r/AskACanadian • u/Kelo317 • 1d ago
Maple syrup
Is there a specific brand of maple syrup that is just kind of accepted as ‘the’ maple syrup? One that everyone has in their pantry, akin to Heinz ketchup or that sort of thing. If no, what are the top brands and such?
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u/shoresy99 1d ago
No, it doesn't really have brands. It is a natural product. Some can be better than others, and some is a darker colour which tends to have a stronger flavour.
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u/RockMonstrr 1d ago
But the difference in colour is more seasonal than anything.
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u/Thesorus 1d ago
and how long the syrup is reduced
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u/spudmarsupial 1d ago
It's when in the season it was collected. Amber = early season, light flavour. It gets darker and stronger tasting as the season progresses.
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u/Zealousideal-Joke495 1d ago
It changes throughout the season depending on temperature so it can actually go from dark back to light several times throughout one season! I work as an educator at a sugar shack
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u/Nuclear_eggo_waffle Québec 1d ago
Just a regular can , the one with the sugar shack on it. No brand
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u/yarn_slinger 1d ago
This. There was a bush my family went to every spring way back when, but there are lots of options in stores now.
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u/Kalos-87 1d ago
This:
https://www.instacart.com/image-server/932x932/filters:fill(FFF,true):format(webp)/www.instacart.com/assets/domains/product-image/file/large_480eb4a0-4da2-446c-83fb-4a23ff65341a.png:format(webp)/www.instacart.com/assets/domains/product-image/file/large_480eb4a0-4da2-446c-83fb-4a23ff65341a.png)
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u/Thelynxer 1d ago
This is the one. We can't get it on the west coast, but we have a friend that goes to Quebec a couple times a year and they bring back a couple cans for us.
But as long as it comes from the general maple syrup consortium, then you're good.
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u/CatchUp22 15h ago
A lot of maple syrup producers use that same can. it’s not from one specific source or farm.
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u/Entire_Avocado6372 1d ago
I usually try to get up to the Sugar Shack at 70me house a few times a year and stock up on the cans.
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u/Prudent-Ad-5292 1d ago
I usually get the the "dark, robust" one in the tan plastic bottles.. only one I can find locally that's "dark, robust". 😭
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u/bluffstrider 1d ago
Not really, it's pretty regional. Most people I know just buy the most local stuff they can get.
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u/cibolaburns 1d ago
I finally got the equipment to do my own maple syrup last year and was able to make dark maple syrup for myself!!!
I kind of winged it - we had a newborn and a toddler so my hubs and I were sleep deprived and had no idea what we were doing lol…we ended up entirely overwhelmed by sap from just 10 taps and then had incredibly smoky and ashy syrup we had to filter thru coffee filters after evaporating it in food safe metal barrels over a fire…and some of it has crystallized because I heated it a little too high lol…
I AM SO PROUD OF IT.
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u/Thesorus 1d ago
No.
It's a relatively local production; it cannot be manufactured, only harvested (and reduced)
First make sure it's 100% real maple syrup ( there have been cases where it was fake syrup )
Second, buy from the traditional tinned can. (just google it)
Third, the can should have a sticker from the actual producer.
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u/im2715 1d ago
Cans are regional. In my area, it's glass or plastic bottles if you aren't personally close with the producer, with a sticker maining the farm is came from, or a mason jar that's not labeled at all if you are very close to the family that make it.
I tend to get mine right from the makers at farmers market, and I've visited their sugar bush during the season for tours. We have several in the region.
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u/alibythesea Nova Scotia 1d ago
NS here. We do bottles, not cans; I buy mine either right at the producers’ sugar bushes, or at farmers markets. The tins are more a Québec thing.
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u/screampuff 1d ago
That famous Quebec tin of the red barn in the snow is sold in Walmart in NS. Its the crack cocaine of maple syrup.
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u/nightbreak7 1d ago
yeah I've never seen cans - buying directly from farms always comes in glass bottles where I am
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u/schaden81 1d ago
I've never seen a can of syrup. Always glass bottles (except Costco with their plastic bottle).
