# Scandal! Fake Quebec Maple syrup found in shops **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975 "2026-04-02T17:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/21 "2026-04-03T01:22:14Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But i guess you can open it with a can opener, and put it away in the fridge until the next time you use it That would work. I might suggest covering the top with a plastic lid, such as you might use to cover a cat food can; or you could stretch some Saran over it, secured with a rubber band. I wouldn’t recommend the fridge, though, unless you’re prepared to take it out a few hours before you plan to use it. The cooler maple syrup gets, the thicker it becomes. It keeps just fine at room temperature. (I used to volunteer at an Ontario sugar bush every spring; we always kept it at room temperature, and never had a problem.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/22 "2026-04-03T01:30:30Z")
It used to grow mold when i was a kid. Then my dad would strain it and boil it and put it away again. But i always keep it in the fridge to prevent mold. Anyway, i like thick syrup, it sticks on my pancakes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/23 "2026-04-03T01:36:08Z")
I was discussing this offline with puzzlegal, and this is how I knew Canadian maple syrup sometimes came in cans- One Canadian friend insisted their maple syrup was the _only rea_l Maple stuff, that Vermont stuff was a pale imitation- eh?. 😀(this was part of a long series of fake arguments we have over America vs Canada, which was better). She did admit that sometimes theirs came in cans, but claims that was was safer to ship- of course. And Tim Hortons donuts were better than Dunkin, and so forth. All tongue in cheek, over half hour long Christmas calls. She mailed me a real Canada toque once as I 'won" and I had to mail her a Stormy Kromer hat (I think she got the better of that deal). She is some sort of cousin. Yes, I have friends and relatives in Canada. Her health has not been doing so well so we havent traded those barbs in a couple of years. Besides, now with this current administration, I would lose every argument. We all get older. Incidentally- only my Sask relatives use 'eh?" at the end of some sentences, and it really isnt very noticeable. I suppose other areas of Canada use it sometimes, but not Quebec. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/24 "2026-04-03T01:36:53Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Oh, i remember cans like that. Sort of rectangular. [Like this](https://branonmaple.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-Best-Price-on-Maple-Syrup-Featured.jpg). Been years since I last saw one. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/25 "2026-04-03T13:49:54Z")
Our Canadian maple syrup comes in a 1000 ml can with a lid. Once it’s unsealed, it stays in the fridge until finished, which takes about a year. No mold since we started keeping it in the fridge. [Maple syrup](https://madalbal-versand.ch/products/ahornsirup-1000ml-c-biologisch) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/26 "2026-04-03T13:59:04Z")
My Massachusetts (really! That’s where my friend’s relatives live) maple syrup came in gallon plastic jugs with a screw top. But i split it up into large glass jars (assorted sizes, what i had around) and boiled them as if i were canning stuff, although i wasn’t as careful as you should be if you are canning things that botulism can grow in. I have a pint jug of syrup in the fridge, and i refill it as needed. Sometimes i need to remove some sugar that’s crystalized out. The horror. I don’t think I’ve seen the gallon tins since i was a kid. I’ve never seen the 18 oz round tins without a screw top that are featured in this news story. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/27 "2026-04-03T17:00:30Z")
Montreal grocery stores routinely have the 540 ml cans for $5 or $6. These would be the large chains - each of which might have the sale for a week or so (regular is $10-$12). Note that if you leave the can “motionless” for a couple of months - opened or not - it will begin to crystallize at the bottom. You can scrape the crystals out, and they make a nice (if not small) maple snack. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/28 "2026-04-03T17:18:10Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Considering Canada’s flag is nothing but a giant maple leaf, this has got to be the Scandal Of The Century for them. Ahem … see those two giant bars on either side of the maple leaf? Those represent the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, which, in the view of many, are not “nothing”! 😉 > [@Spiderman](#): > > The CEO of Air Canada making an announcement _only in English_ after the crash at LGA cost him his job Maybe. There was certainly a big kerfuffle about it. But he’s still prez and will be staying on until his retirement this fall at the age of 68, which Air Canada says has been the subject of succession planning for two years. