# Why is maple flavor by far the most popular flavor for breakfast syrups in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924 "2018-06-11T23:01:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/81 "2018-06-14T16:09:59Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > [Here’s a cool article on the history of Log Cabin syrup](http://maplesyruphistory.com/category/log-cabin/). I dunno if it answers the question, but it suggests a factor: marketing. There is truly a web page for every topic known to mankind ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/82 "2018-06-15T01:34:59Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > This simply isn’t true - the sugar content depends almost entirely on how it is processed. > > The actual sugar content of the sap is highly variable, no matter where the tree is grown. However, it is always processed to make syrup (traditionally by boiling a long, long time) to get it down a consistent sugar content. It can never be “watery” unless it is deliberately made that way. > > What can change is the other contents, which create the color and flavor, hence the grades of syrup, from light to dark. Yes. If you push the season, it tastes more like tree sap. ---
**Author:** ![TheMightyFro](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themightyfro/32/20081_2.png) [@TheMightyFro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMightyFro)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/83 "2018-06-18T12:43:05Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > Across the US, maple syrup pretty much comes as a standard side with any order of pancakes, waffles, or French toast. Other toppings may be available but aren’t nearly as popular, particularly when you’re talking about syrups in particular. > > What made maple so overwhelmingly favored? Why not birch, or “golden,” or molasses-cinnamon, or some variety of fruit? I’m not only talking about genuine maple syrup, of course —most “pancake syrup” is not made from real maple, but is nevertheless flavored like it. Go to Vermont, find a sugar operation, and ask for the AA grade, or “Vermont Fancy”. It looks like ginger ale, tastes like vanilla, and usually isn’t sold in commercial quantity. My uncle’s operation keeps it all for the families who work there. Usually made from the first batch of the season, in my experience it’s rather rare. Taste it and you will achieve enlightenment! ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/84 "2018-06-18T18:43:48Z")
One factor I haven’t seen mentioned: Real maple flavor is delicious, and one almost never gets any other opportunity to eat some. In fact, I can’t think of any other widely available restaurant food that includes it. There is a fake approximation in McDonald’s McGriddles, but it is decidedly NOT delicious. When I make blueberry pie, there is always extra syrup left over. No one in the house uses any other kind of syrup until it’s gone, and the rate of pancake making around here quintuples when there is any in the house. It also gets poured on vanilla ice cream and goodness knows what all. But that’s not the blueberry syrup you would get in a restaurant. The stuff there is kool-aid purple and tastes like a Jolly Rancher. Real maple syrup is delicious, shelf-stable, and the best-tasting product in its price/use category. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/85 "2018-06-18T18:56:19Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > You are both incorrect. 😃 > > All maple syrup is “refined” nearly the same amount: maple sap has around 2% sugar in it; it is concentrated until it has around 66-68% sugar. This is true of all grades. > > The grading system “grades” the color and flavoring of the resultant product: Grade A is lightest in color and has the most delicate flavor. > > [https://fpaq.ca/en/federation/quality/grading-system/](https://fpaq.ca/en/federation/quality/grading-system/) 90% correct. The earliest sap comes out before the tree has “woken up” for the season. It is the lightest, and has the “cleanest” flavors. This sap is rare and unpopular on the market. As someone said above, it is wonderful if you have access to some. As the season continues the sap runs faster and is pulled up from the deeper roots, so there are more minerals and such in it. (more [“terroir”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terroir)) These are the darker “lower” grades of syrup. People who say they don’t like maple syrup because it has a “metallic” flavor were introduced to late-season syrup. But there is another way syrup gets darker, and that’s with heat. I prefer all of the stages of sap when they have been caramelized into a darker colored syrup. The best processors do this over a longer time over a low heat, producing a syrup that is also thicker. It can be faked by cooking over a higher heat, and this results in a flavor closer to black treacle. IMO doing it this way masks the maple, and you might as well have started with cheaper corn syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/86 "2018-06-18T19:31:30Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Real