real maple syrup taste test

[audreyh1]

Maple syrup sounds wonderful. Pancakes are pretty rare here - regular (Hah!) oatmeal eater. Memories of my childhood though, when Mom would stick some brown sugar in boiling water to pass as syrup for the pancakes. Nothing like pancakes drowned in sweet brownish hot water, right?

We used to use maple syrup to sweeten our oatmeal - that works very well.

 

[MBAustin]

Another real maple syrup snob here - grade B preferred. I grew up in Western MD which is one of the southernmost places for maples to give syrup. There's nearly always a good-sized bottle in my luggage when I come back from a visit, but I have to ration it as those visits are now only every couple of years or so.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

It's an essential ingredient in (Alton's)
homemade granola. We try to keep a container of this on hand.

 

[braumeister]

All my life I've bought the real thing from small family-owned syrup producers in Vermont. When I was a kid, it was an annual family car trip every Spring to get our annual supply, and I've done that as an adult every time it was convenient. But mostly I mail order it.

We used to have a family making maple syrup in southern Ohio not far away. They encouraged visits during sugaring season and would always wow the kids by drizzling some syrup on freshly fallen snow, then scooping it up into bowls and handing them to the kids with a spoon.

Another long time favorite of mine is using it in my coffee.

I have to be very sparing of it these days because I try to limit my carbs as much as possible, but it's still one of my most favorite flavors.

 

[6miths]

Really? There are thousands of uses. Maple syrup goes with just about everything. Especially bacon!

Yes the kids agree with you here! Bacon - regular and peameal, sausages, ham...

 

[splitwdw]

Real maple syrup lover here. We always had it growing up. I normally have plain original oatmeal every morning but I have pancakes, French toast or waffles on occasion. I use it in baked beans, sweet potatoes, barbeque sauce, maple icing, maple butter (for toasted pound cake or toast) and on pan fried trout. You don't need a lot of maple syrup for any of these.

 

[nativenewenglander]

I live in NH and real maple syrup is abundant thankfully. We use it for all kinds of cooking, like others have stated beans, ice cream, oatmeal. The B grade, or whatever they call it now, is my favorite with lots of maple flavor. I think it comes toward the end of the season just before the trees bud out.

 

[savory]

I have been enjoying the maple syrup from Aldi. Not a connoisseur so some may not find it up to par. But it meets my expectations for flavor and price.

Just read some uses MS for my homebrew. No specific plans right now but it will be an option.

 

[Winemaker]

Really? There are thousands of uses. Maple syrup goes with just about everything. Especially bacon!

How about pig candy??

Take some maple syrup, brown sugar maybe some cayenne or cinnamon and mix together, many recipes online. Coat some bacon thoroughly, place on rack in oven, bake @ 350 degrees about 30-45 minutes. Let cool. For real extravagance, drizzle or dip in chocolate.

You're welcome in advance.

 

[SteveNU]

The in-laws have a pretty good size sugar house up in northern NH. About 6-7000 taps all piped to a vacuum tank and pumped up to the sugar house. Needless to say we always have maple syrup in the house!

 

[pb4uski]

Try this one:

1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Vermont maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola or whatever)
2 tbsp of Italian Salad Dressing spices (1 envelope....I make my own knock-off)

Mix in a salad dressing cruet and enjoy.... good the day it is made be even better if refrigerated overnight

It will keep of a few weeks.

I also use with BBQ sauce on ribs... in baked beans instead of molasses... numerous uses.

Making sugar on snow is a nice wintertime project with kids. See Vermont Maple Recipes-Bushee Family Maple Farm Kitchen

 

[Ready]

The fake stuff is mostly corn syrup and artificial flavors. But it's much sweeter tha real maple syrup, so if you're looking for very sweet liquid to pour over your pancakes, you might think the fake stuff is better. I like the taste of real maple syrup, but I do recognize that it's a very subtle taste, and not all that sweet.

I never used to be a pancake person because it's not exactly health food. But I discovered the Kodiak cake mix at Costco a few months ago. It's a mix of whole grains and protein blend, and only has 190 calories per serving. And the pancakes come out great. I still don't put syrup over them because I don't like to start of my day with a sugar fix, but I do mix in a half of a banana and some chopped walnuts, and they taste great and fill me up for the morning. And they have a lot of protein and fiber in them too.

 

[Chuckanut]

I use the waffle recipe in the book "Always Hungry" which uses garbanzo bean flour instead of grain flour for waffles. Delicious! Who knew the garbanzo bean flour can substitute so well for wheat flour.

