[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Maple syrup fail? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 7/22/2017 10:21:26 AM EDT
I had been using good ole Mrs. Butter-worths for decades and decided it's time to step up to real maple syrup. I've been told hundreds of times how much better it is and never really doubted that, but for SEVEN times more money, I had been hesitant. Well, I bought a small jug from a local farm and decided to do a side by side taste test. I'm hoping that the syrup i got is not typical because, frankly, it's horrible. 
Colorwise, it looks about the same. It has a deep caramel color nearly identical to the cheap junk. BUT, the viscosity is far too thin. It is nearly water. Smell-wise, they're pretty different. The real stuff has hints of maple, but also has a sickeningly sugary-sweet overtone, whereas the Buttersworth has a blend of maple, caramel, and butter. Then the tasting. The real stuff tastes like straight sugar water. No Maple flavor (how the fuck is THAT possible?!?), no rich caramel-like notes, just straight sugar. I mean I'm pretty sure I could literall boil down some sugar water on my stovetop and get the same end product. Seriously disappointed. What gives? Is this normal or did I get ripped off by a shitty syrup maker? |
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Was it Spring syrup or Fall?
What grade was it? These differences will make it taste different. Real syrup is less viscous than the corn syrup stuff you're used to. Also the flavorings added to the fake stuff don't make it taste real, just different. I put butter on my pancakes for buttery taste, I don't need it in my syrup. |
| You got ripped. I'll never buy imitation syrup again. Try this guy Bruce. |
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Was it Spring syrup or Fall? What grade was it? These differences will make it taste different. Real syrup is less viscous than the corn syrup stuff you're used to. Also the flavorings added to the fake stuff don't make it taste real, just different. I put butter on my pancakes for buttery taste, I don't need it in my syrup. My guess is that they just suck at making syrup. In case anybody in Michigan wants to know, it was from Sleeping Bear Farms in Buelah. |
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I don't know what you bought. But the real stuff tastes much different from the fake stuff.
I was raised using the real stuff right out of the sugar house. Wife was raised on the fake shit. She can't stand the real stuff. So, it depends on what you are used to and expect when you put it on your pancakes. |
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This contributes to the shenanigans, apparently. No grade, no spring/fall distinction. Just says "100% pure Michigan Maple Syrup". My guess is that they just suck at making syrup. In case anybody in Michigan wants to know, it was from Sleeping Bear Farms in Buelah. |
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I had been using good ole Mrs. Butter-worths for decades and decided it's time to step up to real maple syrup. I've been told hundreds of times how much better it is and never really doubted that, but for SEVEN times more money, I had been hesitant. Well, I bought a small jug from a local farm and decided to do a side by side taste test. I'm hoping that the syrup i got is not typical because, frankly, it's horrible.
Colorwise, it looks about the same. It has a deep caramel color nearly identical to the cheap junk. BUT, the viscosity is far too thin. It is nearly water. Smell-wise, they're pretty different. The real stuff has hints of maple, but also has a sickeningly sugary-sweet overtone, whereas the Buttersworth has a blend of maple, caramel, and butter. Then the tasting. The real stuff tastes like straight sugar water. No Maple flavor (how the fuck is THAT possible?!?), no rich caramel-like notes, just straight sugar. I mean I'm pretty sure I could literall boil down some sugar water on my stovetop and get the same end product. Seriously disappointed. What gives? Is this normal or did I get ripped off by a shitty syrup maker? Maple syrup isn't supposed to have any caramel-like notes. None. i wouldn't know if you got ripped off because the only other syrup you've had was Mrs. Butterworths. |
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I heard there was fake syrup out there.
