I like Maple Syrup. I just don’t like the price. Where might I at least lay in a supply at the most reasonable price? Mail order might be good, but then there’s those pesky shipping charges… Do Vermontanians get a better price than everyone else?
My roommates and I took a trip to Vermont last spring and stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, turns out they were also a very large Maple Syrup farm. He ran us through the process of making it and seeing how it all works. It was really quite interesting. His set up didn’t use buckets anymore, he was completely pipe-fed and would collect it all in his tanks. As I recall he had his main tank which held 600 gallons and his backup which held 250.
After staying there, I’ll never go back to fake Maple Syrup. I’m spoiled for life. Damn the cost!
– IG
I just thought it was a secret signal to open a pit thread about the last poster or for the mods to close the thread or something. It just seems to pop up so randomly. (Say randomly enough and it doesn’t even sound like a word after a while!)
I personally prefer “fancy” as, although it hasa less intense taste, it is a more subtle and nuanced taste that I enjoy better. Bite a leaf of mint and an Altoids to see what I mean. No accounting for taste, though.
I saw both A and B grades at Trader Joe’s, and I want to try the “B” next time.
You might want to check out Quebec-based sources, since most of the world’s production comes from there. One link that popped up is the Maple Syrup Store, but I have no knowledge or experience with them or with ordering syrup online (since it’s CAD$12/L at my local grocery store).
What is the shelf life? Honey keeps practically “forever”, is maple syrple simlar in this regard?
Most emphatically, NO! Unlike honey, maple syrup still has a whole lot of water in it. In fact, it’s the perfect breeding ground for critters who swim in water and metabolize sugar - aka bacteria. In addition, its taste, color and odor are easily affected by it’s surroundings - like baking soda, maple syrup collects flavors.
It’s recommended that, even before opening, you store your maple syrup in the refrigerator or freezer (if it’s the good stuff, it won’t freeze). In a plastic jug, most syrup is only at its best for 3 - 6 months. Tin tins for up to a year, and glass (if kept in a dark place) for some undetermined amount of time, but probably up to two years.
Roses are red
Violets are purple
Sugar is sweet
And so is maple syrple.
When I was a kid, Log Cabin syrup (Syrup, syrup, syrup) came in a heavy glass bottle. One year they put a sticker on the bottle. I still remember some of the words. "Because of a mild winter in the North Country… " and started using corn syrup (syrup, syrup, syrup, you’re right it does look like a real word) in Log Cabin. I was about eight years old I guess.
I thought they would never go back to the real stuff. I was right. I have never bought Log Cabin. I pay extra for the real thing. I can’t tell the difference, but I don’t like being lied to.
We have no trouble buying class B maple syrup in farmer’s markets in Montreal. And it is more strongly flavored.
When I was growing up, Log Cabin contained 15% maple syrup. When I asked my father why only that, he said I would not like 100% since it was too strongly flavored. HA!!!
This thread is almost entirely about maple syrup from Vermont, New York, and Quebec. Is it made elsewhere? Do they make surp in Yurp?
Yurp? I don’t know where that is, but if they do make it there, it sucks ass-cock. The reason maple syrup from this region tastes really good and is considered the best is a combination of the weather, soil, trees, and other such factors. You could transplant a maple tree from Vermont or Quebec and put it in, say, England, and yeah, you can make maple syrup out of it, but it won’t taste the same.
Sugar maples are very senstive to climate. I don’t know if they can be transplanted to another region and still produce sap.
They have to have at least a certain percentage, otherwise, they have to call it what it really is: high-fructose corn syrup. There’s just enough maple to allow them to sell it as maple-flavored pancake or table syrup.
Northerns usually buy Grade B. Grade A and Fancy is for the flatlanders who are willing to pay more for less flavor. If you know someone who makes syrup definately go around during sugaring and help out. The smell is to die for, and I highly recommend making tea from the partially boiled sap. Yum!
All commercial operations use the tubing and collector method, so no need to worry about locals peeing in the buckets.
I resent that comment :mad: 
I can only add that New England maple syrup (VT, NY, and others in the region) does have a unique place, much like SF sourdough or Philly cheesesteaks.
I know that a lot of commercial operations use a system of tubing and centralized collecting. Usually running in to a sugar house, where they reduce the sap to syrup, and store the results in glorious 5 gallon tins. I discovered this 25 years ago in Boy Scouts and was oh so happy that day.
Little Nemo, I’m able to look at Lake Champlain from the other side of the house… Sounds like your family lives close.
And I’ve never been able to realy tell the difference between NY and VT syrup… I know people who make it (there’s a few small producers slightly south of here) and they know all about the differences… but if its from a tree it tastes generally the same to me.
Though the atmosphere of a pancake breakfast at a sugar shack sure adds to it.
OK, you convinced me. I will make pancakes this morning.