Basically, what I detest about maple syrup is everything
September 26, 2018 10:14 PM Subscribe
“How can you hate maple syrup?” the hordes asked, as they banned me from Vermont and declared me persona non grata throughout Canada. Revolted by a New York Times article celebrating ranch dressing, I had tweeted: “Plays to everything that’s wrong with the typical American palate. Even worse than maple syrup if that’s possible.” (SLWaPo)
So she's taken 700 words to write what my toddler can express with a scowl and a push: food taste is subjective.
posted by Silentgoldfish at 10:18 PM on September 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by Silentgoldfish at 10:18 PM on September 26, 2018 [32 favorites]
(While I appreciate the lore of “sugaring off,” the early spring ritual of gathering sap from maple trees, the phrase has always seemed as though it might be a euphemism for something more salacious.)Well, now I know who I'M not inviting into the sugarbush.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:20 PM on September 26, 2018 [17 favorites]
That's fine. More for the rest of us.
posted by senor biggles at 10:22 PM on September 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by senor biggles at 10:22 PM on September 26, 2018 [16 favorites]
Love and maple syrup go together like the sticky winds of winter
posted by philip-random at 10:23 PM on September 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by philip-random at 10:23 PM on September 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
"If you think about it, maple syrup is a ready-to-go cocktail sweetener that requires absolutely no prep work or boiling on your part, and has a bit more depth than the stuff made with sucrose." This way to the maple Old Fashioned.
posted by Iridic at 10:31 PM on September 26, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by Iridic at 10:31 PM on September 26, 2018 [26 favorites]
Newspapers just keep fucking expanding the range of acceptable discourse.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:32 PM on September 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 10:32 PM on September 26, 2018 [22 favorites]
Plays to everything that’s wrong with the typical American palate
Hate what you want, but trashing an entire country’s cuisine to do it seems a little unnecessarily rude.
posted by greermahoney at 10:44 PM on September 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
Hate what you want, but trashing an entire country’s cuisine to do it seems a little unnecessarily rude.
posted by greermahoney at 10:44 PM on September 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
So she only glances off the most important question to answer in taste essays: did you ever like it? It makes a huge difference if, as she says here, she generally just doesn't like sweet stuff. There's as much variation in sweets as in hot sauces, so if the whole Area of Taste is just one big nah, then that's what you're actually talking about, not maple as compared to, well, anything. Like powdered sugar, which passes with only a mention.
If you like sweets but not maple, then that is also an interesting distinction. "Molasses flavors make me retch," is a perfectly good topic.
I get it. I used to intensely dislike chocolate. Let me tell you it's like telling people you've never seen Star Wars. "Here, but try this." And you know what also happened, I developed more tastes in other things. That's what you talk about when you don't like sweets: where your taste flowed with that family sewn up. Probably chocolate. It's always chocolate.
posted by rhizome at 10:55 PM on September 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
If you like sweets but not maple, then that is also an interesting distinction. "Molasses flavors make me retch," is a perfectly good topic.
I get it. I used to intensely dislike chocolate. Let me tell you it's like telling people you've never seen Star Wars. "Here, but try this." And you know what also happened, I developed more tastes in other things. That's what you talk about when you don't like sweets: where your taste flowed with that family sewn up. Probably chocolate. It's always chocolate.
posted by rhizome at 10:55 PM on September 26, 2018 [12 favorites]
trashing an entire country’s cuisine to do it seems a little unnecessarily rude.
Yeah, the holier than thou attitude, even if it's being played for comedy, is a bit boring.
posted by dazed_one at 10:56 PM on September 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah, the holier than thou attitude, even if it's being played for comedy, is a bit boring.
posted by dazed_one at 10:56 PM on September 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
Thanks to a lovely fellow Bluefolk, I recently got to be reminded of the flavor of maple sugar candy that I had forgotten in over 40 years since my last exposure. I think it was pretty good, despite my seriously Proustian moments while consuming it.
posted by Samizdata at 10:56 PM on September 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Samizdata at 10:56 PM on September 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Literally my only complaint about maple syrup is the price. I used to sip it neat when I was a kid.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:02 PM on September 26, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:02 PM on September 26, 2018 [14 favorites]
Honestly I bonded with the Aunt Jemima in childhood, and it's what I still like
posted by thelonius at 11:18 PM on September 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 11:18 PM on September 26, 2018 [6 favorites]
I've never had maple syrup. Should I? I do like pancakes. And chocolate. I've never seen Star anything.
posted by Vesihiisi at 11:38 PM on September 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Vesihiisi at 11:38 PM on September 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
*Looks around, slightly confused. Looks left, looks right*
This is satire, right? Right?? Someone tell me this is satire.
posted by zardoz at 11:39 PM on September 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
This is satire, right? Right?? Someone tell me this is satire.
posted by zardoz at 11:39 PM on September 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
"Here, but try this."
God, me and Belgian beers. No, I am quite familiar with beers and I know what Belgian beers taste like. I just happen to like other beers a lot, can't drink as many or as often as I'd like, and don't want to waste the calories on a style I don't like.
Regarding the OP, I used to like a good over the top rant. But now even for things I hate--like ketchup--my response is essentially "well, don't use ketchup then." Have the times changed or am I just old?
posted by mark k at 11:48 PM on September 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
God, me and Belgian beers. No, I am quite familiar with beers and I know what Belgian beers taste like. I just happen to like other beers a lot, can't drink as many or as often as I'd like, and don't want to waste the calories on a style I don't like.
Regarding the OP, I used to like a good over the top rant. But now even for things I hate--like ketchup--my response is essentially "well, don't use ketchup then." Have the times changed or am I just old?
posted by mark k at 11:48 PM on September 26, 2018 [18 favorites]
This is preferable to my fear that maple would suddenly get really trendy for a while. Like when everybody had an opinion about garlic scapes two years ago.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:52 PM on September 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:52 PM on September 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Have the times changed or am I just old?
¿Por qué no las dos?
posted by flabdablet at 12:11 AM on September 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
¿Por qué no las dos?
posted by flabdablet at 12:11 AM on September 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
I'm not a huge fan of maple syrup either. But for some reason, I do not think this fact merits a goddamn article in the Washington Post.
posted by kyrademon at 12:23 AM on September 27, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by kyrademon at 12:23 AM on September 27, 2018 [25 favorites]
I think it was pretty good, despite my seriously Proustian moments while consuming it.
"Foods that suck you into the past via fits if nostalgia are terrible" is a nuclear take I would be interested in reading.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:46 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
"Foods that suck you into the past via fits if nostalgia are terrible" is a nuclear take I would be interested in reading.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:46 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yes, I too find it unbearable that such a large part of the continent stubbornly remains not batshit insane. A swift kick to the culinary balls might be the perfect way to remedy this annoying state of affairs. Well played.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 12:58 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 12:58 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Maple syrup partisanship has a long history that goes beyond its culinary qualities:
“In sacc’rine streams, thou pour’st the tide of life,
Yet grow’st still stronger from th’ innocuous knife.