I always get Grade B right from the shack, it's darker and thicker. It's harder to find probably because everyone thinks they want Grade A. B is just boiled a little longer. I can't believe I ever thought that mucus they sell as syrup at the grocery store was OK. |
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Or New York, or Ontario/Quebec Canada. Quoted:
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That's your problem. It's probably actually pine syrup. You need maple syrup from New Hampshire, or in a pinch, from Vermont. There's a town 10 minutes south of me whose whole civic identity revolves around Maple syrup. They even have a Maple syrup festival and all that jazz. I'll swing in and grab one of theirs and add it to the test. |
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Barring weather variations that would affect sap production and quality, a Maple tree is a Maple tree, no? There's a town 10 minutes south of me whose whole civic identity revolves around Maple syrup. They even have a Maple syrup festival and all that jazz. I'll swing in and grab one of theirs and add it to the test. |
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And when making the conversion over to Real, you don't need as much. Don't drown your pancakes in the stuff. |
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I don't, which is how i noticed the viscosity. I pour some into a ramekin and dip into it. While I've always thought the cheap shit was TOO thick (and sticky), this stuff is literally SO watery that the second I removed the French Toast it all drained off leaving only a very thin film. Again, barely thicker than water and almost no flavor other than sugar. Like a simple syrup with brown food coloring added. Hope you'll try again. It's worth it. Side note, I recently had an Old Fashioned that was made with smoked maple syrup instead of simple sugar. That was a whole 'nuther level of "whoa". I've seen bourbon barrel aged maple syrup too. Might have to try that. |
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Barring weather variations that would affect sap production and quality, a Maple tree is a Maple tree, no? There's a town 10 minutes south of me whose whole civic identity revolves around Maple syrup. They even have a Maple syrup festival and all that jazz. I'll swing in and grab one of theirs and add it to the test. People also have different tastes. Personally, I like the lower grade syrups much more than the higher grade. |
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I heard there was fake syrup out there. I always get Grade B right from the shack, it's darker and thicker. It's harder to find probably because everyone thinks they want Grade A. B is just boiled a little longer. I can't believe I ever thought that mucus they sell as syrup at the grocery store was OK. Now it's all A....however, you want to look for the 'Grade A Dark with Robust Taste'....that used to be called Grade B.... 
(I was looking for Grade B when I was making Maple Sriracha bacon, and realized the change). |
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They changed the designations....no more A and B.... Now it's all A....however, you want to look for the 'Grade A Dark with Robust Taste'....that used to be called Grade B.... http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/shared/npr/201402/268861546.jpg (I was looking for Grade B when I was making Maple Sriracha bacon, and realized the change). |
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That's your problem. It's probably actually pine syrup. You need maple syrup from New Hampshire, or in a pinch, from Vermont. Quoted:
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This contributes to the shenanigans, apparently. No grade, no spring/fall distinction. Just says "100% pure Michigan Maple Syrup". My guess is that they just suck at making syrup. In case anybody in Michigan wants to know, it was from Sleeping Bear Farms in Buelah. |
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Are you saying Maple Syrup from New Hampshire is better than Syrup from Vermont? How so please. Quoted:
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That's your problem. It's probably actually pine syrup. You need maple syrup from New Hampshire, or in a pinch, from Vermont. Most of the world would do well to follow the rule of "speak less, listen more" on any given topic. |
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Relax, it's a law on the internet that 90% of posts attempting to sound authoritative on a topic must actually be rooted in abject ignorance. Most of the world would do well to follow the rule of "speak less, listen more" on any given topic. Quoted:
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That's your problem. It's probably actually pine syrup. You need maple syrup from New Hampshire, or in a pinch, from Vermont. Most of the world would do well to follow the rule of "speak less, listen more" on any given topic. 
How do you have time to post with all the parties you get invited to? Oh, right. |
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First understand we all like different things. Â Maybe you don't like MAPLE syrup. Â Second Mrs. Butterworths, LOL. Â Yea I eat it sometimes, no it isn't bad but seriously.
Now this, this is quality. Â Maple syrup is gonna be THINNER than corn syrup, just how it is.  
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First understand we all like different things. Â Maybe you don't like MAPLE syrup. Â Second Mrs. Butterworths, LOL. Â Yea I eat it sometimes, no it isn't bad but seriously. Now this, this is quality. Â Maple syrup is gonna be THINNER than corn syrup, just how it is. www.amazon.com/dp/B006RK7LR2 |
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First understand we all like different things. Â Maybe you don't like MAPLE syrup. Â Second Mrs. Butterworths, LOL. Â Yea I eat it sometimes, no it isn't bad but seriously. Now this, this is quality. Â Maple syrup is gonna be THINNER than corn syrup, just how it is. www.amazon.com/dp/B006RK7LR2 
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That isn't necessarily true. The consistency of syrup is the result of its boil temp at altitude, essentially. I boil to 221. That makes it a little thicker. Quoted:
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First understand we all like different things. Â Maybe you don't like MAPLE syrup. Â Second Mrs. Butterworths, LOL. Â Yea I eat it sometimes, no it isn't bad but seriously. Now this, this is quality. Â Maple syrup is gonna be THINNER than corn syrup, just how it is. www.amazon.com/dp/B006RK7LR2 ***I DONT BELIEVE YOU |
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This contributes to the shenanigans, apparently. No grade, no spring/fall distinction. Just says "100% pure Michigan Maple Syrup". My guess is that they just suck at making syrup. In case anybody in Michigan wants to know, it was from Sleeping Bear Farms in Buelah. Quoted:
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Was it Spring syrup or Fall? What grade was it? These differences will make it taste different. Real syrup is less viscous than the corn syrup stuff you're used to. Also the flavorings added to the fake stuff don't make it taste real, just different. I put butter on my pancakes for buttery taste, I don't need it in my syrup. My guess is that they just suck at making syrup. In case anybody in Michigan wants to know, it was from Sleeping Bear Farms in Buelah. |
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http://www.twopigsfarm.com/
My wife and I buy this almost every year. Two Pigs Farm is owned by Chris Kimball, the Cook's Illustrated magazine owner. |
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For "fake" syrup I really like Vermont Maid. It's not as sweet/thick/fake tasting as Log Cabin or Mrs. Butterass.
