Maple syrup...

[nyfirepatrolchef]

But where the hell do you buy the Grade B stuff? Even in gourmet supermarkets, usually they only have the Grade A.

Whole Foods

[Paige]

Hello, could anyone tell me what mapel essence is and where I could purchase it? A lady in Australia has requested some since it's not available there. She indicated that it is readily available in the US, and although I do live in the US I've never heard of it. Thanks lots for any help.

[Peter B Wolf]

See URL below. Not really an 'essence' (?) but a flavoring extract.

http://www.spicebarn.com/maple_flavoring.htm

[Verjuice]

All this talk about honey has gotten me feeling a little defensive about my maple syrup. I love it-- on my buttered toast (I adore the way it saturates; honey is regrettably more well-behaved and merely pussyfoots), in my tea, baked into desserts, whipped with butter and slathered onto muffins or biscuits, stirred into yogurt, used in marinades (great with salmon), chugged from the bottle, warmed with cider and spices and sipped from a thick white mug, and let's not forget Stanley Burrough's Master Cleanse...

Only Grade B for me, though. I love it's slightly more bitter, more pronounced maple flavor. How I love maple syrup!

Who's with me? What do you do with yours?

Edited July 23, 2004 by Verjuice (log)

[jenifresh]

I agree with grade B.

Maple buttermilk ice cream. A little buttermilk, a lot of cream!

My favorite snack: bananas and milk with maple syrup. When I was young, we tapped our maple trees every year. I can not think of anything more lovely.

Well, our honeybees did give us incredible honey.

[Pan]

I'm surprised that a search of this forum didn't find a previous thread on maple syrup. I know I'm on record somewhere in agreement with you: Grade B is the best! What do I like to do with it? Pour it on pancakes. I also love maple candy, but indulge rarely, and the last time I was in Vermont, I loved the carbonated maple sap they sold in some little roadside stores.

Edited July 24, 2004 by Pan (log)

[Verjuice]

I also love maple syrup, but indulge rarely, and the last time I was in Vermont, I loved the carbonated maple sap they sold in some little roadside stores.

What does one do with carbonated maple sap? Oooh, maple pop. I don't do soft drinks, but...

I love it on pancakes, as well.

Jeni, that ice cream sounds amazing. Care to share the recipe?

I have always wanted to tap a maple tree, but haven't had the chance yet.

Have you ever tried maple extract? I have never been tempted, but I wonder if it would be good for boosting the maple flavor.

[spoonbread]

A friend from Vermont sent me some great samples of maple syrup and this stuff really rocks!

I've been glazing duck with it, using for pancakes, making ice cream....yum!

[Ms Neato]

Arrr.

I'd like maple syrup more if it wasn't so expensive over here (in New Zealand..). That said, there's a world of difference between it, and the maple/corn syrup blends I can snag at the supermarket.

[i have a 500ml tin can of the real stuff which cost me about NZ$40...]

Oh. As for what I do with it (which I completely forgot to address when I first posted this...)

Aside from the obvious accompaniment to pancakes, crepes and french toast...

I'm rather fond of chicken marinaded in a combination of maple syrup and verjuice (Preferably a cabernet sauvignon verjuice.. so pink (: ).

Edited July 23, 2004 by Ms Neato (log)

[slbunge]

I was a Grade B fan until I found...Grade C!

What I like about the lower grades is the smokier, more intense maple flavor. Grade A has a cleaner taste but without all those maple impurities I taste too much sweetness.

Maple syrup goes very well with peanut butter on waffles. Using a bit of dijon and maple syrup as a glaze for roasted Brussels sprouts is fantastic. Had a tiny bit poured over home-made ricotta 'ice cream' a couple of weekends ago.

[sparrowgrass]

Dribbled over a well baked sweet potato.

.

[Verjuice]

I was a Grade B fan until I found...Grade C!

Some sources say that Grade C is Grade B; that they are both marketed under the Grade B label. A google search led me to believe the same thing. Then, I read that Grade C (Commercial Grade) is actually illegal to retail in VT, but I am having a hard time finding reliable information on this. Anyone know whether or not it's true?

Edited July 23, 2004 by Verjuice (log)

[Verjuice]

I'm rather fond of chicken marinaded in a combination of maple syrup and verjuice (Preferably a cabernet sauvignon verjuice.. so pink (: ).

Yeah- maple syrup and Verjuice.

A match made in heaven .

Edited July 23, 2004 by Verjuice (log)

[slbunge]

I was a Grade B fan until I found...Grade C!