Thy blood, more sweet than Hyblean honey, honey flows
Balm for the heart-sick, cure of Slav’ry’s woes
Bleed on, blest tree! And as thy sweet blood runs,
Bestow fond hope on Afric’s sable Sons.”
posted by Svejk at 1:25 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
“In sacc’rine streams, thou pour’st the tide of life,
Yet grow’st still stronger from th’ innocuous knife.
Thy blood, more sweet than Hyblean honey, honey flows
Balm for the heart-sick, cure of Slav’ry’s woes
Bleed on, blest tree! And as thy sweet blood runs,
Bestow fond hope on Afric’s sable Sons.”
posted by Svejk at 1:25 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
This is what you get when journalism is reduced to provoking outrage for clicks. Next week: "Why I kick puppies for fun", "Motherhood: it's worse than apple pie", etc. etc.
posted by cyanistes at 1:33 AM on September 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by cyanistes at 1:33 AM on September 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
Some opinions are wrong.
posted by 1adam12 at 1:45 AM on September 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by 1adam12 at 1:45 AM on September 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
Hate what you want, but trashing an entire country’s cuisine to do it seems a little unnecessarily rude.
This is an American food critic who has eaten and traveled widely and justly called fried chicken the "beloved triumph of the Southern kitchen." She's just pointing out the aspects of American food she dislikes.
On this though, I strongly disagree with her. Maple has a complex taste and blends in well with an oaky bourbon to provide a flavor that feels distinctively American in the best sense of the word.
In any case, the article is a PR puff piece for her book. Strangely this particular article makes me less interested in it, if I wasn't already put off by the cheap "before you die" meme.
posted by vacapinta at 1:50 AM on September 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
This is an American food critic who has eaten and traveled widely and justly called fried chicken the "beloved triumph of the Southern kitchen." She's just pointing out the aspects of American food she dislikes.
On this though, I strongly disagree with her. Maple has a complex taste and blends in well with an oaky bourbon to provide a flavor that feels distinctively American in the best sense of the word.
In any case, the article is a PR puff piece for her book. Strangely this particular article makes me less interested in it, if I wasn't already put off by the cheap "before you die" meme.
posted by vacapinta at 1:50 AM on September 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
Literally my only complaint about maple syrup is the price. I used to sip it neat when I was a kid.
The program I worked for once did a joint project with the New York State Maple Growers' Association. (New York is the second-highest producer behind Vermont.) My office was full of hundreds of pints of the real thing for months. I think I ran out of drool. And then, they let me take two for myself, along with some other promotional swag like maple candy, maple-covered peanuts, and coffee stirring sticks made of maple sugar. if I had died and been buried right then, I'm convinced a maple tree would have grown out of my grave. Sweet, sticky bliss.
Grandma didn't have a lot of trees, but she got enough sap for a small batch of syrup every year for a long time. (40 gallons of sap boils down to 1 gallon of syrup.) She'd open all the doors and windows, and boil it in roasting pans on the kitchen woodstove.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:10 AM on September 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
The program I worked for once did a joint project with the New York State Maple Growers' Association. (New York is the second-highest producer behind Vermont.) My office was full of hundreds of pints of the real thing for months. I think I ran out of drool. And then, they let me take two for myself, along with some other promotional swag like maple candy, maple-covered peanuts, and coffee stirring sticks made of maple sugar. if I had died and been buried right then, I'm convinced a maple tree would have grown out of my grave. Sweet, sticky bliss.
Grandma didn't have a lot of trees, but she got enough sap for a small batch of syrup every year for a long time. (40 gallons of sap boils down to 1 gallon of syrup.) She'd open all the doors and windows, and boil it in roasting pans on the kitchen woodstove.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:10 AM on September 27, 2018 [15 favorites]
This person has somehow been led to believe that her opinions on taste are more significant than those of millions of other people. Let's just say that I don't agree.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:08 AM on September 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:08 AM on September 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
> The Underpants Monster:
"... maple candy, maple-covered peanuts, and coffee stirring sticks made of maple sugar. if I had died and been buried right then, I'm convinced a maple tree would have grown out of my grave. Sweet, sticky bliss...."
The maple peanuts sound like they could be yummy. The maple sugar candy was quite appreciated also.
posted by Samizdata at 3:30 AM on September 27, 2018
"... maple candy, maple-covered peanuts, and coffee stirring sticks made of maple sugar. if I had died and been buried right then, I'm convinced a maple tree would have grown out of my grave. Sweet, sticky bliss...."
The maple peanuts sound like they could be yummy. The maple sugar candy was quite appreciated also.
posted by Samizdata at 3:30 AM on September 27, 2018
My god, the bravery of not liking a thing that most people have a vaguely positive view of... it leaves me in tears, that our nation — that Brooklyn, of all places — can still produce such courage.
posted by Etrigan at 3:42 AM on September 27, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 3:42 AM on September 27, 2018 [27 favorites]
mark k:
"Regarding the OP, I used to like a good over the top rant. But now even for things I hate--like ketchup--my response is essentially "well, don't use ketchup then." Have the times changed or am I just old?"
I expect you've been exposed to too many rants.
I used to like puns a lot better before I read extended pun chains in Spider Robinson and Piers Anthony.
I don't think it's a matter of getting older except that as you get older, you're more likely to be overexposed to various things.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 3:44 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Regarding the OP, I used to like a good over the top rant. But now even for things I hate--like ketchup--my response is essentially "well, don't use ketchup then." Have the times changed or am I just old?"
I expect you've been exposed to too many rants.
I used to like puns a lot better before I read extended pun chains in Spider Robinson and Piers Anthony.
I don't think it's a matter of getting older except that as you get older, you're more likely to be overexposed to various things.
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 3:44 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Good maple syrup on good french toast is a thing of beauty.
(but then don't add bacon because it's now clearly a sweet, if we're airing pointlessly controversial viewpoints. Also cheese on chips (uk) is gross, and muffins (not english, the sweet kind) should never be "filled" because the filling soaks into the muffin insides and makes them gummy and gross. I can't buy a plain blueberry muffin any more which isn't a supermarket disappointment. Now where's my column.)
posted by stillnocturnal at 3:53 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
(but then don't add bacon because it's now clearly a sweet, if we're airing pointlessly controversial viewpoints. Also cheese on chips (uk) is gross, and muffins (not english, the sweet kind) should never be "filled" because the filling soaks into the muffin insides and makes them gummy and gross. I can't buy a plain blueberry muffin any more which isn't a supermarket disappointment. Now where's my column.)
posted by stillnocturnal at 3:53 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
If you ask, at the farm gate, for the secret stash, the stuff the rubes aren’t good enough for, the ne plus ultra of syrup, which some years isn’t even possible to produce, using the words “very dark” with the correct emphasis on very, and if you’re lucky, and seem worthy, they may say “how much do you want” and “come back next week” and if you do, you may receive a black elixir in a sticky plastic jug, which when sampled, bestows true enlightenment in the manner of being struck in the mouth with an entire maple tree.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:05 AM on September 27, 2018 [36 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:05 AM on September 27, 2018 [36 favorites]
ready-to-go cocktail sweetener
With one hell of a convenience tax.
posted by filtergik at 4:19 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
With one hell of a convenience tax.
posted by filtergik at 4:19 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I just returned from a ten-day trip around the Chesapeake Bay, at the conclusion of which friends were visited. As gifts I bore Finger Lakes wine and maple syrup from my hometown.
