- Joined
- Dec 19, 2011
- Messages
- 237
- Reaction Score
- 377
I mean the 1/100th time
Maple Syrup
- Thread starter sledog
- Start date
I mean the 1/100th time
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2011
- Messages
- 11,456
- Reaction Score
- 31,066
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 8,482
- Reaction Score
- 23,297
Trader Joes and Stews has lots of the real stuff, why use anything else. btw, Organic does not mean real.
During my elementary school years (age 5 through 13) my family lived on Long Island. My mother would often make pancakes for breakfast at some point during the weekends. The syrup that was mainly used in our house at the time was the artificial stuff sold by Log Cabin. At the time I just loved the stuff. When you poured it out of the container, it would slowly ooze out and stay right where you poured it. That was what I was used to.
When I was about 11 or 12 years old, a friend of my older brother came back from a trip to Vermont with a can of pure maple syrup that he gave to my family. It was the first time I ever encountered pure maple syrup. We opened it up for breakfast one day, and I just couldn’t stand the stuff. I think the main thing I didn’t like about it is that it just didn’t have the molasses type consistency of the artificial Log Cabin stuff. Whatever the case, I didn’t like it, and it left me with a lasting memory.
My family moved to Connecticut when I was 13 years old, and when I was 18 I went to UConn. During my years at UConn, I met my future wife. Her father was born in Quebec, her mother in northern Vermont. At that time her parents lived in Lebanon, CT on several acres of land. While he didn’t do it every year, her father regularly tapped the maple trees on the property in order make pure maple syrup. He would keep a bunch of the finished product for himself, but would also give away bottles of this maple syrup to family members and friends. To say the least my wife just loved the stuff, and couldn’t imagine ever buying the artificial stuff that I had been used to.
I recall one spring break from UConn my future wife and I went to help him with his maple syrup production. My father in law had quite the primitive operation. After filling the buckets with sap, the first phase of boiling the stuff down was in a small sugar shack he had outside of the house. In that shack he also had a radio where he would listen to various hockey games, ranging from the Whalers to the Montreal Canadians. He also had an old wood stove down in the basement that he would use to further boil down the sap, eventually becoming syrup. It was certainly an interesting experience helping with this.
To say the least, I became a convert in preferring pure maple syrup, and to this day I wouldn’t dream of buying the artificial stuff. My father in law long ago sold the family property in Lebanon and stopped making his own maple syrup. In recent years, as a regular Christmas gift for my wife, I have been ordering a couple of gallons of pure maple syrup from various tree farms in Vermont when the holiday season starts. With discount coupons and free shipping, I get it for a decent price. Before I started making these orders, on trips to visit my family in Pennsylvania, we found ourselves taking day trips to Amish Country and finding stores that also sold pure maple syrup.
When I was about 11 or 12 years old, a friend of my older brother came back from a trip to Vermont with a can of pure maple syrup that he gave to my family. It was the first time I ever encountered pure maple syrup. We opened it up for breakfast one day, and I just couldn’t stand the stuff. I think the main thing I didn’t like about it is that it just didn’t have the molasses type consistency of the artificial Log Cabin stuff. Whatever the case, I didn’t like it, and it left me with a lasting memory.
My family moved to Connecticut when I was 13 years old, and when I was 18 I went to UConn. During my years at UConn, I met my future wife. Her father was born in Quebec, her mother in northern Vermont. At that time her parents lived in Lebanon, CT on several acres of land. While he didn’t do it every year, her father regularly tapped the maple trees on the property in order make pure maple syrup. He would keep a bunch of the finished product for himself, but would also give away bottles of this maple syrup to family members and friends. To say the least my wife just loved the stuff, and couldn’t imagine ever buying the artificial stuff that I had been used to.
I recall one spring break from UConn my future wife and I went to help him with his maple syrup production. My father in law had quite the primitive operation. After filling the buckets with sap, the first phase of boiling the stuff down was in a small sugar shack he had outside of the house. In that shack he also had a radio where he would listen to various hockey games, ranging from the Whalers to the Montreal Canadians. He also had an old wood stove down in the basement that he would use to further boil down the sap, eventually becoming syrup. It was certainly an interesting experience helping with this.
To say the least, I became a convert in preferring pure maple syrup, and to this day I wouldn’t dream of buying the artificial stuff. My father in law long ago sold the family property in Lebanon and stopped making his own maple syrup. In recent years, as a regular Christmas gift for my wife, I have been ordering a couple of gallons of pure maple syrup from various tree farms in Vermont when the holiday season starts. With discount coupons and free shipping, I get it for a decent price. Before I started making these orders, on trips to visit my family in Pennsylvania, we found ourselves taking day trips to Amish Country and finding stores that also sold pure maple syrup.
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2011
- Messages
- 27,819
- Reaction Score
- 71,482
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 9,423
- Reaction Score
- 34,632
“Organic Maple Syrup” doesn’t mean real? I disagree.
“Organic Syrup made with real Maple”, doesn’t mean real.
87Xfer
Resident Ignorant Dope
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2020
- Messages
- 3,160
- Reaction Score
- 9,640
I used to tap trees and make maple syrup with my friends as a kid in Maine. I definitely wouldn't recommend doing that. It was interesting, but the amount of time, labor and fire wood needed (our parents weren't about to let us boil it down in the kitchen) was ridiculous for what we produced.
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 9,423
- Reaction Score
- 34,632
My grandparents used to make it in Vermont. They sold or gave away all the prime syrup. They kept all the dark, thick stuff. I grew up thinking maple syrup was somewhere between honey and log cabin in consistency. It had a really strong maple flavor. In our house, we were consuming old jars of it 10-15 years after they had both died. (It didn’t go bad if canned properly) It was delicious. The stuff we got in restaurants that was promoted as “real maple syrup”, sucked by comparison. I never considered it was actually quality, Vermont syrup.
When grandpa’s stash finally ran out, I took a long weekend to VT with my GF at the time. I bought a gallon somewhere around Manchester, VT. I also bought a small bottle of the Grade B dark amber stuff. I got back to CT, made pancakes and was sooo disappointed. I opened the grade B, a little better, darker, thicker, but not nearly as intense.
My dad now tells me we were eating more like grade D. The dregs. Man was that good. Think watered down molasses, but bursting with maple flavor.
When grandpa’s stash finally ran out, I took a long weekend to VT with my GF at the time. I bought a gallon somewhere around Manchester, VT. I also bought a small bottle of the Grade B dark amber stuff. I got back to CT, made pancakes and was sooo disappointed. I opened the grade B, a little better, darker, thicker, but not nearly as intense.
My dad now tells me we were eating more like grade D. The dregs. Man was that good. Think watered down molasses, but bursting with maple flavor.
Last edited: