Most Americans associate maple syrup with pancakes (not crepes). While delicious, syrup on your Sunday morning pancakes is just the beginning of the wonderful spectrum of flavors that complement maple syrup!
Vermont Maple syrup is a 100% natural product made by concentrating the sap of sugar maple trees. It takes 42 liters of sap to make 1 liter of maple syrup and nothing else is added to make the delicious Amber or Dark that you enjoy. Vermont Maple syrup is simple in its ingredients, and complex in flavor and craftsmanship.
Mid-season, the syrup is Amber. The flavor is rich and complex. There is a foundation of maple and caramel aromas with strong notes of vanilla, smoke, and melted butter. At the end of the season, the syrup is Dark. The flavor is much more intense, as the syrup is much more caramelized.
In 2021, James had a molecular analysis of Vermont Maple Amber and Dark maple syrup performed for the purpose of food pairing. These pairings are a great match in aroma to our Amber because these foods share molecules in common with our syrup.
- Bakery & Pastry - wheat bread, ciabatta, rye bread
- Beverages - Central & South American washed coffees, light or medium roast
- Condiments - Picual olive oil (most common varietal in Spanish olive oil), soy sauce, doenjang
- Dairy - Emmental, Gruyère, goat milk
- Fish & Shellfish - salmon, smoked salmon, crab meat, cooked scallops
- Fonds, Stocks & Sauces - chicken fond, pigeon fond, shellfish fumet
- Fruits & Nuts - Jackfruit, passion fruit, apricot
- Meat - Smoked salami, bacon, rabbit
- Herbs and Spices - Chili powder, ginger, basil
- Vegetables - Dried chipotle peppers, cepe/porcini, pan fried okra
As you can see, maple syrup is a lot more than sweet. There are unexpected pairings that open opportunities in European, Indian, South Asian, African, Korean, Mexican cuisine to replace sugar and other boring sweeteners with more interesting flavors.
Ready to start cooking with maple syrup? Shop our selection of syrups to get started.
For more recipe suggestions, check out our other blog posts. If you're new to the world of maple syrup, start off with Plain yogurt with Vermont Maple syrup or Vermont Maple coffee. Ready to jump right in? Try our Peach pizza with Vermont Maple balsamic glaze or Vermont Maple tahini dressing.
If you experiment with Vermont Maple syrup in your kitchen, we'd love to hear about it! Follow Vermont Maple on Instagram and tag @vermontmaple.ch in your posts.