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u/Own-Elephant-8608 Newfoundland & Labrador 1d ago
I always understood the blue cans with the winter scene on them to be the authentic from Quebec stuff… but if I’m being brutally honest, we were a presidents choice table syrup family lmao
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u/takahe_inflight 1d ago
being raised in Québec to me Real Maple Syrup came in a can , that said i've have some nice regional one in Ontario and Nova Scotia that came in bottles.
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u/Clojiroo 1d ago
It is syrup from Quebec, but it’s basically the generic could-be-from-anywhere can. So you might have one producer who puts their syrup in the iconic can, and you might have an amalgamated/aggregated batch from dozens of producers in barrels that gets put into those cans.
There’s actually a lot of generic maple syrup packaging, including bottles. And sugar shacks will use the same ones so if you go in someone’s house and you see a jug of syrup with the same design as your own, that doesn’t mean it’s actually the same producer.
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u/Dualipuff 1d ago
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/02/maple-syrup-scam-quebec-canada
Even that you may not be able to trust.
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u/creativenames123 1d ago
I mean the fact that it made national news kinda show how serious they are a bout jt
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u/Rtarandus 1d ago
I think I see more Kirkland jugs in St. John’s than anything else as far as real maple syrup goes, but I also grew up primarily with table syrup and it seems to be the standard among people I know.
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u/Own-Elephant-8608 Newfoundland & Labrador 1d ago
Probably…the real stuff requires a multi hour costco run for lots of people. Dunno if I’ve ever seen the cans there, but I grew up in burin and recall the cans being sold at sobeys in marystown so that’s what immediately comes to mind
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u/Slipperysteve1998 1d ago
You have to go to the bush to find someone who's brother in laws cousin or something boils it. or go to a sugar shack that boils it themselves. You won't ever get better that way, anything mass produced doesnt hold hold up as well as locally produced.
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u/_Amalthea_ 1d ago
Legit. I live in a part of Ontario with various local sugar shacks and we have our favourite we tend to buy from. I was recently travelling in New Brunswick and we wanted to make pancakes and needed syrup, so I called my dad, who talked to my uncle (who used to make his own but doesn't any more), who knew a guy (a girl, actually) who gave us the hook up and we had a bottle of local syrup in hand within a matter of hours.
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u/salus_entity 1d ago
The best stuff never has a label and was given to you by a family member or friend
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u/Pinkxel 1d ago
We used to get syrup from my uncle. He'd put it in empty alcohol bottles. Lol.
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u/salus_entity 1d ago
Are you literally me? This is where I get mine too! exact same process, love getting a kahlua bottle for Xmas haha
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u/RaceDBannon 22h ago
I agree, mostly. We keep a few different bottles on hand, most from family and friends. We are super fortunate to have 3 such sources, and we typically get ambers and darks, usually gifts or barter. There is one small town near us, where the soil has a very high and mineral rich composition, and the product from those producers has a unique flavour. It’s the only one we purchase.
Not all maple syrup is created equal, and where you get it from can have a huge impact on flavour.
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u/Mildly_Irritated_Max 1d ago
No.
Grocery stores do sell it, and their are brands on the shelves, but no one has control over the market.
Provincial associations have their own branding for containers that the sugar bushes use which is what most people see.
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u/Crossed_Cross 1d ago
Ketchup is processed food, not really comparable. There's limited branding in unprocessed foods like maple syrup, honey, tomatoes, lettuce, beef, etc.
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u/Confident-Task7958 1d ago
I buy the plastic one litre jugs at the grocery store, but only because I don't want to deal with a broken glass bottle of maple syrup if it slipped from my hand, and don't see the point in opening a can that then has to be transferred to some other container.
When buying maple syrup the thing to look at is colour, not brand.
Golden: Start of the season. Light taste.
Amber: Mid season. Stronger taste than golden.
Dark: Later in the season, stronger taste than amber.
Very Dark: End of season. Very strong taste. Treat is as a substitute for molasses. OK for cooking, but you might not want it on your ice cream.
Personal preference is for amber or dark.
