Would You Buy This Syrup

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100909/ap_on_bi_ge/us_maple_syrup_flap
 
 
Is this much ado about nothing? Log Cabin's new syrup, I guess is Fructose free and has 4% actual maple syrup...far better than their normal stuff...but it's not "pure" maple syrup. Notice the word "maple" isn't on the label. Does Vermont have a valid argument? Is this deceptive packaging? And if it is indeed better than the regular bottled imitation syrups, would you try it? We don't usually buy pure maple syrup, but try for the best bottled imitation brand. What do you think? Does this new syrup serve a good inbetween nitch?

I wouldn't buy it, for two reasons.  I can get good pure maple syrup here in Minnesota.
 
Second, Pinnacle Foods doesn't seem to have a full ingredient list on its web site.
http://www.logcabinsyrups.com/index_2.html
 
I'm very sensitive to sulfites, and I react badly (anaphylaxis) to artificial maple syrups, which are loaded with them.  (I have to be very careful about syrups in restaurants, and pretty  much avoid them unless I can be absolutely sure that the place is serving pure maple syrup -- like in Vermont.)  I know the site says there are "no preservatives," but I'd need to read the label for myself to be sure.  The fact that they say it is "all natural" doesn't impress me. Sulfites occur naturally (for example, in wine).
 
Oh -- there's a third reason:  Pinnacle Foods, which also manufactures Aunt Jemima pancake mixes, discontinued my favorite, the buckwheat pancake mix. So -- I'm mad at Pinnacle Foods, anyway.
 

Sure, its a dirty trick.
 
Since the label does not say what kind of syrup it is, Vermont officials should start seeding a rumor on Internet message boards that the syrup is Ipecac syrup. Typical pair of troll posts:
Poster 1: Anyone know what type of syrup Log Cabin's new syrup is?
Poster 2: It is Ipecac syrup.

 I prefer birch syrup made right here in The Mat Su Valley. Tastes similar to maple but has a more earthy flavor.
 
  As far as I know, real syrup is made from the sap from maple or birch. That is the only ingredient.
 
  David O.

I can't imagine not having anything but pure maple syrup.  Way cheaper to buy it by the gallon.  It freezes nearly indefinitely.  While Vermont is the largest producer, I wonder why other producing states like NY, PA, ME and MN haven't joined in the fray.  And yes, I think their packaging is disengenuous at best even if it does not say maple on the label.

The AP has a photo of the ingredients list of the new Log Cabin formulation. It reads:
"Syrup (Brown Rice, Sugar, Maple [4%]), Water, Natural Flavor, Xanthan Gum (Natural Thickener), Carmel Color, Citric Acid."
 
So much of pure maple syrup is packed in those polyethylene jugs that are a descendant of the stoneware jugs that some maple syrup was once packed in. If people in the Northeast see one of those containers, they automatically assume it contains pure maple syrup. The imitation producers were packing in clear polyethylene bottles.
 
I don't know if Pinnacle's packaging is deceptive, legally speaking. If you gang all the words together on the front label, it reads "Log Cabin All Natural Syrup". Perhaps the real maple syrup producers need to band together and get trademark and trade dress protection for their product.
 
Log Cabin says they removed HFCS from all their syrups, as have a lot of other food producers recently. Hunt's ketchup removed HFCS.
 
 

frankly, I don't think the Vermont Maple Syrup people have a case. The label is clear, all natural syrup - says nothing about maple. They don't even us the word "pure."
 
I can make all-natural syrup at home - with some all natural sugars and such. A simple syrup IS a natural syrup.
 
unless Vermont people have trademarked the bottle design, this is much ado about nothing.
 
I'm not likely to buy it, because Costco sells 100% Pure Maple Syrup (Kirkland) from Canada in a big jug, and when you look at the price by volume, it comes to about the same as a national brand maple flavored syrup.

Natural????
Brown rice syrup and xanthan gum are natural?
I guess my definition is different.
Why wouldn't then HFCS be natural?

No, I would not buy it. When I buy syrup I buy pure maple syrup, and only from Vermont. Normally, I order it from Northfield-Mount Hermon, the school my wife attended (before the merger, when it was Northfield School For Girls).

