This just in from America's Test Kitchens

[hippywife]

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/tastetests/results.asp?docid=18253

Well, duh!

[Warpy]

1. Jesus, I can't believe people are asking this question

Even when I was stony broke, real maple syrup was my only food extravagance. A quart of one of the recommended syrups lasted me a whole 3 years, I used it very frugally. It would never occur to me to spend good money on one of those sugar syrups with artificial flavor. I gag on them.

What people often don't understand about maple syrup is that the consistency is downright watery. It won't sit on top of a stack the way Mrs. Butterworth's sugary stuff does, but the flavor difference is eye popping enough for most people who know what the good stuff is to eat one pancake at a time instead of a stack made soggy.

Grade A is a deep amber color and is usually from early in the season, when freeze and thaw cycles are nearly perfect. Grade B is very dark amber and looks almost black in the bottle and is from later in the cycle. I much prefer the more intense flavor of Grade B and get it when I can find it, usually in bulk at the health food stores. Grade C is the darkest of all and generally isn't available to the public. It's mostly used commercially.

Just be forewarned, once you get used to the real thing, you can never go back. You'll be spoiled for the rest of your life.

[hippywife]

3. I buy nothing else,

and haven't for a really long time.

[Paper Roses]

5. Grade B, the best. I am told that Chefs use B because the flavor is more intense.

The only place I can find B is Trader Joe's. It is a good drive to get there but it is worth a stop for the Grade B syrup, the frozen Chocolate Ganache cake, nuts of all varieties and the wonderful Pot Stickers.

I must make it a monthly stop or I'd be broke and 20 pounds heavier. Love Trader Joe's.

Ours does not sell 2 Buck Chuck. Too bad!

[hippywife]

6. Do you have a Whole Foods nearby?

I buy a 32 oz. jug of organic Grade B there for $19.99. It's the store brand and probably not top of the line, but it's good and a good deal because it lasts us a long time.

The two reasons, which are probably one in the same, that I can't/won't buy "pancake syrup" in the stores are because it's corn syrup and because I can't take the glycemic hit it delivers. I don't have the same problem with real maple syrup.

[Paper Roses]

9. Yes, there is a big WF nearby. I am a stranger to the store. Too $$$.

The price on the Grade B syrup is good. No need to go half way across the county for TJ's.

It is a more intense taste than regular Maple Syrup. I use it a lot to flavor other things instead of brown sugar.

Thanks for the tip.

[hippywife]

10. I usually just shop WF

for produce, milk, cheeses, and staple items like organic peanut butter and the syrup. I buy the other things I need at the regular grocery, except for meat which I buy from our food coop.

Glad you can access that more easily than TJ's. :hi:

[Warpy]

8. The food co-op started to carry it year round

after I told them what to do about the yeast problem during the summer.

[Callalily]

2. I agree with Warpy.

It's difficult to believe that someone would actually ask this question, and yes, once you tried the real thing, well . . . there's nothing like the real thing.

My daughter went to grad school in Vermont, so for several years I had an endless supply of quality Vermont maple syrup.

Also, had some friends who tapped their own trees for maple syrup. Although a lot of work and very time consuming, it was worth the effort.

[elleng]

4. DUH, RIGHT!

'Pure maple' is family tradition! Dad would buy LARGE inconvenient containers when we visited Vermont!

I've been buying least expensive PURE at grocery for years.

Happy Holidays!

Good Morning to ALL!

Love, E

[hippywife]

7. Granted this isn't a "new" article.

It is only a year old, though. I get the older stuff via email because at first I was too cheap to subscribe and subsequently, from what I've seen, ATK just isn't really all that. They do a good job of appealing to people who want to learn to cook, and cook well, I'll give them that. They aren't Sandra Lee, but they don't address the things that are important to me at this stage in my learning process.

[hedgehog]

11. When we were kids, we bought a syrup we called 29 cents off.

i think the actual brand name was Staley's, but for years the label featured the phrase 29 cents off.