It sounds like they've had numerous other complaints obviously! This new formulation must be costing them for their to be rude and stingy! They now have a not so pat answer.

Sorry you have had to change your habits after so long of their being reliable! I would certainly attempt to move on as you've decided to do but I don't know to what other product/company. We have long given up on everything else and simply use maple syrup.

I just looked at recent Amazon reviews and they agree with you on all points.

I never heard of maple extract. It makes sense for some uses, but maple syrup in your oatmeal should be just fine. Not sure about in the egg for french toast, though, I have never tried that. I just pour the syrup on top!

(side story: when my son was in elementary school, they had an ”international day”. My son’s class had Canada, and for their food they made, I think, toaster waffles with maple syrup. Had to be easy for the little kids to do, so toaster waffles. But they didn’t use maple syrup, they used pancake syrup! Well, DH is from Canada, and another mom there who was from Vermont and I wondered why they didn’t just ask us to bring the real thing? Heck, even for the Mardi Gras pancake supper, we bring our own. We have offered to supply the supper, but there’s a member who works for a food company, so they bring their company’s product.)

I just opened my new bottle of McCormick’s Maple Extract right before my niece and family arrived here to make a batch of my Maple Walnut Scones, and had that exact same experience! My last bottle’s contents was thick and dark, while this new bottle’s was thin, like straight alcohol with just a tint of dark. So disappointing! Please let me know if you find a good, as my family and friends love my scones.

How annoying!

I just had my own tussel with customer service recently (Bouqs) and told the representative in the chat that she was terrible at her job. I got more than what I wanted in recompense after that, which actually surprised me.

In my opinion, McCormick didn't see the forest for the trees. They were so involved in trying to persuade the customer to ignore the reality of an unfortunate product problem that they did not realize that customers might be so soured by that treatment, that they would avoid the company altogether. I think they should have not only offered an immediate refund, but also reformulated their obviously deficient product and sent each dissatisfied customer a free sample.

to persuade the customer to ignore the reality of an unfortunate product problem that they did not realize that customers might be so soured by that treatment, that they would avoid the company altogether.

This is exactly the customer service problem I encountered, and why I was harsh with the rep. Trying to change a customer's expectations instead of taking responsability for your product is a losing proposition, unless you have a monopoly.

And speaking of customer service, which we werent’t exactly, I had to call my mother’s insurance company because they no longer cover one of her medications. They sent a letter saying this and suggesting alternatives. I misplaced the letter, so I called to get the names of the alternatives. Nope, she wouldn’t tell me unless I mailed a copy of our POA. So I asked her to just mail the letter again, same letter to the same address, exactly what they had done the first time. Nope, wouldn’t do it. All they had to do was the exact same thing they had already done. I was so annoyed I just hung up on her.

Actually, i do get the POA requirement, but I cant see why they couldn’t remail the letter.

And I will never buy McCormick’s again to stand in solidarity with Annie.

I had the same experience when we had to install our 3rd faucet made by this company before we even moved in! They said we were abusing it or our plumber didn't know how to install it, etc. etc. Of course I dropped them like a hot rock and went with Moen who has been nothing but an absolute pleasure to deal with. Under no circumstance did their customer "service" person even get near to admitting they may actually have a problem with their product or its design.

I've had the extract on the counter "airing out" for over an hour now and it smells worse than ever.

If I find a good substitute I'll let you know. I've avoided adding maple syrup because I didn't want the added sweetness or calories and the extract allowed me to do that.

Not sure what is in McCormick's old maple extract but I read that fenugreek and alcohol are the primary ingredients in other maple extracts. Perhaps if you have some fenugreek seeds and vodka laying around you could try making your own..

http://www.sweetcyclebrooklyn.com/wisdom-and-tips-1/2020/1/14/fenugreek-notes-about-ingredients

Annie Deighnaugh, we have two boxes of the same in our kitchen. I just smelled one that is almost empty and, while it smells of alcohol, the primary smell is maple, bitter to taste as I think it should be with no sugars in it. It is really thin, but as far as I can remember it always has been thin. We use ours to reconstitute a sort of light, splashy syrup. Yeah, I wouldn't serve it to guests, but it suits me.