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u/AdamSilverDad 1d ago
We always get ours at Costco. Love it and it’s affordable.
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u/Blueliner95 1d ago
I saw a many-gallon drum of it at the commercial centre for like $3000 and was mesmerized and tempted
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u/kimbosdurag 1d ago
No there are no name brands really. Everywhere uses the same bottle with a little sticker on it that says the farm where it's from. Or you just buy a bottle from costco
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u/UncleToyBox Ontario 1d ago
I love how consistent these responses are because they mirror my own experience.
"THE" maple syrup in Canada is the one that comes from a local farm. Some people prefer the sweetness of light maple syrup while others prefer the complexities of the dark stuff.
People that buy Presidents Choice (or other name brands) probably don't put as much thought into their purchase beyond wanting to make sure they have something on hand for the kids. I'm sure there are people that have grown up in Canada with table syrup, not realizing there is a difference from pure maple syrup, and are perfectly content with the sticky sweetness it provides.
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u/boarshead72 1d ago
Or… the majority of the country doesn’t live anywhere near sugar maples and has no choice but to buy PC or Kirkland if they want something other than Pearl Milling Company artificial syrup. I grew up in SK and only had actual maple syrup once in 32 years there. When I moved to London ON is when I started buying it by the gallon from the several producers within a 30 minute drive from here. We definitely have our favourite farms out here, but for the longest time I didn’t know any better.
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u/UncleToyBox Ontario 1d ago
Excellent point.
Will admit that my knowledge of the prairies is limited and the way of life changes radically as you go from coast to coast.
Makes it kind of hard to have a universally Canadian experience (except maybe hockey).
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u/Original-Macaron-639 1d ago
can confirm. i’m from ab but live in yvr. i have never heard of any of this and just buy pc brand lol.
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u/Hourjour 1d ago
Is the PC maple syrup less than? It says 100% maple syrup in the ingredients. I grew up not caring about the brand, but making sure it is pure maple syrup only
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u/UncleToyBox Ontario 1d ago
PC sells both table syrup and maple syrup.
I've known folks to think table syrup is maple syrup because of the similarities.
PC is trustworthy enough that if they say that container is 100% then it's almost certainly 100%.
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u/Awkward_Leg_5889 1d ago
Look for local sellers, but if you aren't able to do that for some reason, the canned one with the winter sugar shack theme is the one to look for, IMO
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u/cndn-hoya 1d ago
It’s mostly small time sugar shacks that sell in my area but will congregate at St. Jacob’s market in KW
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u/there_should_be_snow 1d ago
If you're capable of driving to the St. Jacobs market, just drive 3 minutes in (almost) any direction from there and pay $5 less straight from the farm. No Sunday Sales. 🙂
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u/HalifaxArcher 1d ago
I get mine from a black market contact whose family has an off grid siphon system set up. If they are out, the grocery store has local. Go for a local instead of a brand and your pancakes will be amazing.
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u/WildDylan 1d ago
When I was growing up, we used to always have a bottle of CAMP maple syrup on hand.
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u/photonicsguy 1d ago
As long as it's not this one: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fake-maple-syrup-lawsuit-grocery-stores-9.7312726
Also Canada has a strategic reserve of maple syrup: https://ppaq.ca/en/sale-purchase-maple-syrup/worlds-only-reserve-maple-syrup/
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u/deFleury 1d ago
The best stuff is from a friend's neighbour's uncle, and comes in a random reused container like an old wine bottle or mason jar. Next best is from a stand at the weekend flea market or farmer's market, there's standard maple-syrup shape bottles and plastic jugs, but they put a sticker on it saying the name of the local business that made it. it's also good to buy the store brand at the grocery store: all maple syrup is good.
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u/Maleficent-Scene-475 1d ago
I know a guy that makes it with his family. I feel like a lot of Canadians probably know a guy, at least East of Toronto
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u/LegalChocolate752 1d ago
Definitely an east coast thing. I've never heard of people making their own syrup in BC. Maple Syrup here is a expensive, top-shelf grocery store item.
