<pardon the snip>


Maple syrup is no more a natural food
product than knox gelatin... both are so altered in the manufacturing
process that neither has any resempbance whatsoever to real food...
save your dollars and use artificial maple syrup, it tastes
consistantly better too. There is really no way to know what/who's in
so called real maple syrup anyway it's a mystery product... doncha
think if it were an honest product there wouldn't exist all those
gubermint certifying agencies... supposedly overseeing the
manufacture, yeah, right... government.


The best way to buy maple syrup is from a local vendor in NY, VT, NH, etc.,
preferably one that you know and has been in business for as long as you can
remember. AND what many do not know is that there are several different
grades/colors of syrups.

The stuff in the stupidmarket aint MAPLE syrup-it's a conglomeration of lots
of crap toegther with corn syrup and stuff you can't pronounce.

I helped a friend make it many years ago. It's NOT something for the average
weekend warrior to do. Picture sap in your hair, in your nose, in every
orifice and everything you wear has to be thrown away at the end.
Figure 40 gals of sap for ONE gallon of syrup-boiled slowly over a hot fire
that continually needs attention. And it aint one afternoons work-it takes
forever.

Is it WORTH IT? Yes if you have never done it before. Just to have it in
your hand and say 'I made this'. But to do it on an annual basis? I'll defer
to the locals.