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/29 "2026-04-03T17:22:08Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@Spiderman](#): > > > > The CEO of Air Canada making an announcement _only in English_ after the crash at LGA cost him his job > > Maybe. There was certainly a big kerfuffle about it. But he’s still prez and will be staying on until his retirement this fall at the age of 68, which Air Canada says has been the subject of succession planning for two years. I haven’t followed all of the details super closely but I did read that his departure date was moved up because of this ‘blunder’ ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/30 "2026-04-03T17:50:13Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Ahem … see those two giant bars on either side of the maple leaf? Those represent the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, which, in the view of many, are not “nothing”! 😉 Ah, I was not aware of the symbolic significance of the vertical bars. Thanks, ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/31 "2026-04-03T20:16:14Z")
One of the original flag designs had blue bars at the left and right. I think that would do more to represent the oceans. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/32 "2026-04-03T21:46:10Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > One of the original flag designs had blue bars at the left and right. I think that would do more to represent the oceans.   Yes, and that flag had a stem of three maple leaves instead of just one. But some designers deemed that the red, white, and blue were unharmonious and a colour clash. So the flag was simplified and reduced to just red on white. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/33 "2026-04-03T22:50:31Z")
One of my colleagues told me he would have chosen green maple leaf with blue oceans. I think that would be a beautiful flag. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/34 "2026-04-03T23:39:20Z")
That does sound like a beautiful flag. Do you know how it came to be red? Canada does have one of the world’s best flags. It’s simple, it’s visually clear, it doesn’t look like any other down, and it’s attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/35 "2026-04-03T23:50:10Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > see those two giant bars on either side of the maple leaf? Those represent the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, which, in the view of many, are not “nothing”! 😉 Today I learned ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2026, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/36 "2026-04-04T01:35:47Z")
I didn’t move to Canada (Cabbage—is that what your spell checker did?) until 1968; the flag was created for Centennial Day, July 1, 1967, so I have no idea of the background. Your eye injury sounds dreadful; I hope it heals quickly. Best wishes, Hari ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/37 "2026-04-04T02:34:31Z")
Yes, somehow “Canada” turned into “cabbage”, but I’ve fixed it. Thanks! The eye injury is still painful, but everyone assures me it will heal up fine in a few days. It’s on the cornea, but the part over the iris, not the part that is usually over the pupil. I’m not too worried. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/38 "2026-04-04T02:36:20Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > That does sound like a beautiful flag. Do you know how it came to be red? > > Canada does have one of the world’s best flags. It’s simple, it’s visually clear, it doesn’t look like any other down, and it’s attractive. The following article discusses some of the history of the original Canadian flag and the new one adopted in 1965, along with a couple of the competing proposals. The modern flag owes much to George Stanley, Dean of Arts at the Royal Military College (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario, whose submission was inspired by the elegant design of the RMC’s own flag. As to why red, red has long been Canada’s national colour, perhaps because of the Red Ensign, the basis of the original flag, which goes back to the late 1800s. That in turn may be linked to the symbolism of the maple leaf itself, and its beautiful fall colours. > **[The history of the National Flag of Canada - Canada.ca](https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-history.html)** > > Retrace the events that lead to the creation of the National Flag of Canada and see how it evolved to how it is known today – red and white, with a single 11-point maple leaf. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2026, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/39 "2026-04-04T10:42:07Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Ah, I was not aware of the symbolic significance of the vertical bars. Thanks, ignorance fought! Nor was I. You’d think if the bars represented oceans they’d be blue or maybe green. Crazy Canucks. ETA: I need to read further down before posting. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2026, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975/40 "2026-04-04T14:06:01Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > . But some designers deemed that the red, white, and blue were unharmonious and a colour clash Just like with the US, GB, Australia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czechia, Dominican Republic, France, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, & Thailand flags. Got it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scandal-fake-quebec-maple-syrup-found-in-shops/1028975.md?page=3)