I stopped going to IHOP when they told me they don’t have ground cinnamon (to sprinkle on one’s food). They said it was because the batter used to make French toast already has cinnamon in it. I pointed out that their food was already salted, but every table was provided with salt shakers. Manager gave me that shoulder-shrug-with-sheepish-insincere-smile gesture and said nothing. Blast IHOP. I want more cinnamon than they put on/in their French toast and if they won’t let me have it, I’ll go some place where I can get it. Which is, apparently, nowhere. All the competing flapjack joints seem to think diners can’t be trusted with a loaded cinnamon shaker.
Oh, the maple syrup question? I prefer real maple syrup and stock it at home. I prefer it when dining out, but will accept substitutes. I am willing to pay an upcharge to get the real thing.
You look at the leaves. Birch has easy to see toothed leaves - the edges look like they’ve been cut with pinking sheers. Aspens’ leaf edges are generally wavy or so finely toothed you have to look really close to see it. Birch also tends to have elongated triangular leaves, while aspens are almost round or squat triangles, except for the point at the tip.
Some birches make it even easier by having peeling bark on their trunks, but not all species of birch peel.
As for the OP: I was raised with neither fake syrup nor maple syrup. Nothing but honey was allowed in our home until I was in middle school. I strongly prefer fake syrup to maple syrup now, both for taste and texture. I do love drinking unfiltered (well, I pick out the bugs and leaves), unconcentrated fresh from the tree maple sap*, although I’m not particularly a fan of maple candy, maple sugar, maple stirrers, etc. I married a guy who grew up next to a maple shack in Ohio. That was a mistake.
*Ever drink something colder than cold? The natural antifreeze (sugar) in maple sap means that it will flow below 32 and you can drink it right out of the bucket. That’ll wake ya up!
Had a pint of Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat beer last night. Not bad, but too sweet for more than a pint or two. Harpoon Brewery in Vermont uses their own maple syrup in brewing the beer, I was informed.
You had me worried for a minute, until I poked around and found a picture of sweet birch bark. This is the kind I’m used to seeing (I’m not sure if I’m used to seeing sweet birch, or a relative). And the trees are often hard for me to distinguish from similar-appearing trees.
The real test is to tear off a small twig and sniff it. Birch twigs smell powerfully of root beer.
The only time I tasted birch syrup, it didn’t taste tree-like at all, but had the offensive (to my taste) corn syrup taste to it. I read the label, and saw that it was only half birch syrup, and half corn syrup.
I often carry around with me a spice jar with a blend of ground cinnamon and cardamom. I use it to flavor coffee, if I’m in a diner with foul-tasting coffee. Or even in a good coffee place, for a treat. Can’t use coffee shop “coffee spice” blends, because they often contain nutmeg, and I’m allergic to it.
Aunt Jemima please. The three or four “real maple” syrups I’ve tried have been major disappointments. It’s possible that each was a substandard product.
I don’t really like pancakes, so it’s very rare that I eat them. When I do, I’m fine either way. As far as I know, we don’t have either in the house. I grew up with the cheap stuff, but I prefer real maple syrup.
If I could find a reasonable way to carry around real butter I would do it. Salt as well. I’ve tried carrying the little salt packets in my purse but they eventually disintegrate.
But you all gave me such a memory bubble of my Grandmother and her friends carrying around their preferred sugar substitutes in fancy little boxes. The goal was to have matching cases for their cigarettes, glasses, and saccarine. And most of them had tea bags as well.
We had buttermilk pancakes just this morning: light and fluffy, crispy edges from the butter they fried in, made with baking spice and vanilla, topped with maple syrup. Nummies. We need a thread on pancake recipes.
What I want to know is, how do you fry them in butter without it browning too much? I never can get them to cook unless the heat is too high for the butter?!?
And most of them had tea bags as well.
