I just found out today that there is a maple shortage this year. The cost is about $70/gallon some places. That's about twice the price as last year.
Costco isn't currently carrying real maple syrup because of it. I ended up buying Mrs. Butterworth today for Matt and a sugar free syrup for Dean and me since I couldn't stand the thought of high fructose corn syrup as the #1 ingredient. I don't mind it in small amounts, but Dean and I have been eating waffles or french toast a couple times a week. We'll see how the sugar free syrup tastes. I'm super sad about this. I've become really fond of the good stuff.
13 comments:
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I can't eat anything but anymore....
Just make your own syrup with maple flavoring...it's probably not as good as the real thing, but at least it's with real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup.
Yeah, we did that all growing up. Not the same and a little too thin.
I do have an absolutely delicious buttermilk syrup recipe, but I just can't make it all the time! Waaaayyy too rich.
i have used the sugar free syrup for years, and the taste is a little "blech", but you can't beat 20 calories per serving. too bad about the real maple. that stuff is to die for and totally worth it! i love the buttermilk syrup too, but sometimes after eating it i get a headache and feel like i ate pie for breakfast. but mmmmm, mmmmmm....so good. especially with your pumpkin waffles recipe!
$70 is a bargain. Get the real stuff! I buy it in 12 oz bottles for $8.99 which works out to over $90 a gallon. Because of your post a ran out and bought two more bottles. Thanks!
We tried to buy some real syrup a few months ago when we were up in Massachusetts. The guy my aunt and uncle usually buy it from, though, had closed up shop, so we didn't get any. I wonder if the shortage was the reason. At any rate, I usually do the maple flavoring thing. I found a recipe that includes brown sugar and vanilla as well as the usual white sugar, maple, and water that I've become converted to (if I can't have the real thing). It tastes better and thicker than the simpler stuff to me. If you're interested, let me know.
Have you tried eating pancakes with powdered sugar and butter?
When I make them I give that to my kids, way less messy.
I know, Celia, it's so sad. I too, use only the real stuff. We actually visited a maple barn in New Hampshire just a couple weeks ago, it was the first time that I have ever appreciated the cost of maple syrup! Did you know it takes at LEAST 55 gallons of sap to produce just 1 gallon of syrup?! And more, when the sugar content is low! Which it is this year b/c of the warm weather. We did support our local syrup folk, but the price was high at $70 a gallon. It's still less expensive to buy by the gallon, rather than pints or quarts, but that's still oh so expensive. I've been using honey A LOT more b/c of the price increase. Add some water to honey, warm it up and it makes a nice syrup. I don't know how you feel about giving it to dean, and yes, it still tastes like honey, but I've certainly acquired a taste for it now. :) Also, the best chocolate syrup in the world is something I just happened upon, it tastes A LOT like hersheys! (hey, i love that stuff, i just don't buy it...) Anyway, I was anxious for choco syrup one day and was out of maple syrup, so I mixed about 1/2 cup honey with at least a quarter cup unsweetened cocoa and about 1/2 cup or more water, (just to taste or thin preferance). I warmed up the honey and water first and added cocoa last, just whipped it together real quick, and I'm telling you, it doesn't just taste like honey with cocoa, it really tastes like the hershey syrup! You should try it, if you like that sort of thing. I freeze my bananas and have a juicer I run them through to make a soft-serve banana icecream and we top with this syrup, fresh strawberries and any sort of nut. yummy! :)
oh, p.s., the longer you boil your syrup, the thicker it gets. I used to make my own and loved it, sometimes thin, sometimes thick. just a thought. . .
so, I'll just throw this in, the gentleman at the maple barn (owns the place) taught us that COLD or freezing weather is the best. this warm weather? they hate it! The reason being, when the tree is cold (weather) the sap runs to the roots, when it warms up, it runs up the tree. If it's too warm, the sugar goes to the buds. They like it cold, warm, cold, warm, cold, warm. But, there were too many warm days in a row and the sugar went to the buds, which means the sap has a lower sugar content. That means it's taking a LOT more sap to make one gallon of syrup, and the trees aren't producing as much sap b/c of the "warm weather mess." So, it's a lot more expensive. the end.
Hey V. thanks for the lesson. I didn't know all that!
Me too. I bought some of the sugar free stuff at Costco and ended up returning it--it was so gross.
I hope this years maple harvest is better.
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