Mm, I have the remains of my taste test on my thumb, and I think it makes me smell like a pancake breakfast.

I kinda think you were sold a bum bottle, and the quality control was asleep one day.

I've never heard of maple extract until now. Sorry you were disappointed.

I hate it when customer service tries to make their problem my problem. As @lucillle and @Zalco/bring back Sophie! said, to do so is exactly the approach that will lose customers and make those customers so angry that they will share their negative experience with everyone they know.

I never used it but that is just weird. We buy pure maple syrup although it's expensive. It actually was cheaper at Trader Joe's than at Aldi.

Some companies have purposefully bad CS to dissuede people from calling, because good CS costs so much. If they have no one, people call anyway, so they stick with one or two bad ones, with long wait times, hoping you'll just go away,

My mother taught me that trick to evaporate the smell when I was in my teens—but it was to get the flowery stench out of the otherwise superior makeup!

I get my extracts from Vanilla Saffron Imports. I've never used maple, so can't say what it's like, but they have superior products in general.

https://saffron.com/shop/organic-maple-extract/

It sonds like it was a lack of quality control that McCormacks found about quickly and made up stuff to cover bottles of alchol with no maple anything. Air out flavoring?! Nah!

I grew up using Baker's Chocolate. I made fudge, cakes, frosting, cookies, etc. The unsweetened, one ounce squares wrapped in paper. My grandmother used it. My parents used it, I used it. Probably my great grandmother used it. They new and unimproved it to be a flat slab that would not break evenly. You had to use several to get one ounce of chocolate. It is not the same. I am so tired of companies changing things to make it seem cheaper, when it is really more.

If anyone knows of a company that makes real one ounce chocolate square, let me know.

You might want to look into Frontier Coop. They make a maple flavor--non-alcoholic. I have used other extracts from them. Look on their own website; they seem to be cheaper than Amazon.

I have come to the conclusion that everything I used to like has deteriorated. Or else I am just becoming my mother!

I never used maple extract so I wouldn't know, but since you've been using it and it changed, they are totally wrong in not educating (WARNING!!) the consumer. They were also totally wrong with how their "customer service" handled it.

You are 100% right and I also won't buy McCormick.

I am reminded of several years ago DH was having a run around with customer service for our health insurance. I wish I had taped it. He kept saying "I'm sorry, I was trying to reach customer service . Can you please get me to customer service because this is definitely not it".

That sounds like a bogus answer to me to cover up a big fat error. While I have never heard of maple extract either, the only thing I have ever ’aired out’ is wine which is to let most wines ’breathe’ before serving. You still received poor customer service imo. I will not be buying any McCormick’s products after hearing of your experience.

I'm just trying to get over the fact that you were actually able to get a real human being on the line to talk to about it.

McCormicks is over rated most of the time. Watkins makes all sorts of extracts. Give them a try. I use home made maple syrup from trees just around the bend from us.

Why if it ain't broken, companies feel the need to fix it. New doesn't always equal improved. Coke found that out in 1985. The new Coke formula went over like a lead balloon.

Companies fix it because they can save a penny here and there so the fact that the actual produce becomes Drex is beside the point because for the next quarter (and that is as far ahead as they look) people won't notice that it no longer does what they say it does. It is up to us to protect our needs by complaining and squawking when we are presented with garbage products. Do not give them your money and tell them why. You are the consumer. Do not consume and say so.

It's like how Alphabits and Honeycomb are now different too. They're "puffier" and less crunchy. They "improved" the recipe. I haven't bought a box of either in a few years since they improved it. I don't eat cereal with milk for breakfast. I pour a cup full and snack on them like candy. And now that they've changed the recipe, I've stopped buying them.

“. New doesn't always equal improved.”

That’s true. Similarly, an an old or traditional way doesn’t always mean better either.

