I like Maple syrup too. I eat pancakes once a month and there’s nothing better than maple on it. I prefer buying it in clear glass. It does mold and I like to know. I made the mistake of buying a opaque jug of syrup at Whole Foods. It molded and I didn’t notice until it got pretty bad. They claim it won’t hurt you. But, I rather get a fresh supply. I never refrigerate mine because I don’t like cold syrup on my pancakes.
My dad used to make it as a hobby. As kids, we all got to help out.
It was a lot of work. My memories are all of hauling big buckets around and tending fires for hours and hours.
I’m happy to buy the stuff from the store - but I’ll only eat the real stuff.
I’m eating steel-cut oats and real maple syrup now.
We have a $12 pint of Grade B Vermont syrup for my wife and I, while we make the kids use the fake Log Cabin stuff 
I also made some maple syrup cookies last year that were fantastic. Need to do that again.
Speaking of oatmeal, did you know that the large, economy-sized package that you get from Costco will last you approximately 17 years? It’s true. It’s like the miracle of loaves and fishes: the more you use, the more there is.
I’ll have to look for it. I get my oats from a bin at the supermarket. (Quick oats for commuting days, steel-cut for weekends and/or telecommuting days.) I like McCann’s the best, but the steel-cut oats from the bin are pretty good and less expensive.
I have another 740 ml bottle of Trader Joe’s maple syrup – from the 2007 harvest. If I keep using maple syrup in my oatmeal, I can start on it by the end of the week.
This used to be the best deal in the whole warehouse, 64 oz for about $16. Now, the same money will get you a very small jug that is a tragic shadow of its former size. Certainly not enough to leave in your estate.
The big question is: what kind of syrup should you put on chocolate chip pancakes? Maple syrup doesn’t really go with it, boysenberry or blueberry syrup don’t work with it either, and the thought of chocolate syrup on it in the morning is just gross. I’m thinking maybe strawberry or raspberry syrup…?
Butter and peanut butter.
Here in eastern Canada maple syrup is a big thing too. I know many people who make their own. Aside from baked beans and pancakes it also goes very nicely in barbecue sauce, especially for grilling chicken. I’ve made coffee with it as well at Christmas time. I could go on but I’m making myself hungry just thinking about it all.
Maple sugar candy, the 100% maple kind, is organic crack. It tastes so incredibly good while dissolving on your tongue, but once you’ve swallowed it, there’s an odd, lingering aftertaste, slightly unpleasant, which nothing but another piece of maple sugar candy will dispel.
Therefore, do not buy, for yourself or as a gift, large packages of maple sugar candy. The small packages with five little dainty bonbons are dangerous enough, but a family-size pack could kill you. Do not even think about a bulk pack unless you intend to found a new drug cartel, you bastard.
I think I’m one of the few people who prefers the fake stuff on her pancakes. However, I make this maple nut scone recipe that calls for maple syrup, and you absolutely have to use real maple syrup for that one or you don’t get the same flavor at all.
I grew up with “table syrup”. Recently tried real maple syrup. It does taste weird. I went through a couple bottles, but in the end decided I like the “fake” stuff better.
But I do like those maple syrup candies.
Somebody mentioned weird weather in Canada that is reducing the maple syrup output. (I heard mention of it on NPR a couple of weeks ago as well.) That’s making the price go up.
I just called Trader Joe’s, and that $9, 740 ml (25 oz) bottle of syrup now costs $13.99. Still not too bad.
There are six Trader Joe’s in Ohio; in Cincinnati, Columbus, Dublin, Dayton, Westlake, and Beachwood.
I never had bottled store-bought syrup as a kid. When pancakes or waffles were on the breakfast menu, Mom would take four cups of white sugar, add two cups of water, and heat it on the stove until nearly boiling. Then she’d add one capful of McCormick brand maple flavoring. That was maple syrup in our house.
First time I had real maple syrup, I had the same reaction as Mallory. I thought it was too thin, and it also had a sort of kerosene taste to it. Maybe it’s an acquired taste. If so, I think I’ll stick to the artificial stuff. I’m already too spoiled for inexpensive coffee, and it won’t do to get too spoiled for inexpensive syrup too.
My stepmom’s family has a piece of property in Vermont, so my folks go every summer. Forget that A and B stuff - the jug I have in my kitchen is labeled C and came straight off our own chunk of the mountain. The hippie guy who lives down the hill has permission to tap some of our trees, and we get the good stuff as part of the payment.
I like it lots of ways, but my favorite right now is to slice up a granny smith apple and pour just a little syrup over it. Tart and sweet in just the right combination.
Yeah there’s a TJ near me (Beachwood) but honestly, I think I am going back to “syrup”. I think I actually prefer it. Don’t tell Dude 
Try it on bacon. It may convert you.
That candy is pure heaven. If you can get it really fresh, it doesn’t have the weird aftertaste. I grew up eating maple products. My extended family is from New England.
I buy the grade B Trader Joe’s 750 ml too. The A grade is too weak.
I swear, the first thing I thought of when I read this is “Won’t someone think of the children?!”
That, sir, is child abuse.
My BIL makes gallons of the stuff every spring. He has a 200 gallon tank that he mounts in his truck to make his sap pickups before and after work, and a dedicated sugar house for production. We are gifted a quart size bottle every spring, and usually purchase a second from him to supply our maple syrup needs for the upcoming year. Often we have to buy another bottle in late winter.
I also grew up on the fake stuff, and the first time we served a brunch with real maple syrup to my parents, my father asked “This maple syrup is really good! What’s in it?” I replied “Maples?” and we all had a great laugh. My wife’s family had always had real product, and thought the fake stuff was an abomination (I agree). My own family didn’t know any better, but does now.
“Maples?” is still good for a laugh at my wife’s family’s events to this day.