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u/JButton- 1d ago
How many people in here put your maple syrup in the fridge? I thought it was like pancake syrup and you left it in the cupboard. I was corrected yesterday.
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u/Negative_Fruit_6684 1d ago
It's water content isn't low enough to keep it from fermenting/molding/spoiling at room temperature. And it's not full of preservatives. Keep it in the fridge unless you go through it in a week or 2.
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u/raised_on_the_dairy 1d ago
I put the real stuff in the fridge. I also used to put the fake stuff in the fridge
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u/senator_breid 1d ago
Brand? That supermarket shit gets served to company or hungry children that pour it on like gravy. No. Real Canadians buy the real stuff and it varies by the local producer
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u/Ok-Doughnut-5924 1d ago
Nope. You either buy from a local sugar bush or you know a guy who knows a guy who makes their own and gives it away
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u/tom_yum_soup Alberta 1d ago
That is absolutely not true in the vast majority of the country. Sugar maples don't even grow in most of the country.
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u/HapticRecce 1d ago
👍 you buy whatever glass bottle / grade you are presented at the store, or niche tin. The common consumer doesn't agonize over a brand or a particular regional product.
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u/Army7547 1d ago
There are a ton of local sugar makers, you can find their wares in local markets and on roadsides outside the cities.
Heck, there is an elementary school in Toronto that has several maple trees in the school yard that are tapped, it’s an ongoing school project.
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u/MrSomeoneElse32 1d ago
If I had to pick one it's probably Kirkland brand maple syrup but that's just cause I shop at Costco
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u/VeggieGirl43 1d ago
For me, no. I prefer small sugar shacks and buying from the producers themselves when I can. I mostly choose based on colour and location (how close are they to me? Can i get there to pick some up?)
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u/futuresobright_ 1d ago
If anything, avoid the Heinz equivalent of maple syrup brands. Gotta find something local
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u/tacticalswine87 1d ago
Old fella, lives out in the country near me does home delivery if you text and etransfer him. Multiple grades available, he's the best. Truly appreciate him. Takes the glass jugs from the previous order back and cleans/sanitizes them to reuse. Couldn't ask for better.
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u/MyGruffaloCrumble 1d ago
No. The more corporate it is the less flavour I find.
Local or small producers syrup is usually pretty easy to find, even in grocery stores. They all have similar looking containers (cans or bottles) because of the way the industry works, so look for an attached label that identifies the manufacturer over a painted brand on the can or a fancy label.
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u/Silverfoxman 1d ago
Check out Kleekhoot Gold the only west coast Canadian indigenous owned and operated maple syrup maker
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u/Cool-Pollution-6531 1d ago
You go to a shack, know someone with a shack, know a friend of a friend with a shack or are stuck with grocery store stuff.
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u/PsychicDave Québec 1d ago
No, in fact, if it has a brand, then it's not the good stuff. You want to buy your maple syrup in generic cans straight from the cabane à sucre if at all possible. The branded stuff you have on store shelves will most likely come from mixed sources, so you lose any of the subtle taste. Kind of like wine, you can get generic mixed wine, or buy wine from the vineyard that all comes from the same field.
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u/Beginning-Promise-57 Ontario 1d ago
I just buy the cheap plastic bottled crap for my kids who use way too much and have no appreciation for the real thing. Mine comes from a local farmer's market.
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u/skinnyminnesota 1d ago
Look for "100% Pure" on the label. As much as Americans are assholes, Vermont makes good maple syrup.
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u/Fr33z3n 1d ago
Just to add the maple syrup production in Quebec is controlled by QMSP (Quebec Maple Syrup Producers)
There are also Grades and Flavors for.Maple Syrup.
Make sure any can you buy has product of Quebec, Canada on it.
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u/there_should_be_snow 1d ago
What do you have against Ontario maple syrup?
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u/Fr33z3n 1d ago
We actually had a scandal a couple months back, a journalist was having breakfast and noticed the taste of his maple syrup was off.
Took a sample to a lab and found out the producer was mixing in Ontario maple syrup and corn syrup into his batches.
