I cannot tell the difference between maple and pancake syrup

[ch1719]

Well, side by side, I can tell there's a very slight difference in flavor. If I were to blind taste only one of them, I probably wouldn't be able to identify it. I certainly don't perceive one as any higher quality than the other. They're both equally delicious. Does that make me a bad person??

 

[Addie]

Do you mean the brand of maple syrup or just any pure maple syrup vs pancake syrup? The flavor depends on when it was harvested and how long it was boiled.

Welcome to DC.

 

[ch1719]

I mean any brand of maple syrup (I'm using Wegmans brand Grade A dark amber) vs. cheap store brand pancake syrup.

 

[Addie]

Dark maple syrup has a stronger maple flavor than does light amber. It is usually made at the end of the maple season and boiled for a longer period. Pancake syrup has too many additives. Including artificial flavoring.

 

[Andy M.]

Well, side by side, I can tell there's a very slight difference in flavor. If I were to blind taste only one of them, I probably wouldn't be able to identify it. I certainly don't perceive one as any higher quality than the other. They're both equally delicious. Does that make me a bad person??

No, that doesn't make you a bad person. The chemists that make pancake syrup are very good at making things taste like something else.

Enjoy your pancakes.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Maple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees, while pancake syrup is made from corn syrup and artificial flavoring. No maple tree sap is involved with making pancake syrup.

Go for the real thing. You will thank yourself later.

 

[RPCookin]

Well, side by side, I can tell there's a very slight difference in flavor. If I were to blind taste only one of them, I probably wouldn't be able to identify it. I certainly don't perceive one as any higher quality than the other. They're both equally delicious. Does that make me a bad person??

Since I was raised on homemade sugar "syrup" with fake maple flavoring (we couldn't afford store bought pancake syrup), to me Log Cabin is a delightful luxury, and real maple syrup is a rare extravagance.

I honestly don't like the real deal as much anyway. My personal preference is for Log Cabin Syrup, and since it's about 1/4 the price of real maple, I'll stick with it.

Maple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees, while pancake syrup is made from corn syrup and artificial flavoring. No maple tree sap is involved with making pancake syrup.

Go for the real thing. You will thank yourself later.

....as you go broke. The real thing, just like real wild rice, is simply too expensive for everyday use, in my opinion.

 

[GotGarlic]

I can certainly taste the difference. Even more so with this I don't use any kind of syrup every day, but this was amazing in place of sugar when I made applesauce recently.

 

[Dawgluver]

I love real maple syrup. The B grade seems to be the most flavorful. I don't eat waffles or pancakes, just the syrup.

When we spent summers in Canada, my mom would get the most wonderful syrup, Golden? It was not maple or Log Cabin. Not sure of the name, but it was so good I could drink it.

Use whatever you like. No food snobbery here.

 

[Kayelle]

No, that doesn't make you a bad person. The chemists that make pancake syrup are very good at making things taste like something else.

Enjoy your pancakes.

+1 Don't ever be intimidated by "food snobs". Most often they just like to hear themselves ramble on.

 

[Andy M.]

I love real maple syrup. The B grade seems to be the most flavorful. I don't eat waffles or pancakes, just the syrup.

When we spent summers in Canada, my mom would get the most wonderful syrup, Golden? It was not maple or Log Cabin...

https://www.amazon.com/Tate-Lyles-Golden-Syrup-454g/dp/B0001590BY

This stuff?

 

[Addie]

Since I was raised on homemade sugar "syrup" with fake maple flavoring (we couldn't afford store bought pancake syrup), to me Log Cabin is a delightful luxury, and real maple syrup is a rare extravagance.

I honestly don't like the real deal as much anyway. My personal preference is for Log Cabin Syrup, and since it's about 1/4 the price of real maple, I'll stick with it.



....as you go broke. The real thing, just like real wild rice, is simply too expensive for everyday use, in my opinion.

I don't want to rub it in, but my youngest son lives in Vermont and would bring me a jug every time he came to visit. Being a diabetic, I finally had to tell him "no more." I still have two jugs that I haven't even open. And then there is the open one in the fridge.

One of his co-workers comes from a family of maple syrup farmers. So he gets it for free.

 

[Dawgluver]

https://www.amazon.com/Tate-Lyles-Golden-Syrup-454g/dp/B0001590BY



This stuff?

Sort of, but I don't think that was it. It came in a rectangular tin. Dang it was good.

 

[Cheryl J]

Like Dawg, I love real maple syrup and prefer the Grade B, but I don't always have it or feel like I have to. I do however, always have a jug of Log Cabin in the cupboard.

 

[Roll_Bones]

Well, side by side, I can tell there's a very slight difference in flavor. If I were to blind taste only one of them, I probably wouldn't be able to identify it. I certainly don't perceive one as any higher quality than the other. They're both equally delicious. Does that make me a bad person??

Its not just you. And it may not be why I also have have taste issues.
I blame my inability to really taste things to my age.
Lucky for me, the texture plays a big part in how much I like something and to some degree I am tasting food.
You are not alone. I'm not calling you old!

No, that doesn't make you a bad person. The chemists that make pancake syrup are very good at making things taste like something else.

Enjoy your pancakes.

Well said Andy.

 

[msmofet]

My family doesn't like maple syrup. So I have a small Trader Joe's maple syrup I use to top my oatmeal and my old fashioned shredded wheat "pillows" occasionally. For waffles and pancakes we use Mrs. Butterworth (I use the sugar free variety of Mrs. Butterworth).

 

[RPCookin]

My family doesn't like maple syrup. So I have a small Trader Joe's maple syrup I use to top my oatmeal and my old fashioned shredded wheat "pillows" occasionally. For waffles and pancakes we use Mrs. Butterworth (I use the sugar free variety of Mrs. Butterworth).

And that brand I don't like.... yet Log Cabin and Golden Griddle I do. No idea why.

 

[dragnlaw]

Andy Tates-Lyle was the first thing I thought of when she said that. Perhaps though it really was Maple, if I remember correctly they used to have a tin/metal package rectangular in shape and painted like a log cabin. The pouring spout was the chimney. they may still make them for all I know.

 

[CWS4322]

The flavour of maple syrup depends on the temperatures (overnight and daytime) when it is collected. It also depends on the rainfall the previous summer and the how much snow. Some years, our syrup has a "molasses" top note, other years, it is very sweet. Can I tell the difference between real maple syrup and fake, yes. 2008 was a very good year, 2011 was not. I have been hoarding the rest off the 2008 jars. I guess it is sort of like wine...some years are better than others. And, the maple syrup my Dad makes in MN does not taste the same of the maple syrup I make in ON. Sort of like honey.

We have pancake maple syrup which tends to lighter in color (I want to say it is early run, but I never can remember) and we have "cooking" maple syrup. That's the benefit of being able to tap your own trees. Birch syrup is not nearly as sweet and requires a higher ratio of sap to convert to syrup and achieve the appropriate sugar level. I haven't had fake syrup in years. But, in a pinch, my mom used to make a simple syrup using brown sugar and water when we didn't have maple trees and too many jars of syrup to count in the pantry.

 

[RPCookin]

Andy Tates-Lyle was the first thing I thought of when she said that. Perhaps though it really was Maple, if I remember correctly they used to have a tin/metal package rectangular in shape and painted like a log cabin. The pouring spout was the chimney. they may still make them for all I know.

Actually that was the original Log Cabin Syrup. When I was a kid in the 50's, I loved to get invited to my cousins' cabin for breakfast, because they had more money than we did and could afford store bought syrup. I loved drowning my pancakes in that Log Cabin goodness.