For the real stuff I used to buy some shit made in Canada. I forgot the name, it came in a glass bottle. Back in the day when I used to deer hunt on private land in Schoharie County, N.Y. there was a land owner nearby who used to have a working sap house. That was some good shit. |
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Barring weather variations that would affect sap production and quality, a Maple tree is a Maple tree, no? There's a town 10 minutes south of me whose whole civic identity revolves around Maple syrup. They even have a Maple syrup festival and all that jazz. I'll swing in and grab one of theirs and add it to the test. Quoted:
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That's your problem. It's probably actually pine syrup. You need maple syrup from New Hampshire, or in a pinch, from Vermont. There's a town 10 minutes south of me whose whole civic identity revolves around Maple syrup. They even have a Maple syrup festival and all that jazz. I'll swing in and grab one of theirs and add it to the test. How long the sap is cooked down can apparently influence flavor intensity and color. The temperature you take it too will influence how thick it is. Usually you go about 7F above water boiling temp for your altitude. The sap near the end of the season gets darker, and thats where the old grade B designation came from. And no doubt the cleanliness of equipment will influence the quality too. The first batch I ever made I cooked it down longer than the 7F and it was thicker than what I do now, and it started to crystallize in the jar over a week or two. But man was it good. And I was hooked on this new hobby. A few years before I was thinking about cutting down all the maple trees on my property, to let the oaks and cherries grow, since few of our maples are hard maple, mostly soft maple varieties. I know there are a few guys here who have some serious equipment and sugar houses. My dad and I so far just cook down what we collect on outdoor propane burners. I tapped about 70 trees last season, and I think we made about 8.5 gallons. |
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The wife's grandmother sends everyone a gallon jug of real maple syrup every year, it's from a good family friends farm here in Ohio and it is amazing stuff.
When the kid was younger we went out to see her and all drove over and watched it being made. They make lots of what use to be called Grade B as that's what most of the family preferred and I would always ask for a smaller container of Grade A. Grew up on Michigan made syrup and our Canadian relatives would bring us some from their friends sugar shacks. If done right it's amazing, if done half assed or overcooked it is nasty. Spend the money OP and get some small bottles of Pure from a few different places and see what you like the best, try different grades as well. It will taste nothing like the fake stuff and once you try good stuff you will be hooked and think of things to use it in/on 
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Love maple syrup. Do bottlers mix different grades? Could regular store maple come from many sources. A commodity so to say. Can one get syrup from one source. Does it matter? I haven't noticed a huge difference between farms. |
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I grew up eating pancakes with the very infrequent bottle of Log Cabin syrup in the house. More often than not, we got brown sugar & water heated up on the stove in a sauce pan...which we thought was great because it was hot.
These days (and for the last 40 years) it's nothing but real, dark, maple syrup in my house. Oh, and for the guy, above, who'll only eat Cracker Barrel syrup...if you haven't read the label, it's "Natural Syrup" made from 55% maple syrup and 45% cane syrup. The More You Know... |
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Mystery solved. Quoted:
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Was it Spring syrup or Fall? What grade was it? These differences will make it taste different. Real syrup is less viscous than the corn syrup stuff you're used to. Also the flavorings added to the fake stuff don't make it taste real, just different. I put butter on my pancakes for buttery taste, I don't need it in my syrup. My guess is that they just suck at making syrup. In case anybody in Michigan wants to know, it was from Sleeping Bear Farms in Buelah. You have no idea what you are talking about. Almost like the guy saying he was tasting pine syrup. |