When traveling I always carry a small jug of the real thing for use at hotel breakfasts; it really improves waffle-machine waffles. This has often drawn bemused comments from others, especially in Virginia and North Carolina; remarks have never been negative.
So I was stunned when the gift recipients (both originally from the north) showed little interest in the New York goodies I’d carefully transported for hundreds of miles. As both parties live in the Alexandria and Fredericksburg areas of Virginia, and read the Washington Post, it is possible they read this article prior to my arrival.
posted by kinnakeet at 4:28 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
When traveling I always carry a small jug of the real thing for use at hotel breakfasts; it really improves waffle-machine waffles. This has often drawn bemused comments from others, especially in Virginia and North Carolina; remarks have never been negative.
So I was stunned when the gift recipients (both originally from the north) showed little interest in the New York goodies I’d carefully transported for hundreds of miles. As both parties live in the Alexandria and Fredericksburg areas of Virginia, and read the Washington Post, it is possible they read this article prior to my arrival.
posted by kinnakeet at 4:28 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
This just in: it's hard out there for a hater.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:38 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:38 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
My wife doesn't care for maple syrup. She much prefers the "maple"-flavored HFCS that comes in a bottle shaped like someone's grandma. I still love her. Mostly.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:58 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 4:58 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Loves fried chicken, hates maple syrup. Tragically, will never know the transcendent joy that is chicken and waffles with chili maple syrup.
posted by rodlymight at 5:03 AM on September 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by rodlymight at 5:03 AM on September 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
Too long ago, (26 months, 2 weeks) we were given a can of maple syrup from a cousin's sugar bush. All the sap was only from this one sugar bush. Now, I love maple syrup like I love bourbon or other, private things, things that set off not only nerve endings but also ideas and concepts and you know, like that. But this was so superior to what you get at the market (which is still genuine Canadian maple syrup) tasted flat. It was hard to go back to the store-bought stuff. The kids complain about it and talk about the syrup from cousin Pierre.
So if you ever get the chance, jump on it. It's something else. Like oysters fresh out of the water. I feel bad for Ms. Sheraton.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:41 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
So if you ever get the chance, jump on it. It's something else. Like oysters fresh out of the water. I feel bad for Ms. Sheraton.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:41 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
MetaFilter: Some opinions are wrong.
posted by Fizz at 5:41 AM on September 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 5:41 AM on September 27, 2018 [10 favorites]
Indeed. I want to pat the author of the article on the hand and say kindly, "there, there, it's okay to not like things."
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:42 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:42 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
As both parties live in the Alexandria and Fredericksburg areas of Virginia,
I used to have two co-workers from Virginia who said that they grew up putting light molasses or sorghum syrup on things a New Yorker would use maple for.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:44 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I used to have two co-workers from Virginia who said that they grew up putting light molasses or sorghum syrup on things a New Yorker would use maple for.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:44 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've never had maple syrup. Should I?
I mean, why not try it? I think the stuff is delicious, and I'm not alone. The taste of maple is one of the signs that autumn and the holiday season are here. And there's something comfortingly traditional about it – it makes me feel like I'm an early American colonist, or at least an old-timey lumberjack or something. Even putting all of that aside, it's just...delicious.
I often make this maple-squash puree for Thanksgiving. It's incredibly easy, and incredibly tasty.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 5:46 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
I mean, why not try it? I think the stuff is delicious, and I'm not alone. The taste of maple is one of the signs that autumn and the holiday season are here. And there's something comfortingly traditional about it – it makes me feel like I'm an early American colonist, or at least an old-timey lumberjack or something. Even putting all of that aside, it's just...delicious.
I often make this maple-squash puree for Thanksgiving. It's incredibly easy, and incredibly tasty.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 5:46 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
I've never had maple syrup. Should I? I do like pancakes.
If you try it and don't like it, you will not be required to write an essay on it. If you do try it and like it, you have discovered something new to put on pancakes, waffles, French toast, etc. Its not a big moral quandry, like joining someone in the
sugarbush.
posted by nubs at 5:56 AM on September 27, 2018 [9 favorites]
"If you ask, at the farm gate, for the secret stash, the stuff the rubes aren’t good enough for, the ne plus ultra of syrup, which some years isn’t even possible to produce, using the words “very dark” with the correct emphasis on very, and if you’re lucky, and seem worthy, they may say “how much do you want” and “come back next week” and if you do, you may receive a black elixir in a sticky plastic jug, which when sampled, bestows true enlightenment in the manner of being struck in the mouth with an entire maple tree."
seanmpuckett, you are my new internet crush. ~heart eyes emoji~
posted by corvikate at 6:02 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
seanmpuckett, you are my new internet crush. ~heart eyes emoji~
posted by corvikate at 6:02 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
YES, VINDICATE MY HATRED
VINDICATE IT
I have not read the article yet, I just hate maple syrup with a passion and am unfortunate enough to live with a Canadian
posted by sciatrix at 6:14 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
VINDICATE IT
posted by sciatrix at 6:14 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
This shit is crazytown. Real maple syrup for life!
(now if you want to argue about maple candy, I won't object; I am baffled by nearly every maple candy, I more or less assume someone invented it purely for the tourists)
posted by tocts at 6:17 AM on September 27, 2018
(now if you want to argue about maple candy, I won't object; I am baffled by nearly every maple candy, I more or less assume someone invented it purely for the tourists)
posted by tocts at 6:17 AM on September 27, 2018
Sure everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when was the last time you heard of someone pulling off a molasses heist? I'd like to be buried in a leak proof casket filled with maple syrup like some kind of a hoser pharoah.
posted by Poldo at 6:22 AM on September 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Poldo at 6:22 AM on September 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
More seriously--as I'm apparently the few, the tiny audience who is delighted by food-related hit pieces like this, even for foods I quite like...
...sometimes manufactured outrage over the transcendently silly is just plain fun? Like, I vastly prefer maple syrup #discourse or regional arguments over which barbecue is acceptable or fights over whether it's acceptable to piss in the sink to arguments about whether wide swathes of people are uneducated and illiterate, or arguments over the personhood of groups of people, or--*flaps hands* any of the incredibly emotionally charged shit that is currently afflicting, it seems like, basically everyone at all times.
Sometimes I want to have a silly argument where no one gets hurt, and waving outrageous food opinions are a really fun way to do that precisely because the stakes are so low.
posted by sciatrix at 6:24 AM on September 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
...sometimes manufactured outrage over the transcendently silly is just plain fun? Like, I vastly prefer maple syrup #discourse or regional arguments over which barbecue is acceptable or fights over whether it's acceptable to piss in the sink to arguments about whether wide swathes of people are uneducated and illiterate, or arguments over the personhood of groups of people, or--*flaps hands* any of the incredibly emotionally charged shit that is currently afflicting, it seems like, basically everyone at all times.
