I made pancakes for breakfast yesterday. (I used Bisquick because I was lazy. I used to use Trader Joe’s, but lately I’ve just been making the batter from scratch. FWIW, the SO likes the scratch-made best. ) The default syrup is Trader Joe’s Grade B 100% Pure Maple Syrup. Gotta have real maple syrup, and it’s gotta be Grade B!
But yesterday was different. We both had a hankering for The Taste of Childhood. Couldn’t get Knott’s Berry Farm boysenberry syrup, so we had Smucker’s. It was a nice change.
Dad always liked Karo Light Corn Syrup and peanut butter on his pancakes. I liked it too, but I can never resist the draw of the Grade B maple syrup – even though I have Karo in the cupboard (for when I make pecan pie) and Skippy on the shelf.
So I guess here’s the part where you tell everyone what kind of syrup you like on your pancakes.
What’s a ‘small bottle’? The TJ’s I get is just under $14 for 740 ml. The SO has a sweet tooth, so we can use 6 oz. between the two of us. That’s four breakfasts per bottle. Since I heat the syrup, I generally go for 5.3 ounces. Sometimes she gets more, but usually I let her get her syrup first and I use the rest.
100% pure maple, from either Canada or Vermont. Medium dark, whatever grade that is.
I’d love to have boysenberry again, if I could find it. I tried ordering it from California once, but it didn’t work for some reason.
Jam is good too, especially strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry.
I can see where peanut butter would be good too.
One time when I had no maple syrup, I tried heating honey and poured it over pancakes for my daughter. Darned if it wasn’t a good facsimile of maple syrup!
I like combining hot syrup with butter and just pouring that over a stack. Yum! :o
When I was a small child the family default was Mrs. Butterworth’s colored, flavored corn syrup. I always insisted on honey, though, and to this day that’s what I prefer on pancakes and waffles.
Since then my dad has moved on to real maple syrup. I’m not sure he’s sufficiently into it to notice the grades. Just whatever Meijer has on the shelf that’s reasonably priced.
My husband is the first person I’ve ever met who likes to use Karo. My mother never even had Karo in the house. I didn’t hear of it until we used it to make candy in junior high home ec. Never had a bottle in my own pantry, until he moved in and wanted it.
To me, Karo has a… well… a corny flavor to it. I dislike it.
I’m a huge Mrs. Butterworth’s fan. Call me a barbarian, but there you have it.
And no, you didn’t ask, but I’ll tell you anyway: I have this fantasy that the Mrs. Butterworth’s bottle and the bottle of Frangelico like to get it on in the night when the humans are all asleep…
Grew up on Mrs. Butterworth’s. These days I like real maple syrup, grade B over grade A (the grading system is about to change, by the way), but I have recently become addicted to ginger syrup and am going to try that.
No Karo ever - my father had bad memories of it from his childhood in an orphanage.
It has to be Grade B because it tastes better. I never considered processing and purity. (I’ve always assumed it was just cooked down more, and more concentrated.)
My mom used to make pancake syrup from Karo, cinnamon, butter and a couple of other sweet spices. It was one of those things that was both tasty and less expensive than bottled syrup, a big concern when you’re feeding a houseful of people on a tight budget.
I don’t eat many pancakes or waffles these days, but tend towards savory when I do.
The grading system is explained very well (and in chart form!) in troubledwater’s link, but to answer your question, in the traditional system of maple syrup grading used in the US, Grade B refers to dark, strongly flavored maple syrup.
Grade A is lighter colored with a more delicate flavor and “Fancy” is even lighter still. But don’t get confused by the wording as the grades have absolutely nothing to do with quality or level of processing; which grade you should choose is totally dependent on your personal preference.
I live alone and seldom ever have pancakes. Making them pretty much means I either have to overeat or have pancakes two or three days in a row. Even if I wanted to freeze the leftovers I usually don’t have the freezer space to spare. When I do have them, I use either Canadian maple syrup or honey. They only sell this brand at the supermarket near me, but it’s nice.
We are in western PA. Two years ago a neighbor asked if he could tap our maple trees. He owns adjacent property and had many of his own trees tapped. We are still using the small bottle he gave us. It is awesome and we will be sad to see it gone. The neighbor might do it again, but he says it was a ton of work.
Good pancakes, and they’re not that hard to find, need nothing but gobs of butter. Probably horrible for your health (which is why I have them only a few times a year), but absolute heaven. Add a side of eggs and bacon and you can have your 77 virgins-- I’m good with the breakfast.
If the pancakes are poor quality, then I’ll add syrup, but unless it’s pure maple syrup it’s pretty much a lost cause.
I do default for syrup on waffles, though. But again-- pure maple only, please.
Sometimes we use our own concoction instead of syrup for a change of pace. Two parts sour cream mixed well with one part strawberry preserves, or some other kind of fruit preserve.
Now work with me here, sounds kinds ick, but poured over a pile of pancakes it is yum.
Not sure if this is a family invention or we got it from somewhere legit.
) The default syrup is Trader Joe’s Grade B 100% Pure Maple Syrup. Gotta have real maple syrup, and it’s gotta be Grade B!
