Savvy buyers examine the label for components of meals that could be ultra-processed and know what they’re shopping for. That shapely bottle of pancake syrup could seem like a bottle of maple syrup, however pancake syrup is a closely processed product and almost definitely would not comprise a drop of actual maple syrup. For instance, you’ve got in all probability figured on the market’s no butter in Mrs. Butterworth’s, but it surely’s additionally primarily made from excessive fructose corn syrup, common corn syrup, and water, and its maple flavoring is fully fabricated utilizing synthetic components with a bit molasses tossed in for coloring. Alternatively, maple syrup made in Vermont or Quebec — the 2 main producers of maple syrup on the planet — by legislation should be a pure distillation of maple sap with nothing else added. In different phrases: It is the actual factor.

The U.S. and Canada work collectively to make sure the purest product, most lately adopting the identical requirements for grading maple syrup. The FDA, nevertheless, has no set requirements for pancake syrup however does have laws for labeling the kind of sugar that is added to a multi-ingredient product. Producers are required to listing the dietary worth of merchandise however not how a lot sugar is definitely added to it. You additionally should not be fooled by a pancake syrup that is marketed as all pure, like Log Cabin, which states that it has no excessive fructose corn syrup. Log Cabin’s declare is true, however as an alternative, its desk syrup is made from brown-rice sugar, brown sugar, and undisclosed “pure taste.” 

There are various pancake recipes which might be completed off with honey or brown sugar moderately than syrup. However typically, you need that weekend morning style of maple — or maple flavoring — drenched over your flapjacks. If pancakes or waffles are a part of your breakfast repertoire, you might forego spending appreciable cash on a bottle of pure maple syrup. And undoubtedly, pancake syrup is less expensive, so if you happen to’re budget-conscious — and who is not as of late? — you will bypass the beautiful maple-leaf bottles and seize your less-expensive syrup of selection.

There is a cause why there’s such a value distinction between pancake syrup and maple syrup. As a result of there is not any maple syrup — or a minuscule quantity of it — in pancake syrup and it is manufactured virtually fully of sugar or corn syrup, it is less expensive to make on a big scale. Maple syrup, nevertheless, is made in small batches from the sap of sugar maple bushes that may solely be tapped between late February and early April, roughly 4 to 6 weeks per yr. The sap is boiled down and concentrated — roughly 40 gallons of sap produce one gallon of syrup — graded for coloration and taste, and bottled. In Canada, if the syrup would not meet precise requirements, it isn’t bought as maple syrup. It is all very labor intensive and time-consuming, however the outcomes are undeniably scrumptious.

Lastly, if you happen to’re questioning if maple syrup expires, it does, however since pancake syrup has preservatives, you’ll be able to nonetheless use it for a minimum of a yr after opening.