a powerful flavor so even small amounts give a flavor note. It also gives a note to bbq sauce.

Sugar maples are common in the area and I've seen the syrup boiled in home operations. Sometimes wonder about spending the time to tap a few trees... I know a quiet spot with some giant maples... found it when I was a kid.

: )
lyra

^^ I've always been told Grade B has much more flavor than Grade A, that's not true then? I've never had Grade B, so I have no idea.

As I understand it, the labeling of maple syrup evolved at a time when maple syrup producers wanted a product which would compete with sugar for the sweetener market; the higher the grade, the less 'maple-ey' it was. So Grade A has a more delicate, less pronounced maple flavor than Grade B.

A friend of mine, a native Vermonter, used only Grade B on his pancakes.

Petra, here Grade B is darker and has a more intense flavor than Grade A. Some like it, some don't. Grandpa told me that the light (grade A) syrup was from the first sap of the season and that the dark (grade B) was from later in the season when there was less sugar in the sap and so it had to be boiled longer to become syrup.

I love maple syrup, the real stuff. Right now I have a 64 ounce jug of grade B in the fridge. Yes, it will mold if kept in the cupboard unrefrigerated for too long. I never, ever eat the fake stuff, it's just too icky. My Grandkids love Mrs. Butterworth's though, and don't want the real maple. That's fine, it just leaves more for me, LOL.

I like the local maple syrup and when I can't get it locally I order from Cook's Sugarbush, in southern Michigan. I think it's somewhere around Sherry's and I can get a 64 ounce jug for $26 plus shipping but it lasts me a long, long time.

I love waffles and pancakes, and if I make a batch, I put some in the freezer so I can just grab a package and have them whenever I want them.

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Cook's Sugar bush

Aha, that makes sense. I guess it really doesn't matter too much then which grade you use. Annie, thanks for the link. I wonder what Maple Cream is, am going to have to google it. Sure sounds good. :o)

Petra, Maple Cream is a lovely concoction, it's basically maple syrup, whipped until it's spreadable and is amazing on hot scones.

Annie

Annie, I lost my father when I was seven, but I vividly remember him taking me (when I was 5? he was too sick to make that trip much later) to maple tapping in (I think) northern Ohio or maybe north of that. Maple sugar made into maple leafs and something else. I don't remember. I wouldn't eat it. Too sweet. Oh, the beautiful color in maple trees and their indescribable maple syrup--loved it and love it to this day on waffles. Maple syrup and pecans make wonderful waffles. When blueberries or strawberries are in season down here, they are great too, but the pecans get roasted in the waffle iron. Gotta do that in the next few days.

Why is this site dredging up memories that have been buried for a very long time?

Oh beachlily, I do hope that was a happy and sweet memory. You can still buy maple candy here, basically maple sugar shaped into a maple leaf, just as you described. I didn't like them when I was a kid, now I love 'em, but they are tooth achingly sweet.

The maples are just starting to turn crimson and when I move out to the farm, I'll tap my own trees again and make syrup. You could come to visit.....

Annie

Annie, you might be surprised!

My husband said that my memory is probably from 4 years of age. There is something there about going down the backbone of the BlueRidge Parkway with a lot of fog but no fall color. Probably was in spring. I don't know which memory came first. That's not a bad thing. My father died of ALS. When my husband was talking with his Dad and his Dad was describing the symptoms, I blurted out that he had ALS. It took doctors 6 more months to come to that conclusion.

It is absolutely amazing what resides in our minds. I'm 61 years old. No wonder I say I can't remember--all those memory cards are filled!

I am blessed to have a husband who doesn't think I'm crazy!

Beachlily, come any time, and bring the hubs! If you were driving the Parkway and there was no fall color, it was probably spring, which is maple tapping time anyway.

I agree, my memory bank is full. If I add new information, something else has to be deleted, or I'll crash, LOL.

Your husband knows you aren't crazy, or else he doesn't remember either. (grin) Just remember, I'm in Michigan!

Annie

My favorite winter treat:

Boil down maple syrup and pour on top of new snow and make maple candy.

dcarch