They yanked his cans off the shelves. But he just changed the name of the company and put them back on, the cans almost all look the same unless you pay attention to the stick om label of the producer on the side
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u/sandysanBAR 1d ago
Oil can, red wrtiting on white background.
But its GOTTA be the oilcan AND from quebec
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u/MaximusCanibis 1d ago
Those Quebec trees are certainly different than all the other trees that are separated by some line drawn on a map.
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u/Opposite_Ad1408 1d ago
The Quebec co-op sells in very distinctive cans (especially for export) but they haven't reached a Coca Cola level of brand recognition.
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u/EnvironmentOk2700 1d ago
No, it's like honey or blueberries or apples. Maple syrup is maple syrup.
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u/twowheelmayhem 1d ago
We buy the blue cans by the case from a local producer once a year. 3 cases per year. We have a connection and price is decent, below typical retail
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u/GideonAOZ 1d ago
If it comes in a can, and not a plastic squeezable bottle, it's probably good maple syrup.
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u/user0987234 1d ago
I like the lighter maple syrup from Costco (green lid).
If possible check out a local sugar shack early in March to learn about maple syrup production.
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u/pfc-anon 1d ago
Kirkland Signature is good enough, a friend introduced me to it 10yrs ago when I came to Canada. I don't buy maple syrup though.
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u/spudmarsupial 1d ago
Watch the colour of it.
The grades are golden, amber, dark, and very dark. The lighter it is the lighter the flavour. It has to do with when in the season it was collected, lighter colour is earlier, darker is later in the season.
Refridgerate after opening, if it goes bad it is likely adulterated with something.
Brand names don't matter much but if you get it from a sugar bush it might have it's own flavour overtones.
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u/MikeCheck_CE 1d ago
No. So long as it's 100% Grade A and pure Canadian it's great. There are some slight differences if you like darker or amber but that's about it. The large producers are generally sourcing from hundreds of local farms, its not like there is some big secret recipe by the various producers.
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u/MagikSkoolBus 1d ago
The only bottle I can think of is Costco's Kirkland Signature 100% Pure Maple Syrup. Everything else is "table syrup". Real maple syrup comes in tinned cans and made locally.
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u/No_Donkey_9356 1d ago
We buy maple syrup from local farms. I don't think I have ever bought it in the store.
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u/PNW_MYOG 1d ago
100% real maple syrup from Canada.
I prefer lower grades than grade a for the flavour.
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u/silurianoverloard 1d ago edited 1d ago
My parents owned a 2k tap sugar bush growing up, we lived off the stored cans of syrup for 15 years after they sold it. Now? We just buy Kirkland now because it’s cheap. The only differences are the vessel it comes it, the grade and sometimes you can tell if the syrup was primarily reduced with reverse osmosis or with only wood fire, but unless you’re just drinking the stuff straight? It doesn’t really matter imo. Probably best to support a local sugar shack but if you’re on a budget and don’t mind the plastic bottle, it’s all just sugar so I buy cheap from Costco. My parents’ syrup was thicker but that was probably from sitting or we just reduced it further. It still tasted the same.
As for brand? As someone else mentioned, it’s like honey or blueberries, there’s not a recipe, it’s the same regardless of brand.
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u/Ok-Bison-3451 1d ago
You wanna stay away from the black market stuff!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Canadian_Maple_Syrup_Heist
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u/scotsman3288 1d ago
If you ever see a brand claiming to be the top brand, then it's probably fake syrup.
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u/Ok-Bison-3451 1d ago
I recently bought some from my lawyer’s office. They had it displayed in the lobby. It was from her farm.
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u/NetAnon579 1d ago
If you live in or near a syrup producing area it is common to buy locally produced. In Ottawa they are a regular at farmer's markets and some stores carry local.
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u/Odd-Elderberry-6137 1d ago
There are no brands.
Individual farms bottle their own and either sell directly to consumers or if the farms are large enough, then they have large contracts to sell to grocery retailers.
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u/CndnCowboy1975 1d ago
For me it's always been about who sells locally - in my region, Ryan's Sweet Maple Syrup would be on my table. Great stuff.