Some sources say that Grade C is Grade B; that they are both marketed under the Grade B label. A google search led me to believe the same thing. Then, I read that Grade C (Commercial Grade) is actually illegal to retail in VT, but I am having a hard time finding reliable information on this. Anyone know whether or not it's true?

Wow. I wonder when they changed the grading rules. I'd say we bought the big jug of syrup perhaps 12 to 14 months ago.

Now I won't get upset if I can't find grade C when we soon run out of our stock.

[Moopheus]

I'm surprised that a search of this forum didn't find a previous thread on maple syrup. I know I'm on record somewhere in agreement with you: Grade B is the best!

I think this is the thread you're looking for. Nice photos of a sugaring operation and some discussion of the changes in the grading system. "Commercial grade" can't be sold retail.

As far as I'm concerned, it's all good.

Does anyone notice differences between places of origin and producers? Can you tell the difference between, say, New York an Vermont syrup? I'm not sure I could.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who will drink it straight from the bottle.

[Verjuice]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who will drink it straight from the bottle.

You're not. But that doesn't make it right .

God I love doing that.

[GG Mora]

What's not to like? I love it best stirred into plain FULL FAT yogurt. And darkest is best. That stuff that looks like used motor oil? Yum. Friend of mine makes his own from his family's small sugarbush and boils it in a little tinkered-up evaporator. So the syrup always has the taste of wood smoke. I'd pay a premium for that shit, but...I don't have to.

The grading system is sort of confusing, especially since the US - or at least Vermont – did away with the A-B-C-D system and went to just A&B, and Canada uses yet another system (A-B-C maybe?). Apparently the grading systems hark back to the days when maple sugar was competing with cane & beet sugar, and the goal was white sugar with no other flavor. So Grade A was the lightest with the least maple flavor. That doesn't make a whole lotta sense anymore, when so many of us want it to taste like maple. Rule of thumb now is to look beyond the letter rating to the description: Light Amber is for sissies, Medium Amber is a step in the right direction, and Dark Amber is the only real maple syrup.

[elfin]

While in Vermont I picked up a bottle of maple syrup vinager. Haven't tried it but it seems like it would have a lot of applications.

[johnnyd]

I put in over oatmeal and certain other cold cereals like granola. Your milk eventually gets maply - a very good thing.

[Susan G]

Some sources say that Grade C is Grade B; that they are both marketed under the Grade B label. A google search led me to believe the same thing. Then, I read that Grade C (Commercial Grade) is actually illegal to retail in VT

[Jake]

Quebec Maple Syrup mmmmmm!

Especially used as a marinade and glaze for thick cut grilled pork chops. Mixed with horseradish, dijon and fresh thyme. I think I know what's for dinner tonight.

[petite tête de chou]

Ive done a brine for thick cut pork chops that included maple syrup. It also provides a fine pool for my bacon to swim in. Sometimes Santa would include Vermont maple candy in my Christmas stocking- so sweet my teeth hurt thinking about it!

Has anyone had maple syrup that was drizzled on snow and allowed to harden a la Grandma Moses paintings?

[johnnyd]

Has anyone had maple syrup that was drizzled on snow and allowed to harden a la Grandma Moses paintings?

The tradition in Vermont is to get together at the town church around the time sugaring is winding down and have "Sugar on Snow" parties. Also served are dill pickles and plain doughnuts.

I thought it was the nuttiest collection of flavours until a VT-born girlfriend of mine dragged me to one on a chilly sunday morning in early April. It was pretty good! Lots of good coffee capped it off.

It's hardly tourist season, but if anyone happens to be up there and you see a hand-made sign announcing the "Annual Sugar on Snow" in one of the many villages, do go... the local folks love company!

[eunny jang]

Maple syrup was put on earth to be the companion of the lonely sage-spiced breakfast sausage.

And corned beef hash, too. With Tabasco added. Vinegary and oniony and salty and sweet.

And pancakes.

And yogurt.

And ice cream.

And bananas.

And butter. Yeah, butter.

[daniellewiley]

I put in over oatmeal

That's my daughter's favorite breakfast. She's 2.5, and we had to come up with a system, because she was demanding more and more syrup each morning! Now, I just fill a little blue glass egg cup with Grade A syrup for her. She gets to pour it in herself, but when it's done, it's done. She usually reserves some at the bottom of the cup for drinking, LOL.

She likes the Grade B just as much as the Grade A, but I try to hog it for cooking, since I love the extra oomph. My favorite recipe with Grade B is my Thanksgiving turkey. We always brine and then barbecue our turkey, and the glaze I use is made with Grade B syrup and dijon mustard. Yum.