Maple Mathematics

04.05.07

With the advent of the 2007 maple syrup season in my home state of Vermont, I can finally confess to what formerly would have been considered a sorry lapse of good taste: I never have particularly cared for light-colored, delicately flavored Fancy grade syrup—the Holy Grail of sugar makers. Give me the robust maple taste of Amber or, better yet, lowly Grade B. It works beautifully in all sorts of recipes, and being able to save a few dollars on the humble grades made my dirty little secret all the sweeter. It turns out I was right all along. The Burlington Free Press recently reported that most consumers, who are buying more maple syrup than ever as part of the trend toward healthful, nonprocessed foods, now agree with me. New converts from artificial syrups prefer an in-your-face hit of maple so much that one Vermont B&B owner reports that she was accused of watering down her syrup when she treated out-of-state guests to the premium stuff. The shift in tastes has caused a spike in prices. At one time, the top grades, which usually flow for just a brief period during the cold days at the beginning of the season, commanded $6 more per gallon than Grade B. The gap has closed. This is good news for syrup producers. I simply look at it as the price I have to pay for being ahead of the times.

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