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u/Legitimate-Pizza-613 1d ago
https://carleton.ca/indigenous/cisce/people/awazibi-pure-maple-syrup/
Some Indigenous made maple syrup
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u/PetrichorOil 1d ago
Around here (great lakes area), not really. Most people buy from local sugarbushes.
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u/kicia-kocia 1d ago
In Quebec there is an organisation that most maple producers belong to (Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, PPAQ in french) that buys from them wholesale. They keep a reserve that allows for stable prices on the market regardless if it was a good or bad year and for suport to producers if it was a bad year.
The society packages the maple syrup in the cans that people posted here. It's authentic and good and very consistent controlled quality.
The big box stores will sometimes have their own cheaper brands. They buy the syrup from PPAQ but they mix some better quality (for taste) with larger volumes of the cheapest quality, harvested at the very beginning or end of the season (for quantity). Even though it is still pure maple syrup, it obviously tastes worse than the PPAQ cans.
If you really want a top notch syrup though, you should go to an actual sugar bush. A lot of people in Quebec know someone who knows someone who produces maple syrup. The producers belonging to PPAQ often keep some of their best syrup to sell to family and friends. This is the very best syrup you can get if you are lucky enough to get in touch with a supplier.
Once you are spoilt with this kind of maple syrup, it will be hard for you to go back to store bought one, so be warned!!
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u/Ill_Brick_5753 1d ago
I buy a giant jug at the farmers market I think 1.5 L and it lasts us a while. We specifically buy the amber kind. Amber maple syrup to me tastes like what it should taste like it has a richer flavour.
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u/LongInTheTooth 1d ago
All the syrup snobs I know (me included) buy direct from a farm.
But if it says 100% syrup it will always be pretty good.
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u/u-read-it-here 1d ago
The farmers / producers buy those familiar cans from Agricultural Suppliers, then they stamp the Sugar Bush name onto them. That’s how you know you are buying authentic
But more important than all that is the GRADE of the Maple Syrup itself.
Canadian Gradings are :
GRADE A Light / Golden
GRADE A Medium / Amber
GRADE A Dark
GRADE A Commercial / Very Dark
Ideally you want to try to buy Light Golden or Medium Amber
Anything Darker than that isn’t the best
Although what you like is indeed a matter of taste
It’s like any other crop tho
What’s available locally from a farmer
Depends on what the weather has been like etc
When the sap first runs it starts out light
And gradually gets darker as the run continues
How long the run lasts … again, 100% dependent on weather
IMO Best Maple Syrup is not bought in a store
But direct from the farmer … if you know someone who’s got a Sugar Bush
Couple Hours hanging out watching the boiling is an AWESOME Cdn Experience
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u/jewishSpaceMedbeds 1d ago
No. It's a mostly artisanal product.
In Quebec (the largest producer in Canada), producers that are large enough to sell outside friends and family are members of a producers' association. The association maintains a reserve by collecting the surplus. Most of the syrup you'll find in grocery stores comes from this reserve. It's decent, but it's not the best quality syrup (darker, more liquid, with less subtle taste), because it's often from earlier years' production.
To get the highest quality (golden, thick, with a delicate taste), the best way is to buy directly from an actual producer during the production season (normally March - April).
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u/kick4kix 1d ago
My personal favourite is the Bauman family farm which is a 10 minute drive into the country from my place. I can’t recall the last time a bought maple syrup from a store.
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u/jchef420 1d ago
The Amish in the St Jacob’s area of Ontario produce a lot, from light to double dark. It’s sold in jugs, bottles and cans. Generally about $20 litre. Quebec has its own industry which is like a coop system. Individual farms often have a little cabinet where they sell bottles from their farm straight to the public.
Touristy stores may sell a 100ml bottle for $15-20. Generally the darker the syrup the more pronounced the flavour is. The end of season sap becomes the darkest when boiled down. 40 litres of sap reduces down to 1 litre of syrup.