Sometimes I want to have a silly argument where no one gets hurt, and waving outrageous food opinions are a really fun way to do that precisely because the stakes are so low.
posted by sciatrix at 6:24 AM on September 27, 2018 [13 favorites]
"If you ask, at the farm gate, for the secret stash, the stuff the rubes aren’t good enough for, the ne plus ultra of syrup, which some years isn’t even possible to produce, using the words “very dark”
For the past couple of years I've been trying to figure out what official grade the life-altering nectar that I bought in Québec labeled "foncé" is. In the past I would have assumed it was grade '2' or '3' (American 'B' or maybe the darkest variety of 'A'), but now for some reason everything is graded 'A' and accompanied by a short description of its light transmission qualities?
posted by theory at 6:27 AM on September 27, 2018
For the past couple of years I've been trying to figure out what official grade the life-altering nectar that I bought in Québec labeled "foncé" is. In the past I would have assumed it was grade '2' or '3' (American 'B' or maybe the darkest variety of 'A'), but now for some reason everything is graded 'A' and accompanied by a short description of its light transmission qualities?
posted by theory at 6:27 AM on September 27, 2018
when was the last time you heard of someone pulling off a molasses heist?
When was the last time a wave of maple syrup drowned 20 people?
posted by srboisvert at 6:29 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
When was the last time a wave of maple syrup drowned 20 people?
posted by srboisvert at 6:29 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
> Sometimes I want to have a silly argument where no one gets hurt, and waving outrageous food opinions are a really fun way to do that precisely because the stakes are so low.
On one hand I agree, I really do, because really good ranting is an art form, and in some circles (tinc) particularly celebrated, but on the other hand it models a form of discourse that is just not super helpful in the general purpose case. I mean sure, who doesn't want to watch a really amazingly architected heist of the good stealing from the bad, like in a movie, especially with a lot of women who are definitely extremely good friends, one might even say pals, but in general most thefts *in real life* are just super clumsy and clunky and don't help society at all and people get hurt and it's just a mess.
So I'm not sure what the answer is, but there probably isn't one except hey if it's a really well done hit job let's share it on mefi and chat about it each in our own way and everything's great! I'm a fan!
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:31 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
On one hand I agree, I really do, because really good ranting is an art form, and in some circles (tinc) particularly celebrated, but on the other hand it models a form of discourse that is just not super helpful in the general purpose case. I mean sure, who doesn't want to watch a really amazingly architected heist of the good stealing from the bad, like in a movie, especially with a lot of women who are definitely extremely good friends, one might even say pals, but in general most thefts *in real life* are just super clumsy and clunky and don't help society at all and people get hurt and it's just a mess.
So I'm not sure what the answer is, but there probably isn't one except hey if it's a really well done hit job let's share it on mefi and chat about it each in our own way and everything's great! I'm a fan!
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:31 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
When traveling I always carry a small jug of the real thing for use at hotel breakfasts; it really improves waffle-machine waffles. This has often drawn bemused comments from others, especially in Virginia and North Carolina; remarks have never been negative.
In my lifetime it was basically impossible to find real maple syrup in North Carolina. I first encountered it in on a trip up North and it was basically a secret thing that I only got on trips and from the zealously guarded bottle my Yankee friend's family kept in the fridge. Go back a generation, and my dad's family was putting molasses and sorghum syrup on everything, and not even pretending the make something like maple syrup. My Yankee wife, on the other hand, grew up making maple snow candy like she's in Little House in the Big Woods and complains regularly that she can't find Grade B. I like maple syrup, but it's also another area where we've kind of homogenized away more interesting regional traditions.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:34 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
In my lifetime it was basically impossible to find real maple syrup in North Carolina. I first encountered it in on a trip up North and it was basically a secret thing that I only got on trips and from the zealously guarded bottle my Yankee friend's family kept in the fridge. Go back a generation, and my dad's family was putting molasses and sorghum syrup on everything, and not even pretending the make something like maple syrup. My Yankee wife, on the other hand, grew up making maple snow candy like she's in Little House in the Big Woods and complains regularly that she can't find Grade B. I like maple syrup, but it's also another area where we've kind of homogenized away more interesting regional traditions.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:34 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: Yeah, the holier than thou attitude, even if it's being played for comedy, is a bit boring.
posted by zaixfeep at 6:35 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by zaixfeep at 6:35 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Theory, recently the grading system in Canada changed for no real reason I can ascertain, and now the official term for what WAS "dark" is now "very dark" so be sure to ask for your VD by name.
I just came across a cool statistic: "In a typical year of production there will be 25%-30% Extra light, 25%-30% light, 25%-30% medium and then 10% amber and only 2% dark." (old grading terms.) Which, in addition to its very strong flavour, also explains why you typically have to ask for very dark specifically.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:36 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
I just came across a cool statistic: "In a typical year of production there will be 25%-30% Extra light, 25%-30% light, 25%-30% medium and then 10% amber and only 2% dark." (old grading terms.) Which, in addition to its very strong flavour, also explains why you typically have to ask for very dark specifically.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:36 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
This is satire, right? Right?? Someone tell me this is satire.
Nah, it read more like "I don't have an idea for my regular column this week so I'm panicking and scraping the bottom of the topic barrel".
I'm kind of on the fence with maple syrup myself, actually, as well. Dug it on pancakes as a kid, but I gradually started preferring either savory or fruit flavors for breakfasts. A childhood friend who was born in England introduced me to lemon juice and sugar on pancakes, too, and I started preferring that. I think the last time I used maple syrup was when I was making a batch of granola.
Apple Cider syrup, now that's something else again.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:36 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Nah, it read more like "I don't have an idea for my regular column this week so I'm panicking and scraping the bottom of the topic barrel".
I'm kind of on the fence with maple syrup myself, actually, as well. Dug it on pancakes as a kid, but I gradually started preferring either savory or fruit flavors for breakfasts. A childhood friend who was born in England introduced me to lemon juice and sugar on pancakes, too, and I started preferring that. I think the last time I used maple syrup was when I was making a batch of granola.
Apple Cider syrup, now that's something else again.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:36 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
but when was the last time you heard of someone pulling off a molasses heist?
Back when it was a colony, a huge part of Rhode Island’s economy was based on smuggling molasses, like 90% of 10s of 1000s of barrels were illegally imported in a vast criminal conspiracy called “colonial Rhode Island.” They even burned a tax ship over it, so don’t get feeling too fancy, maple syrup...
Of course, to the best of my knowledge, maple syrup wasn’t turned into rum to fuel the slave trade, so molasses shouldn’t be proud, either.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:38 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
Back when it was a colony, a huge part of Rhode Island’s economy was based on smuggling molasses, like 90% of 10s of 1000s of barrels were illegally imported in a vast criminal conspiracy called “colonial Rhode Island.” They even burned a tax ship over it, so don’t get feeling too fancy, maple syrup...