maple syrup is delicious, shelf-stable, and the best-tasting product in its price/use category. Maple syrup should be refrigerated after opening, as it can grow mold which affects the flavor. > **[Real Maple Syrup | New Hampshire Maple Syrup | Best Pancake Syrup - Ben's...](https://bensmaplesyrup.com/pages/maple-syrup-questions-answers)** > > Get all of your questions answered here, with our real maple syrup Q&A! Find out what, when, and how we make the best New Hampshire maple syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/87 "2018-06-18T19:45:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Maple syrup should be refrigerated after opening, as it can grow mold which affects the flavor. Exactly what I was thinking. I’d read that, and my bottle said that. It’s the most irritating thing for me because I like maple syrup, but don’t want cold syrup on my warm pancakes. Thought about warming it, but never now how much I’ll use at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/88 "2018-06-18T20:28:21Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Maybe she’s born with it. ::Golf clap:: ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/89 "2018-06-19T14:47:57Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > 90% correct. > > The earliest sap comes out before the tree has “woken up” for the season. It is the lightest, and has the “cleanest” flavors. This sap is rare and unpopular on the market. As someone said above, it is wonderful if you have access to some. > > As the season continues the sap runs faster and is pulled up from the deeper roots, so there are more minerals and such in it. (more [“terroir”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terroir)) These are the darker “lower” grades of syrup. People who say they don’t like maple syrup because it has a “metallic” flavor were introduced to late-season syrup. > > But there is another way syrup gets darker, and that’s with heat. I prefer all of the stages of sap when they have been caramelized into a darker colored syrup. The best processors do this over a longer time over a low heat, producing a syrup that is also thicker. It can be faked by cooking over a higher heat, and this results in a flavor closer to black treacle. IMO doing it this way masks the maple, and you might as well have started with cheaper corn syrup. Different sap runs definitely affect the flavor, but this isn’t due to it later being ‘more refined’. You can of course refine syrup more, by boiling it further, but this creates different products … not “syrup” as we know it, but caramelized maple syrup, maple candy and sugar. These are certainly delicious, but they are not what is normally referred to as “maple syrup”. The best is maple candy poured directly on snow outside a sugar shack to cool it! 🆒 “Syrup” always has around the same amount of sugar in it - around 66-68% - a product of how long it is boiled (or of osmosis if this method is used). The differences in flavor come from different trace flavors that vary with the sap run, location of the tree, etc. But dark or light, they are all processed nearly the same amount, to create the correct “syrup” concentration of sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/90 "2018-06-19T15:00:27Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What you say here is what I thought I remembered from my childhood, but nowadays, whenever I pay attention, any “standard” syrup I see doesn’t claim to be maple syrup, or even to be “maple flavored” or “imitation maple” or anything like that. It’s just called “syrup” or “pancake syrup” or something generic like that. That’s an affect of the maple lobby and the Food and Drug Act. I recall the table syrups all being marketed as maple flavored in my youth. > [@](#): > > Did actual maple (or at least maple-flavored) syrup use to be more common than it is nowadays? Or did people use the word “maple” to describe syrup that wasn’t actually maple at all? Or am I just misremembering? The fake stuff uses flavoring to attempt to approximate the flavor of maple, as opposed to blueberry (or other berry flavors), or honey, or just straight corn syrup (which is disappointing - I tried Karo once when we were out of the regular). > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Real Maple Syrup tastes to me like someone mixed some gasoline in with corn syrup. Mm, yum. Not my experience. > [@](#): > > I also don’t like alcohol because, again, it tastes like gasoline (this time minus the sugar). This I agree with. > [@](#): > > So my guess for why people like maple syrup? Because most people like alcohol and it reminds them of that. Nope. Maple is a tasty flavor. > [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Hi **Interrobang!?