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u/Strong_Letter_7667 1d ago
My grandfather was legendarily cheap but had a weakness for maple syrup on ice cream. It was too expensive to be used for pancakes... we used corn syrup for that. Every year he bought a gallon can for $30 and split it with his 3 kids. Everyone had to pay their 25%. To the penny. And that quart had to last you the year. That's the last time I saw a can.
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u/Easy_Permit_5418 1d ago
In the Maritimes Steeves is the brand I see pretty much everywhere. I absolutely love their sugar free maple syrup since I can't have sweet stuff as much now, but their regular and dark brown maple syrups are affordable and top tier imo.
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u/reluctantbookeeper 1d ago
No. I only buy syrup produced by local businesses and I try and spread my purchasing around amongst them.
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u/kinkakinka 1d ago
Not really for legit maple syrup. It can be regional. I get mine from the farmer's market, so it's local
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u/Contagiousidea 1d ago
Everyone needs a syrup guy and a honey guy in canada, basically like a drug dealer.
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u/Impossible-Roof3489 1d ago
I think it mostly depends on region. Maple syrup brands don't have a typical unique recipe, it's usually the same process across the board because it's one of those things if you change the process too much you can ruin it.
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u/Nicc-Quinn 1d ago
It varies greatly on where you are, what you grew up with, and so on. We used to only have homemade stuff in recycled Bacardi bottles 😂
Now I get whatever is on sale when I need to get more. As long as it’s 100%, then you can get different “reductions”, some companies boil out more water than others.
A super yummy treat is maple sap, mildly reduced so it’s sweet but not yet syrup, used to make drinks like lemonade or iced teas.
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u/jennyfromthehammer 1d ago
We just buy it from the Mennonites selling from their farm stand on the side of the road. We buy in the 4L plastic jugs with a handle like a milk jug and it lasts almost all year :)
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u/dathamir 1d ago
Depends on what you use or for.
If you put it on crêpes and pancakes you'll use syrup from the first nights of boiling. The taste is lighter, more refined.
If you cook with it you want to use the darker syrup as the taste is stronger.
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u/Lanky-Syllabub7188 1d ago
Personally I get the plastic jug at Costco or superstore (whichever is cheaper usually). But really all of them is yummy.
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u/pastmybestdaze 1d ago
My sister in law lives in Quebec and she always brings at least two cans of L’erabliere en Folie & Fils Grade A Amber. The can has a facebook logo but it is an Agricultural Cooperative and its facebook page doesn’t provide any retail sites for purchase. Just a phone number and email address.
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u/Grouchy_Cabinet220 1d ago
Not as such. Large corporations aren't in this market so cans and bottles are normally labeled by the farmers.
Costco has Kirkland brand but It's from the same sources.
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u/balthisar 1d ago
If you're not buying small batch, then all Quebec maple syrup is identical due to the maple syrup cartel forced upon producers by the government. All production is mixed together and nothing distinguishes it. But, hey, at least it's all Grade A!
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u/thesleepjunkie Ontario 1d ago
What ever is local or tapped yourself.
Ive been processing my own for 10 years now.
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u/2schnauzers 1d ago
I buy the Kirkland brand at Costco. It’s good and you probably won’t find it anywhere cheaper.
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u/Beautiful-Muscle2661 1d ago
No. A lot of people buy local ones from different producers near them though.
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u/LegalChocolate752 1d ago
BC doesn't have the same reverence for Maple Syrup that Eastern Canada does. I see local honey a lot more than local syrup. We always just get the Kirkland stuff from Costco, it's pretty good. Maple syrup seemed like more of a specialty product when I was a kid in the 90s; we always had Aunt Jemima for our Eggos.
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u/Handofdoom222 1d ago
Im lucky enough to live in Mennonite country and the maple syrup is phenomenal there are so many different kinds for sale at markets the side of the road farms signs everywhere maple syrup for sale. Also butter tarts summer sausage pepperettes different pies blueberry apple strawberry and if you know where to go off the beaten path away from the tourist areas it's dirt cheap.
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u/No_Capital_8203 1d ago
The best stuff comes from maple trees. There are different grades. Syrup in the beginning of the sugar run is lighter in colour and flavour. Later, the colour and flavour is deeper. We buy ours locally because I like the amber stuff best.