Of course, to the best of my knowledge, maple syrup wasn’t turned into rum to fuel the slave trade, so molasses shouldn’t be proud, either.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:38 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
Apple Cider syrup
Where did you find this amazing substance? I am... highly intrigued.
posted by sciatrix at 6:40 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Where did you find this amazing substance? I am... highly intrigued.
posted by sciatrix at 6:40 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Likewise, the only Real Dr Pepper is sweetened with Imperial Cane Sugar from Sugarland, Texas, and fresh-mixed at the fountain. HFCS and beet sugar are Heresy and the Devil's Own Spawn.
And Mr Pibb is carbonated cinnamon powder.
posted by zaixfeep at 6:45 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
And Mr Pibb is carbonated cinnamon powder.
posted by zaixfeep at 6:45 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
My Yankee wife, on the other hand, grew up making maple snow candy like she's in Little House in the Big Woods and complains regularly that she can't find Grade B.
I'm not a Yankee!
*reads the rest of the sentence*
...oh.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:48 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm not a Yankee!
*reads the rest of the sentence*
...oh.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:48 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
so be sure to ask for your VD by name
That's also good advice when partying with strangers.
posted by zaixfeep at 6:50 AM on September 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
That's also good advice when partying with strangers.
posted by zaixfeep at 6:50 AM on September 27, 2018 [12 favorites]
what is this sugarbush and what do i have to do to get invited
asking for a friend
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:52 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
asking for a friend
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:52 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
My daughters hate maple syrup too. They also like the cheap stuff. Fine, more maple for me!
posted by The_Vegetables at 6:56 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by The_Vegetables at 6:56 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
sciatrix: Apple cider syrup is pretty easy to come by in MA. Think gourmet food stores / farmstands (I saw it last weekend at Boston Public Market, for instance). A pint bottle runs about $12, I think? You can also make your own: buy a half gallon of good cider and boil it down to syrup consistency.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 7:00 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 7:00 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Apple Cider syrup
Where did you find this amazing substance?
Poured into your mimosa at a party, if the host has a bad taste in guests....
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:03 AM on September 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
Where did you find this amazing substance?
Poured into your mimosa at a party, if the host has a bad taste in guests....
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:03 AM on September 27, 2018 [7 favorites]
I got some weird wontons recently and assumed the dark sauce by them was some sort of soy sauce or teriyaki.
No, my good friends, for it was M A P L E S Y R U P.
I was betrayed!
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:03 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
No, my good friends, for it was M A P L E S Y R U P.
I was betrayed!
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:03 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Underpants Monster: "(40 gallons of sap boils down to 1 gallon of syrup.)"
...if you have sugar maples, and are lucky. The two red maples in my front yard yield a decent amount of sap (I got somewhere around 80L last year) but that usually ends up boiling down to only around 1-1.5L of syrup.
Which reminds me. I have 3L in the fridge that has been 90% finished since March, I really need to pull a pan out and just wrap it up before Spring rolls around or I'll have no place to store the NEW syrup...
PS: If you weren't aware, you don't need a lot of trees. I'm in Minneapolis, I have a grand total of 2 trees, last year I only tapped the larger one (it's about 2-2.5' diameter) and hung 3 buckets off of it. Any maple will do. And basically any tree that produces a clear spring sap can be used to make syrup. Maple just happens to have the highest sugar content. Birch or black walnut, for example, you can make syrup from those. Takes a lot more boiling, flavor profile is very different from maple. Syrup is fun. It's a lot of work and it isn't cheap to make your own (last year I think I spent $60 in propane?) but it is satisfying to be part of a tradition that dates back for centuries.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:09 AM on September 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
...if you have sugar maples, and are lucky. The two red maples in my front yard yield a decent amount of sap (I got somewhere around 80L last year) but that usually ends up boiling down to only around 1-1.5L of syrup.
Which reminds me. I have 3L in the fridge that has been 90% finished since March, I really need to pull a pan out and just wrap it up before Spring rolls around or I'll have no place to store the NEW syrup...
PS: If you weren't aware, you don't need a lot of trees. I'm in Minneapolis, I have a grand total of 2 trees, last year I only tapped the larger one (it's about 2-2.5' diameter) and hung 3 buckets off of it. Any maple will do. And basically any tree that produces a clear spring sap can be used to make syrup. Maple just happens to have the highest sugar content. Birch or black walnut, for example, you can make syrup from those. Takes a lot more boiling, flavor profile is very different from maple. Syrup is fun. It's a lot of work and it isn't cheap to make your own (last year I think I spent $60 in propane?) but it is satisfying to be part of a tradition that dates back for centuries.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:09 AM on September 27, 2018 [8 favorites]
When traveling I always carry a small jug of the real thing for use at hotel breakfasts; it really improves waffle-machine waffles. This has often drawn bemused comments from others, especially in Virginia and North Carolina; remarks have never been negative.
I have done this. It's like the Yankee cognate of "I got hot sauce in my bag."
posted by Daily Alice at 7:28 AM on September 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
I have done this. It's like the Yankee cognate of "I got hot sauce in my bag."
posted by Daily Alice at 7:28 AM on September 27, 2018 [6 favorites]
sciatrix: Apple cider syrup is pretty easy to come by in MA. Think gourmet food stores / farmstands (I saw it last weekend at Boston Public Market, for instance). A pint bottle runs about $12, I think? You can also make your own: buy a half gallon of good cider and boil it down to syrup consistency.
I was coming in to say exactly this. Only with "greenmarkets" instead of "Farmstands". I also live within day-trip distance of the Hudson Valley, which abounds with U-Pick opportunities for apples, peaches, strawberries, and a fafillion other fruits; they usually have other "things we made using the stuff in our orchard before you all came to pick it" products for sale as well. I think I've even seen it at a regular supermarket.
Also, a specific recipe is here - It is indeed as simple as "dump things into a pan and boil for about a half hour until the cider reduces down to a syrup consistency". That recipe adds some sugar and some spices, but you don't even need to do that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:37 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was coming in to say exactly this. Only with "greenmarkets" instead of "Farmstands". I also live within day-trip distance of the Hudson Valley, which abounds with U-Pick opportunities for apples, peaches, strawberries, and a fafillion other fruits; they usually have other "things we made using the stuff in our orchard before you all came to pick it" products for sale as well. I think I've even seen it at a regular supermarket.
Also, a specific recipe is here - It is indeed as simple as "dump things into a pan and boil for about a half hour until the cider reduces down to a syrup consistency". That recipe adds some sugar and some spices, but you don't even need to do that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:37 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
When traveling I always carry a small jug of the real thing for use at hotel breakfasts; it really improves waffle-machine waffles. This has often drawn bemused comments from others, especially in Virginia and North Carolina; remarks have never been negative.
I have done this. It's like the Yankee cognate of "I got hot sauce in my bag."
I brought maple syrup to college with me in case they didn't have any.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:38 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
I have done this. It's like the Yankee cognate of "I got hot sauce in my bag."