**. Here in the SDMB we will rehash old discussions a hundred times before pondering an unfamiliar question. Hell, we can’t even see some questions if they use certain key familiar words. > [@digs](#): > > Mmm… just quoting that to remind us of the point of this thread. Real maple is tasty. Quoting for juxtaposition. > [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > This article from _The Atlantic_ doesn’t quite explain why maple syrup is associated with pancakes, but it does go quite a bit into the history of maple syrup and maple sugar. An interesting side note is that at one point maple sugar was being touted as a slavery-free alternative to cane sugar. > > [Making the Grade: Why the Cheapest Maple Syrup Tastes Best - The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/11/making-the-grade-why-the-cheapest-maple-syrup-tastes-best/239133/) Good article. > [@glowacks](#): > > I think the point that was being made is that the flavor of the Kola nut is not what we’re tasting in cola-flavored soft drinks, but a mixture of various other flavors specifically designed to taste good sweetened. The drinks that we call cola now started out as being flavored partially with Kola nut, and that’s why they’ve had caffeine in them even after the Kola nut flavor was de-emphasized, but it’s unlikely that they contain much, if any, Kola nut, and it’s certainly not the flavor of the nut that you’re thinking of when you think of cola drinks. The article you linked even states that Coca-Cola does not have any Kola nut anymore. Interesting, learned something new. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I simply don’t understand the comments that real maple syrup is watery. I’ve never had that experience. The imitation syrups are far more watery than the real thing ever is. I don’t know your experience, but mine is from store bought real maple, and it is runnier than table syrup. I even have a [cite](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup?wprov=sfla1#Imitations): > [@](#): > > “Maple-flavoured” syrups include maple syrup, but may contain additional ingredients.[79] “Pancake syrup”, “waffle syrup”, “table syrup”, and similarly named syrups are substitutes which are less expensive than maple syrup. In these syrups, the primary ingredient is most often high-fructose corn syrup flavoured with sotolon; they have little genuine maple content, and are usually thickened above the viscosity of maple syrup.[80] Underline added. > [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Maybe she’s born with it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/91 "2018-06-26T19:23:23Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > The old rating system was A, B, C, with A being the most refined and sought after. But A is refined so much because they were trying to remove the maple flavor and make it more like cane sugar. Get B or even C if you want more flavor. Actually, now B and C are both grade A with descriptive words; A/B/C was easier. I’ve been using real syrup for years, ever since I found out most of them are just flavored corn syrup (no offense to corn syrup, i’d just rater have the real thing if possible), but I’ve never been able to fine it other than A style. Where do you even get the others? I really would like to try B (and C too now that I’ve heard of it’s existence, right here). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/92 "2018-06-26T19:25:48Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > Exactly what I was thinking. I’d read that, and my bottle said that. It’s the most irritating thing for me because I like maple syrup, but don’t want cold syrup on my warm pancakes. Thought about warming it, but never now how much I’ll use at a time. Pour it over your pancakes or waffles or whatever, then microwave the whole plate… ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/93 "2018-06-26T19:43:29Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > Exactly what I was thinking. I’d read that, and my bottle said that. It’s the most irritating thing for me because I like maple syrup, but don’t want cold syrup on my warm pancakes. Thought about warming it, but never now how much I’ll use at a time. I don’t see the problem. I warm it in a little metal creamer and either pour what is left back in the jug or slip a baggie over the pitcher & refirgerate. No mold problems when yet. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/94 "2018-06-26T20:41:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Pour it over your pancakes or waffles or whatever, then microwave the whole plate… I thought that might make the pancakes soggy. I like to keep the…not crispness, but lack of moisture on the browned outside as long as I can. I usually dip each bite in the syrup instead of covering pancakes, for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924/95 "2018-06-28T00:01:51Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > I thought that might make the pancakes soggy. I like to keep the…not crispness, but lack of moisture on the browned outside as long as I can. I usually dip each bite in the syrup instead of covering pancakes, for that reason. Ah… it’d probably work better with waffles (especially if they’re eggos or such instead of homemade) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-maple-flavor-by-far-the-most-popular-flavor-for-breakfast-syrups-in-the-us/815924.md?page=4)