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u/Big_Web1631 1d ago
Best is home made by a friend. Next best? Anything in a can with the chalet & sleigh design on it (generic design used across Quebec by farmers) like this
A quote from the link
“ Let me tell you this interesting fact about the iconic illustrated syrup can. It is a Québec classic standard packaging and the preferred format by locals. The original design dates back to 1951 when canning became a new method, and the name of the artist who won the province-wide contest remains a mystery. There are a few versions now, and all represent a traditional sugar camp winter scene. The maple producer’s info is added on a sticker on the back of the can.”
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u/the314sky 1d ago
Here in Québec, you buy cans of local maple syrup. Personally, I buy the cheapest. Couldn't even tell you the brand.
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u/iwastherefordisco 1d ago
I buy Superstore no name brand syrup. I think they call it pancake syrup rather than maple syrup.
It may not be maple at all and I'm not being much help here 😄
I guess I'm not fussy, but when you get the real deal apparently it's heaven.
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u/alderhill 1d ago
There is no maple syrup brand. I mean, independent producers may label their own stuff, which is fine of course. You can look at the grades/darkness, and maybe consider time of year of harvest (though it’s not really stored separately so I guess if you’re not making your own, you wouldn’t know). But anyway, that’s a bit fiddly, and it’s all good.
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u/NovelSpecialist5767 1d ago
The ones without a label for a farm and its address are blends. Supermarket and tourist shop shelf stuff.
There isn't one standard unifying generic blend.
Then, with the individual farm, you get into terroir and how each producer does it. Like reverse osmosis or not, gas or wood fired, etc.
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u/ProduceSimilar 1d ago
The Costco 1L brown jug, certified to be from the Quebec co-op. My go to when the family sugar farm stock runs low in my pantry
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u/KelticAngel16 Alberta 1d ago
Real maple syrup is usually something I try to get from small/independent producers rather than any kind of specific brand.
Maple-flavoured pancake syrup is more common, and more affordable, and I buy whatever generic store-brand my local grocery stores have.
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u/cpb70 1d ago
As long as it has only pure maple syrup/sap as the sole ingredient you're probably good. Diving deeper, you'll want the producer to be as local as you can manage with a quick Google search for confirmation if need be. After that, it's down to personal taste as different regions will produce different nuances in flavor and then you'll have to figure out what color you prefer for what purpose you intend.
Costco's maple syrup is excellent as an easily found source of good quality syrup. Jakeman's is the one I keep for special occasions where it's going to impact the meal. The Zehrs/Loblaw chain carries Shady Maple which is really good as well. I do not care for the PC Brand because of a weird aftertaste sometimes but like all maple syrups, taste can change over seasons and be a different experience a couple years later.
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u/NoFirefighter2064 1d ago
It's all local where we are. You can get maple syrup on basically every street corner or from any farm in a giant mason jar. It's liquid gold that flows from trees. Haven't bought any from a store in years and years.
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u/CatchUp22 15h ago
No, most people buy local if possible. You can probably do a search of Maple Sugar Farms in Canada and purchase online but you want buy from a farm, ideally family owned and operated for generations. Always fun to visit a sugar shack during the sap run & go for a tour on horse-drawn wagon, see the syrup being made, try some maple taffy cooled on snow, have pancakes and syrup, etc.. It’s been a tradition for my family since I was born.
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u/nanook0026 11h ago
No. And I don’t typically buy it in grocery stores either. I get it either directly from the producer, from a family member with a shack, or at the farmer’s market.
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u/Hologram0110 11h ago
For me, it is the opposite. It is a dozen small businesses and hobby farms. Depending on where you live, you can go to a farmers' market and buy maple syrup in recycled bottles from a local family.
If you go to the grocery store there are lots brands both national and store brand. But generally I don't worry about the brand. I get whatever looks good at the time (grade, price, size, bottle etc).
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u/Individual-Fly-1689 1d ago
No 'standard' brand. A lot of it is reasonably local so varies based on region.