I brought maple syrup to college with me in case they didn't have any.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:38 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
Those maple trees are probably horrified by us. Think about it -- to them, if we drain them of enough syrup, they're afraid they'll die and come back as human syrup-sucking vampires. To a maple tree, Dracula wears a flannel shirt and carries a bucket.
posted by zaixfeep at 7:41 AM on September 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by zaixfeep at 7:41 AM on September 27, 2018 [11 favorites]
I feel like Mimi Sheraton spent a lot of time here laying out why I should not highly value her opinion when it comes to food. I have a hard time fucking with people who prefer waffles over pancakes, this... I cannot handle.
posted by GoblinHoney at 7:43 AM on September 27, 2018
posted by GoblinHoney at 7:43 AM on September 27, 2018
Its written in a very snotty manner, as if calculated to make the reader dislike the writer acutely. If this was the aim, it was successful.
posted by theora55 at 7:47 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 7:47 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
I dislike maple syrup -- fake or real -- except on pancakes or waffles, where it is truly excellent.
Keep it out and off of my sausage, bacon, coffee, donuts, sweet potatoes, desserts etc. and we're good.
Especially the bacon. Bacon is sacrosanct. It doesn't need maple. It doesn't need to be in chocolate. Leave it on its own pedestal to shine in its own perfect glory.
posted by Foosnark at 7:47 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Keep it out and off of my sausage, bacon, coffee, donuts, sweet potatoes, desserts etc. and we're good.
Especially the bacon. Bacon is sacrosanct. It doesn't need maple. It doesn't need to be in chocolate. Leave it on its own pedestal to shine in its own perfect glory.
posted by Foosnark at 7:47 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have a hard time fucking with people who prefer waffles over pancakes
Waffles make the angry go away.
posted by nubs at 7:49 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Waffles make the angry go away.
posted by nubs at 7:49 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'd like to be buried in a leak proof casket filled with maple syrup like some kind of a hoser pharoah.
A maple mellified man?
posted by TedW at 7:50 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
A maple mellified man?
posted by TedW at 7:50 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also from Vermont, also dislike maple syrup (I am more likely to go for the fake stuff on the rare occasions when I eat pancakes). I'm not gonna write a big long essay about why people who like maple syrup are wrong, though, because hey, you eat what you like, and I'll eat what I like, and we'll all be happy.
posted by sarcasticah at 7:59 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by sarcasticah at 7:59 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Waffles make the angry go away."
If every waffle was like the ones at waffle house, life would be sublime.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:05 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
If every waffle was like the ones at waffle house, life would be sublime.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:05 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Never mind that she hates maple syrup. Are we all just going to ignore the fact that she apparently likes to put chocolate syrup in soda?!
posted by asnider at 8:17 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by asnider at 8:17 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
Not really as clever as Dorothy Parker is she?
posted by Pembquist at 8:31 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Pembquist at 8:31 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
"I don't like sweet things"
"I like waffles with powdered sugar"
Go away.
posted by bgrebs at 8:41 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
"I like waffles with powdered sugar"
Go away.
posted by bgrebs at 8:41 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
people who prefer waffles over pancakes, this.
A waffle is just a pancake with an ornate exterior.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:46 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
A waffle is just a pancake with an ornate exterior.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:46 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
So I'm guessing that the stick up her butt is not maple?
posted by Splunge at 8:53 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 8:53 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
When I was living in the midwest, the highlight of flying home for holidays was buying maple sugar candy shaped like moose and New Hampshire. I have a problem with syrup as a pancake condiment because then the pancakes become disconcertingly mushy, but give me those delicious sugar crystals and I'll be happy forever.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:59 AM on September 27, 2018
posted by ChuraChura at 8:59 AM on September 27, 2018
I used to have two co-workers from Virginia who said that they grew up putting light molasses or sorghum syrup on things a New Yorker would use maple for.
Now that locavorism is a thing and you can go to restaurants that only serve stuff produced in the local foodshed, this is popping up again. I don't think I'd ever had sorghum anything until we had dinner at Woodberry Kitchen. Some of what they're doing feels a little performative (e.g. using verjus instead of citrus in cocktails, because citrus doesn't grow within their locavore radius) but a whole lot of it was delicious and enlightening in roughly equal measure.
But what do I know. I've brought maple syrup back from Canada on multiple occasions, so my tastes are clearly suspect.
posted by fedward at 9:28 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Now that locavorism is a thing and you can go to restaurants that only serve stuff produced in the local foodshed, this is popping up again. I don't think I'd ever had sorghum anything until we had dinner at Woodberry Kitchen. Some of what they're doing feels a little performative (e.g. using verjus instead of citrus in cocktails, because citrus doesn't grow within their locavore radius) but a whole lot of it was delicious and enlightening in roughly equal measure.
But what do I know. I've brought maple syrup back from Canada on multiple occasions, so my tastes are clearly suspect.
posted by fedward at 9:28 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
A waffle is just a pancake with an ornate exterior.
The better to hold the maple syrup.
posted by nubs at 9:29 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
The better to hold the maple syrup.
posted by nubs at 9:29 AM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Vesihiisi:
I've never had maple syrup. Should I? I do like pancakes.
Finnish pancakes (the crepe-like ones, not pannukakku) drenched with are fantastic (although, come to think of it, pannukakku with maple syrup would be great, too). One of the benefits of growing up with a Finnish-Canadian grandmother was being stuffed to the ears with Finnish pancakes with maple syrup whenever we visited.
ChuraChura:
I have a problem with syrup as a pancake condiment because then the pancakes become disconcertingly mushy
Because Finnish pancakes are thinner and more crepe-y, this problem has a delicious solution.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:58 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
I've never had maple syrup. Should I? I do like pancakes.
Finnish pancakes (the crepe-like ones, not pannukakku) drenched with are fantastic (although, come to think of it, pannukakku with maple syrup would be great, too). One of the benefits of growing up with a Finnish-Canadian grandmother was being stuffed to the ears with Finnish pancakes with maple syrup whenever we visited.
ChuraChura:
I have a problem with syrup as a pancake condiment because then the pancakes become disconcertingly mushy
Because Finnish pancakes are thinner and more crepe-y, this problem has a delicious solution.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:58 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
If your pancakes have time to get mushy YOU'RE DOIN' IT WORNG!
posted by evilDoug at 10:19 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by evilDoug at 10:19 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
No no you put loads of butter on first which melts and makes the pancakes or waffles less liable to disintegrate. It’s like putting mayo on your burger bun so the meat juice doesn’t make the bread soggy.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:23 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:23 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
If your pancakes have time to get mushy YOU'RE DOIN' IT WORNG!
If I preferred waffles this much, I could totally see thinking pancakes are mushy. Some more than others, but I think we've probably had pancakes whose batter was overmixed to glutination, making them...less good, and bordering on gloppy once I put enough syrup and butter in an attempt to compensate. This probably happens to me probably half the time when ordering outside of my kitchen, but I also learned my lesson long ago and pretty much only eat my own pancakes anymore. I'll get a waffle out more often than not, or something else entirely.
posted by rhizome at 10:24 AM on September 27, 2018
If I preferred waffles this much, I could totally see thinking pancakes are mushy. Some more than others, but I think we've probably had pancakes whose batter was overmixed to glutination, making them...less good, and bordering on gloppy once I put enough syrup and butter in an attempt to compensate. This probably happens to me probably half the time when ordering outside of my kitchen, but I also learned my lesson long ago and pretty much only eat my own pancakes anymore. I'll get a waffle out more often than not, or something else entirely.
posted by rhizome at 10:24 AM on September 27, 2018
Thorzdad: My wife doesn't care for maple syrup. I still love her. Mostly.