I love LorAnn Bakery Emulsions and Extracts along with the flavoring oils. Amazon carries them, as well as bakery suppliers. I have seen limited flavors at Hobby Lobby also. They don't alter the texture or add unnecessary sweetness to baked goods. Watkins makes good standard extracts. McCormick changed their formulas years ago to be more "natural". Unfortunately natural isn't what always works best, but consumers keep demanding free of this and that and end up with inferior products.

Does anyone remember the old gros michel bananas? They used to be the typical banana with such a great flavor. Then a disease came along and the bananas we eat today, the cavendish, are as close as they could get, but not the same. Now I see the fungus is even worse and starting to wipe out the cavendish and they have no replacement for it. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-35131751

Sometimes it's the misty water colored memories of the way we were...sometimes it really has taken a giant step toward the worst.

Our local creamery, which makes the absolute best ice cream ever, would be open by now, but they are not because of supply shortages of ingredients they use and they refuse to change their recipes or substitute with inferior products, so their opening has been delayed. I'm so glad they are sticking with what they do. I wish I could say the same for McCormick.

Annie, thanks for the info about bananas. I knew they didn't taste as good as they used to, but I thought it was just me.

You can bet if it says "new and improved" on a product, it's probably ruined. I think improved has usually come to mean " we found a way to make it more cheaply and thus make more profit".

I've stopped buying so many things because they were "improved".

In the late summer, when I go for a walk, there are wild grape vines along various areas...you can smell them. I'll pick a single grape, peel it and just suck on it. It has the most incredible flavor of concord grape that you can imagine and it really sticks with you. It reminds me of how grape jelly used to taste in the old days Alas, no more. Grape jelly must refer to the color because it certainly doesn't have that flavor.

I buy a lot of spice blends from thespicehouse.com and they're wonderful. I’ve just checked and they do carry maple extract, as well. It’s pricy though, at $17.99 for a four-ounce bottle. Just a FYI.

We have all had to make compromises and substitutions the past couple of years. From TP to dish soap, sensitive skin laundry detergents...some new findings better than pre-covid. But re-formulaed products not at all similar to an original is un-acceptable. Even if the attempt is to kick out chemicals and dyes. It should not be that hard to get very close. If concentration by evaporation is needed, it should be on their clock. Not at home without direction---ever. BS if you need to keep a product open for days to evaporate the alcohol.

I've had to make a few substituions i'm not at all happy with.

Imagine if Worchestershire went out of business. I would survive no problem but i would take the challenge and make my own like i did last year this time and made my own OldBay that i like better than the original. (not out of business but the salt content is over the top). ---a family challenge to get the 'salt-lick' throat burn out of the crab/shrimp boil.

Still, it is BS if a familiar product is not at all the same.

I used to DIY maple flavoring - it's pretty easy. It's just whole fenugreek seeds steeped in vodka. Tastes very strongly of maple too.

Annie, we went to Europe about 7 years ago and while I enjoyed the whole trip, the thing that made the biggest impression on me was that food tasted like my childhood memories of it. Fruit, cheese, meat, butter - it all tasted real. Very hard to come home to "plastic" food.

I agree...the food in europe is a whole different experience.

This article talks about the different varieties of bananas. I was surprised to read that the near extinct gros Michael banana is similar flavor to many people to the Cavendish banana we eat regularly today.

https://www.producebluebook.com/2020/10/21/an-end-to-banana-nostalgia/#:~:text=The%20Gros%20Michel%20lost%20out,Except%20not%20entirely.

European countries (EU) have very strict rules about what and what not food can be, what can be in it, how it can be changed. I too love the food in Europe and try to find as close as I can, and, cook the way they still do.

I believe it was a fusarium that destroyed the Big Mike(a.k.a. Gros Michel) bananas. I understand a newer disease is infecting the Cavendish now. Bananas are a huge industry.

Maybe try subbing vanilla. I have read that it also imparts a hint of sweetness. If you can find grade B maple syrup, just a dab will impart that maple flavor. I use it almost every morning in my cereal. Of course that is sugar, but very little from a calorie standpoint.