it takes 10 gallons of sap to create 1 qt of maple syrup. sap is the by product of Walnut trees and if your reading this from the east coast i suppose you know that. on the west coast maple trees are pretty much non-existent. real syrup is rare, and very expensive. it takes a ton of work, and its work that has to happen slowly. i have wanted some real maple syrup for the house, and ponied up the $18 (a steal) for a quart of it the other day. my hope is to use it in some baking at home, make some granola, and of course eat some pancakes. syrup is a great sweetener, and if i had some available i would love to use some maple sap in both some savory and sweet things. (i really want to make maple sap soda- but i cant find a place that will ship me sap- i may water down the syrup and make sap instead of vice-versa) Ontario Canada is the worlds leading producer of maple syrup by far, in America though it is extremely popular in the Northeast, and a great economy for them. American maple syrup is graded A and B. A grade has three sub grades of Fancy (or light), Medium, and Dark. B grade is the darkest available and really tough for me to find locally, but i have heard it has the deepest and darkest flavor available.
i am not by any means telling you to rush out and buy real maple syrup, what i will add is that most knock-off syrups are made with high fructose and regular corn syrup to get the consistency right, then maple flavor is added. while real maple syrup is simply a reduction that picks up color in that process. the taste difference is undeniable. a natural product, made by people that are obviously passionate about their work, in America. its a no-brainer for me.
sidebar- i have found, especially with expensive ingredients, that if i date them and label them with the amount spent either at home or work i can track their usage better. i know i opened that syrup on 9/7 so i can see how long it lasts me. also by tagging it with a price anyone who touches it knows how much it costs. in a restaurant it is easy especially for my cooks to get detached from how much things cost, this way it is a constant reminder that i paid $18 dollars for it. i will use it more wisely, and be much less prone to waste any of it. while $18 isnt a ton of money by any means a gallon of this same product at work is tagged $90. i need anyone who touches it to understand that, at work and home.
double sidebar-i have to take all of these pictures with my cell phone, usually in a hurry. i have invested in a new phone that should be taking the best pictures one can expect from a cell phone. i hope quality has improved.
i am not by any means telling you to rush out and buy real maple syrup, what i will add is that most knock-off syrups are made with high fructose and regular corn syrup to get the consistency right, then maple flavor is added. while real maple syrup is simply a reduction that picks up color in that process. the taste difference is undeniable. a natural product, made by people that are obviously passionate about their work, in America. its a no-brainer for me.
sidebar- i have found, especially with expensive ingredients, that if i date them and label them with the amount spent either at home or work i can track their usage better. i know i opened that syrup on 9/7 so i can see how long it lasts me. also by tagging it with a price anyone who touches it knows how much it costs. in a restaurant it is easy especially for my cooks to get detached from how much things cost, this way it is a constant reminder that i paid $18 dollars for it. i will use it more wisely, and be much less prone to waste any of it. while $18 isnt a ton of money by any means a gallon of this same product at work is tagged $90. i need anyone who touches it to understand that, at work and home.
double sidebar-i have to take all of these pictures with my cell phone, usually in a hurry. i have invested in a new phone that should be taking the best pictures one can expect from a cell phone. i hope quality has improved.
I love the idea of writing dates opened and the price! Genius!
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