Vegetables: My daughters hate maple syrup too. Fine, more maple for
me!
See, Thorzdad, Vegtables has the correct response.
Everybody who doesn't like maple syrup, feel free to pour on all the HFCS you like. Just don't put your sticky fingers on my jug of deliciousness.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:27 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Vegetables: My daughters hate maple syrup too. Fine, more maple for
me!
See, Thorzdad, Vegtables has the correct response.
Everybody who doesn't like maple syrup, feel free to pour on all the HFCS you like. Just don't put your sticky fingers on my jug of deliciousness.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:27 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Every once in a while I go super-Colonial, whip up a pot of hasty pudding, and drench it in maple syrup.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:28 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:28 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Literally my only complaint about maple syrup is the price. I used to sip it neat when I was a kid.
it is ASTOUNDINGLY expensive outside the us/canada; however one of my greatest delights was introducing south american friends to maple syrup and watching them weep as they poured it directly into their mouths. well worth the 20 euros for a tiny bottle of the not even very good CAMP brand.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:31 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
it is ASTOUNDINGLY expensive outside the us/canada; however one of my greatest delights was introducing south american friends to maple syrup and watching them weep as they poured it directly into their mouths. well worth the 20 euros for a tiny bottle of the not even very good CAMP brand.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:31 AM on September 27, 2018 [5 favorites]
A waffle is just a pancake with an ornate exterior.
Depends...are you just pouring pancake batter into a waffle iron or are you getting fancy and making Belgian waffles, which are a decidedly different thing.
posted by asnider at 10:50 AM on September 27, 2018
Depends...are you just pouring pancake batter into a waffle iron or are you getting fancy and making Belgian waffles, which are a decidedly different thing.
posted by asnider at 10:50 AM on September 27, 2018
Even my Best Foods cookbook recipe puts twice the eggs in waffle batter as pancake.
posted by rhizome at 11:01 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 11:01 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
egregiously fluffy pancakes are an abomination and if they get soggy it is only what you DESERVE, abominators
posted by poffin boffin at 11:05 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by poffin boffin at 11:05 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Don't shoot me, but I will eat toaster waffles just so I can have the maple syrup.
posted by jaruwaan at 11:08 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jaruwaan at 11:08 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, some of the ingredient ratios are a bit different but on the eggs and batter scale, it's something like pancakes/waffles ----------------------------------> popover.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:08 AM on September 27, 2018
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:08 AM on September 27, 2018
01) entire loaf of fresh hot crusty fronch bred
02) 1 ton of butter upon loaf
03) maple syrup atop butters
04) hungrily devour
05) repeat
posted by poffin boffin at 11:12 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
02) 1 ton of butter upon loaf
03) maple syrup atop butters
04) hungrily devour
05) repeat
posted by poffin boffin at 11:12 AM on September 27, 2018 [2 favorites]
mandolin conspiracy: I approve of the idea of this Nordic/Canadian combo! Confusingly, a default Swedish pannkaka is the thin crepe thing; a thick, American-style pancake is an amerikansk pannkaka, because of course it is.
A 250 ml bottle of the stuff seems to cost about $5.8 USD in this part of the world.
posted by Vesihiisi at 11:18 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
A 250 ml bottle of the stuff seems to cost about $5.8 USD in this part of the world.
posted by Vesihiisi at 11:18 AM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
Pro-tip:
Take a non-stick pan and heat it over medium heat till good and hot.
Drop in some butter. I dunno, like half a tablespoon? Your call. Let it melt till the water cooks off.
Drop 2 (or 4, if your pan is big enough) eggos into the pan. Cook on one side till deliciously golden brown. Flip. Cook till other side is deliciously golden brown.
Serve with real maple syrup.
Now, do these hold a candle to a really well made, real waffle? Not really. But, they'll be the best eggos you've ever had, and they take about the same time as using a toaster.
posted by tocts at 11:49 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Take a non-stick pan and heat it over medium heat till good and hot.
Drop in some butter. I dunno, like half a tablespoon? Your call. Let it melt till the water cooks off.
Drop 2 (or 4, if your pan is big enough) eggos into the pan. Cook on one side till deliciously golden brown. Flip. Cook till other side is deliciously golden brown.
Serve with real maple syrup.
Now, do these hold a candle to a really well made, real waffle? Not really. But, they'll be the best eggos you've ever had, and they take about the same time as using a toaster.
posted by tocts at 11:49 AM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
Japanese Costco has pretty cheap maple syrup. More expensive than here in Canada but not by all that much, and much cheaper than what you'd get elsewhere in Japan. I don't know if this holds true elsewhere but it might be worth a shot if you don't live in a maple syrup producing area.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:07 PM on September 27, 2018
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:07 PM on September 27, 2018
Like honey a hell of a lot of "pure maple syrup" that is a "product of Canada" is now largely made from high fructose corn syrup and "natural flavour". Product of Canada means that it was packaged for retail sale in Canada, and says nothing about the fact that it came out of a tanker truck that cross the US border going north. Natural flavour is derived from an original inexpensive flavour source, such as apple, and then chemically altered so the molecules twist up and taste different. It doesn't matter how it is labeled. If you are allergic to corn you do NOT use honey or maple syrup.
One reason she may not like maple syrup may be because she's not eating maple syrup.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:48 PM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
One reason she may not like maple syrup may be because she's not eating maple syrup.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:48 PM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
I respect the dedication of the craftsmen producing it... Good, but what about the women who do this work?
On our dirt road (central Vermont) women check the sap buckets, run the boilers, add stickers to the glass bottles. At home, my wife does way more work than I do with sugaring.
posted by doctornemo at 3:57 PM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
On our dirt road (central Vermont) women check the sap buckets, run the boilers, add stickers to the glass bottles. At home, my wife does way more work than I do with sugaring.
posted by doctornemo at 3:57 PM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
incidentally if anyone from vermont wants to rec me a source for grade b now that dragonfly sugarworks has disappeared that would be great thx
posted by poffin boffin at 4:09 PM on September 27, 2018
posted by poffin boffin at 4:09 PM on September 27, 2018
What used to be grade B is now "grade A medium amber". What you really want, of course, is the old grade C, now "grade A dark amber". If you enjoy the full maple taste, that is.
Even then. When my parents were out in the Upper Midwest, the supposedly "real maple syrup" available there was not up to par. We used to have to bring bottles of the actual good stuff when we went to visit for the holidays, to stock them up for the year. New York and Quebec may be some of the major maple syrup producers by quantity, but not by quality.
There's probably some element of getting used to the particular flavor profile of maple syrup that one grew up with, though. I find there's a slight variation in taste even between dark amber maple syrups made with by a similar process but from different states/provinces.