I remember when Mrs. Butterworth was a whole 2% butter in it. I wonder if there is any genuine butter in it today?

Me. I don't use much syrup so when I do I use genuine maple syrup. I figure it maybe costs me an extra $14.73 a year to use real syrup instead of the 'pancake' syrups.

 

[rodi]

I don't have pancakes that often - but when I do it's either real maple syrup or strawberry preserves. We always have a jug of maple syrup on hand because the kids and hubby all like pancakes.

I've used it as a glaze on ham. Yum!

 

[CaliforniaMan]

For us it is either real maple syrup, I like the grade B too, or a thin spread of honey. When I was a kid it was always Log Cabin, been using the real stuff ever since I first tried it.

But one thing I cannot find anywhere now is Buckwheat pancake mix. It used to be available in grocery stores when I was a kid. It is my favorite. Had it one time a few years ago at a Fireman's Pancake Lunch (the Firemen made pancakes for the kids to raise money for a charity) The pancakes were great! Why does nobody eat that anymore. I could not even find it at Trader Joes. What is wrong with the world now!

 

[Fedup]

I found buckwheat flour, that's what I used sometime to replace flour. I can't remember where I bought it. Maybe Wholefoods.

 

[audreyh1]

For us it is either real maple syrup, I like the grade B too, or a thin spread of honey. When I was a kid it was always Log Cabin, been using the real stuff ever since I first tried it.

But one thing I cannot find anywhere now is Buckwheat pancake mix. It used to be available in grocery stores when I was a kid. It is my favorite. Had it one time a few years ago at a Fireman's Pancake Lunch (the Firemen made pancakes for the kids to raise money for a charity) The pancakes were great! Why does nobody eat that anymore. I could not even find it at Trader Joes. What is wrong with the world now!

Several companies still make it. You may have to order it online like from Vitacost or Amazon. Try Google.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

Several companies still make it. You may have to order it online like from Vitacost or Amazon. Try Google.

Thanks Audrey1, just checked it out on Vitacost, didn't know about that site. They have several types. Will order some. Soon I will really have something worthy of putting my real maple syrup on.

 

[splitwdw]

CaliforniaMan, Don't your health food stores carry buckwheat flour? I can buy it at my local health food stores plus the regular food stores have it in their "healthy/organic/gluten free" aisle. The bags (Red Mill, Hodgson & King Arthur) at the local food store are about 2.5 lbs.

 

[ERD50]

...
But one thing I cannot find anywhere now is Buckwheat pancake mix. It used to be available in grocery stores when I was a kid. It is my favorite. ...

Hadn't thought about buckwheat pancakes in ages, don't think I had them since I was a kid. Must have been common back then, my Mom was no gourmet!

Can't exactly remember the taste - a little 'spicy', or just a bit more complex than plain wheat flour? I might say whole grain wheat is to white flour as buckwheat is to whole wheat?

I'l have to check out the sources mentioned in the follow up posts, pretty sure the health food stores have it. Even our local large grocery chain has a section of the store devoted to stuff like that, I'll check there first.

I can't imagine anything but real maple syrup (or maybe honey on occasion) on them, and real butter.

+1 on the maple syrup with bacon. I always used the bacon to mop up any syrup residue the way you use bread to sop up stew juice/gravy. Hmmmmm.

-ERD50

 

[Nodak]

Real maple syrup only. I'm lucky to have close friends in Wisconsin that make their own syrup. I don't use much but always get it from them.

 

[ERD50]

The in-laws have a pretty good size sugar house up in northern NH. About 6-7000 taps all piped to a vacuum tank and pumped up to the sugar house. Needless to say we always have maple syrup in the house!

Do you have any pictures? I can't imagine 6000 hoses connected to a vacuum tank - it would be like a spaghetti forest!

Sounds more efficient than my picture of a pipe with a bucket hanging from it (catching insects and bird poop - yuck!).

-ERD50

 

[pb4uski]

Not 6-7000 hoses... think of it as a number of superhighways from the sugarbush borders to the sugarhouse with each superhighway having many entrances from each tap.

 

[Walt34]

But one thing I cannot find anywhere now is Buckwheat pancake mix.

Here ya go:

https://www.amazon.com/buckwheat-pa...&page=1&rh=n:16310101,k:buckwheat pancake mix

 

[Fedup]

CaliforniaMan, Don't your health food stores carry buckwheat flour? I can buy it at my local health food stores plus the regular food stores have it in their "healthy/organic/gluten free" aisle. The bags (Red Mill, Hodgson & King Arthur) at the local food store are about 2.5 lbs.

Sprouts have it. I think my memory is clearer now.