More and more people want to use something other than white table sugar in the kitchen and are trying out alternatives – such as maple syrup. But what exactly is maple syrup, how does it differ from sugar and honey, and how is it best used? In this article, we take a closer look.
- What is maple syrup and how is it made?
- The color grades: from Golden to Very Dark
- Maple syrup, sugar and honey compared
- Replacing sugar with maple syrup – here's how
- 10 ideas for using maple syrup
What is maple syrup and how is it made?
Maple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees, above all the sugar maple. It is traditionally served with pancakes, waffles, French toast, yogurt or ice cream. It is produced almost exclusively in Canada and the northeastern USA, where maple trees grow in large numbers.
In late winter and early spring, when frosty nights are followed by mild days, the trunk is tapped and the sap collected. It is then boiled down: the water evaporates and the syrup remains. It takes around 40 liters of maple sap to make one liter of maple syrup. You can read what this looks like in practice in our article about Crown Maple from New York.
The trees are not cut down for this. A strong, mature maple can be tapped again and again for many decades – in Canada and the USA there are precise rules on how many taps a tree may have depending on its trunk diameter.
The color grades: from Golden to Very Dark
How light or dark a maple syrup is depends mainly on when it is harvested: early in the season the syrup is usually light and mildly sweet, later it becomes darker and stronger. In the USA and Canada, Grade A maple syrup is divided into four color classes:
- Golden – mild and delicate, ideal for yogurt or desserts
- Amber – rounded and full-bodied, the classic for pancakes and waffles
- Dark – robust, with a distinct caramel note, great for baking and marinades
- Very Dark – very intense, mainly for cooking and baking
Maple syrup, sugar and honey compared
First things first: like honey and table sugar, maple syrup is primarily sugar and should be enjoyed accordingly. The differences lie mainly in origin, flavor and processing:
- Table sugar is extracted from sugar beet or sugar cane and refined. It has a neutral sweetness and is easy to measure.
- Honey is made by bees from flower nectar or honeydew. Depending on the variety, it tastes floral, fruity or tangy. As an animal product, it is not vegan.
- Maple syrup is boiled-down tree sap with nothing added. It tastes of caramel and vanilla with a slightly woody note and is purely plant-based.
Because maple syrup contains about one third water, it has fewer calories per 100 g than table sugar (around 260 kcal compared to around 400 kcal). When sweetening, however, this partly evens out, as you need a little more syrup for the same sweetness. Worth knowing when buying: real maple syrup is 100% maple sap. Cheap "pancake syrups" from the supermarket, on the other hand, are often sugar syrup with maple flavoring – it is worth checking the ingredients list.
Replacing sugar with maple syrup – here's how
Maple syrup is a good substitute for sugar in cooking and baking. As a rule of thumb, use about 75 ml of maple syrup for 100 g of sugar and reduce the other liquid in the recipe by around 3 tablespoons. Since maple syrup browns faster, lower the baking temperature by about 10–15 °C. Cakes, muffins and cookies become moister and get a fine caramel flavor.
10 ideas for using maple syrup
When it comes to maple syrup, most people think of pancakes and waffles first – and rightly so. But it can do much more. Be sure to try it:
- with French toast
- with crispy fried bacon
- in yogurt or porridge
- with baked beans (very popular in North America)
- as a marinade or glaze for grilled meat, salmon or vegetables
- as a topping for ice cream
- to sweeten tea or coffee
- for baking muffins, cakes and cookies
- with roasted vegetables, especially carrots and pumpkin
- in salad dressing
Maple syrup is a true all-rounder in the kitchen and gives many dishes a distinctive note. Why not give it a try?
Matching products in our shop
- Amber Color Maple Syrup by Crown Maple – the full-bodied classic for pancakes and waffles
- Dark Color Maple Syrup by Crown Maple – robust, ideal for baking and marinades
- Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup by Crown Maple – aged in bourbon barrels
- Organic Maple Sugar Pancake Mix by Crown Maple – the perfect base for pancakes
You can find more varieties in our Crown Maple collection.