If, as is the case with some folks I've known, you're just as happy with "pancake syrup" or can't taste the difference between different grades of maple syrup, then please do buy the light amber stuff and don't waste the good stuff, though.
posted by eviemath at 5:16 PM on September 27, 2018
Even then. When my parents were out in the Upper Midwest, the supposedly "real maple syrup" available there was not up to par. We used to have to bring bottles of the actual good stuff when we went to visit for the holidays, to stock them up for the year. New York and Quebec may be some of the major maple syrup producers by quantity, but not by quality.
There's probably some element of getting used to the particular flavor profile of maple syrup that one grew up with, though. I find there's a slight variation in taste even between dark amber maple syrups made with by a similar process but from different states/provinces.
If, as is the case with some folks I've known, you're just as happy with "pancake syrup" or can't taste the difference between different grades of maple syrup, then please do buy the light amber stuff and don't waste the good stuff, though.
posted by eviemath at 5:16 PM on September 27, 2018
I can't read the article (maybe an ad-blocker issue?) but I can catch the tone just fine from the comments here.
I like maple syrup ok, but I don't like how it (and HFCS, sugar, fake sugar, etc) get added to everything. There are many things that don't need to be sweet, but obviously people like it that way, so sweet it is.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:16 PM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
I like maple syrup ok, but I don't like how it (and HFCS, sugar, fake sugar, etc) get added to everything. There are many things that don't need to be sweet, but obviously people like it that way, so sweet it is.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:16 PM on September 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
For folks including poffin boffin seeking deep maple flavor from Vermont sugarmakers, what you might want is now called Grade A Deep Robust.
Top notch Morse Farm in Vermont is the real deal.
Not sure where Dakin Farm sources their syrup from year to year, but I trust them to offer high quality products from Vermont.
Family-owned Vermont Maple Farm is another option, and there are many other reputable local sources; these are off the top of my head and offer shipping.
posted by vers at 6:22 PM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
Top notch Morse Farm in Vermont is the real deal.
Not sure where Dakin Farm sources their syrup from year to year, but I trust them to offer high quality products from Vermont.
Family-owned Vermont Maple Farm is another option, and there are many other reputable local sources; these are off the top of my head and offer shipping.
posted by vers at 6:22 PM on September 27, 2018 [4 favorites]
I want to know what confluence of forces caused all three of those sites to not have any size information for the stuff I want.
posted by rhizome at 9:38 PM on September 27, 2018
posted by rhizome at 9:38 PM on September 27, 2018
You know you grew up poor when you realize the fake maple syrup is actually sweeter and stronger tasting than the real stuff. I actually prefer Aunt Jemimah's, and thank god because I'm not really poor anymore but I am incredibly cheap.
posted by zardoz at 11:47 PM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zardoz at 11:47 PM on September 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
$50-$60 USD for a gallon of the good stuff is pretty comparable with market prices in Toronto, at least. We pay ~$20 CAD for a litre, e.g. And there goes my dreams of a maple syrup arbitrage business. That's okay, shipping that stuff is a pain. We sent a couple litres to a friend in the US a few years ago and it's not just that the stuff is heavy, you also have to leak-proof package it and protect the container from being burst or pierced.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:25 AM on September 28, 2018
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:25 AM on September 28, 2018
If you have a typical American palate like me and love maple syrup, you owe it to yourself to try this Bourbon barrel maple syrup (also available at my Costco) which is just amazing. I eat it with a banana and oatmeal and it's like some sort of regal bananas foster for breakfast.
posted by lubujackson at 7:49 AM on September 28, 2018
posted by lubujackson at 7:49 AM on September 28, 2018
I like everything but I do have to say that maple syrup played a part in one of the better moments of my life.
A particular maple glazed long john with bacon from Chicago's now defunct Glazed and Infused was possibly the most sublime experience of my life. I had about 5 of them over a couple years and they were all good but that particular one at that particular time was the intersection of all kinds of perfection. It blew my mind as I ate it walking down the street on a fine fall day and I still think about it from time to time even though it was several years ago. I've eaten food from Grant Achatz, I've had the theatrical over the top cocktails, I've had a couple of the best and rarest Trappist beer, I've been to plenty of really good fine dining restaurants in many countries and that particular doughnut is the "moment" for me. Weird. And maple syrup was there. So thanks for that maple tree blood!
(The next closest experiences were listening to Sinead O'Conner on my brand new walkman while grocery shopping when I was a teenager(Mind Blown) and seeing my first live opera (woah!)
posted by srboisvert at 8:43 AM on September 28, 2018 [4 favorites]
A particular maple glazed long john with bacon from Chicago's now defunct Glazed and Infused was possibly the most sublime experience of my life. I had about 5 of them over a couple years and they were all good but that particular one at that particular time was the intersection of all kinds of perfection. It blew my mind as I ate it walking down the street on a fine fall day and I still think about it from time to time even though it was several years ago. I've eaten food from Grant Achatz, I've had the theatrical over the top cocktails, I've had a couple of the best and rarest Trappist beer, I've been to plenty of really good fine dining restaurants in many countries and that particular doughnut is the "moment" for me. Weird. And maple syrup was there. So thanks for that maple tree blood!
(The next closest experiences were listening to Sinead O'Conner on my brand new walkman while grocery shopping when I was a teenager(Mind Blown) and seeing my first live opera (woah!)
posted by srboisvert at 8:43 AM on September 28, 2018 [4 favorites]
Because Finnish pancakes
Oh, I'll finnish my pancakes, all right. Just pass me the maple syrple.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:46 AM on September 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Oh, I'll finnish my pancakes, all right. Just pass me the maple syrple.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:46 AM on September 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Oh my god, "Grade A Dark" is one of my biggest pet peeves.
I've never seen grade C, but it sounds like I need to get some!
Supposedly birch syrup is also very good, but it makes maple syrup look cheap in comparison.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:18 PM on September 28, 2018
I've never seen grade C, but it sounds like I need to get some!
Supposedly birch syrup is also very good, but it makes maple syrup look cheap in comparison.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:18 PM on September 28, 2018
This thread made me remember we had some real maple syrup my son had brought from Canada. I made French toast with syrup and it was delicious. On the other hand, I do not like ranch dressing. To each her own.
posted by mermayd at 10:04 AM on September 29, 2018
posted by mermayd at 10:04 AM on September 29, 2018
Don't sell yourself short. Reality has a pro maple syrup, anti ranch dressing bias.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:36 AM on September 29, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:36 AM on September 29, 2018 [7 favorites]
I've never seen grade C, but it sounds like I need to get some!
You'll have trouble with that.
posted by eviemath at 6:15 PM on September 29, 2018
You'll have trouble with that.
posted by eviemath at 6:15 PM on September 29, 2018
And basically any tree that produces a clear spring sap can be used to make syrup. Maple just happens to have the highest sugar content. Birch or black walnut, for example, you can make syrup from those.
Oh, somehow I missed this! Yes, this is true - I think I have some birch syrup in my cabinet now. (I have a weird attraction to funky syrups and jellies and preserves, despite not really eating much toast or pancakes.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:58 AM on October 4, 2018
Oh, somehow I missed this! Yes, this is true - I think I have some birch syrup in my cabinet now. (I have a weird attraction to funky syrups and jellies and preserves, despite not really eating much toast or pancakes.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:58 AM on October 4, 2018
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