:)

It's still 96% less than what I consider acceptable.

I would never buy that stuff.  If  I want  syrup,  I want the  real  thing  and that would  be  pure  maple syrup.

I tap my sugar maple trees and make my own pure maple syrup or I buy the real stuff. Log Cabin is like margarine to butter. Some people don't mind. Real sugar for HFCS doesn't change the fact their syrup is still an unreal processed lab concoction.

When I use syrup, I use it very sparingly. And I don't use it very often. So if I'm going to use syrup, it's going to be pure maple or molasses.

Maple syrup is very good, but have you ever had Louisiana pure cane syrup? Try it. Very different from maple but I actually prefer it.

I've used Steen's pure cane syrup on pancakes and find it makes for a welcome change, but I've always had to bring it home on the plane with me. It is simply unobtainable in most Northeast supermarkets.
 
I saw the Log Cabin "All Natural Syrup" in a supermarket today alongside the other Log Cabin products. $4.99, or about a dollar more than the regular Log Cabin syrup. They had two brands of imported Canadian pure maple syrup in the next section, which consisted mostly of honey products. I would not be surprised if a large number people assume it is pure maple syrup.

This Log Cabin product is another reason why people need to scrutinize labels and the ingredients list: Don't trust marketers and admen with your nutrition and health. And though real Maple Syrup is more expensive, a little bit goes a long way--it's worth the extra expense.

It's in a nice looking bottle and appears to be real -  this is where it pays to be a label reader.
All Natural but fake maple syrup.  I don't like syrup but if I did I would buy 100% real maple syrup.   I also buy real butter and real milk.
 

I will gladly pay the extra for the REAL stuff.
 
I have friends with a sugar shack in Vermont, I get about 1/2 gallon each year in exchange for some frozen skyline chili

Boyardee: You sold me on the birch syrup... until I found out it was going to cost me $40 for 8 oz. delivered. Hell, I hate to pay that much for a bottle of Bourbon or Scotch, so I guess it'll have to wait 'till I get to Alaska someday.
 
Cheers, John 

100% New York State maple for me. Sadly I don't order waffles or pancakes out because they almost always serve brown maple flavored corn syrup and chemicals...Ruins the poor things..

Make your own pure maple syrup. That's what I did.
 
March Maple Syrup Madness

John, since this new format won't let me quote your post I'll respond as a new post. You may be able to find Birch Syrup in your area as birch trees are abundant in your neck of the woods. If not, I will try to find some here and ship it to you. I'll get back to you in a P.M.
 
  David O.

OK John,
 
  I found pure, organic birch syrup at The Alaska Birch Syrup Company for 16.50 per 8 oz. bottle. They didn't have a listed price for shipping though. 907-355-5721. Made right here in Wasilla, AK.
 
  David O.

The birch syrup at $16.50 is about twice what I can pay for 8 oz. maple syrup in a grocery store in Minnesota. What is the cost to you locally in Wasilla for birch syrup?

The price is the same here in Wasilla. 16.50 per 8 oz bottle. I found out that birch trees do not produce as much sap as maple trees, hence the price increase. Very expensive to produce. As I said in my previous post, the price does not include shipping.
 
  David O.

From this My Minnesota Woods web page:

Birch Syrup

When spring peepers hail the end of the Maple Syrup season, a few hardy producers switch gears and collect birch sap. Tapping birch trees is much like tapping maple, but the similarity ends there. While maple sap contains sucrose, the natural sugar in birch sap is fructose.  Birch sap, collected from Paper birch (Betula paperifyera) also contains several vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, potassium, manganese, and calcium. Native American Indians have long known of its medicinal benefits and there are many cultures that bottle the sap for a health drink. Alaska has several major producers that create a variety of birch products. On average, 100 gallons of birch sap are needed to make a gallon of birch syrup.The sap is processed differently, with boiling techniques that evaporate water and avoid burning the fructose.

 
100 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup explains the higher cost.

Thanks, Boyardee, for the offer, but I think I'll wait until I get to Alaska to sample the birch syrup. (Got to visit the shrine of Wasilla where Sara lives - said with a heavy drip of sarcasm )
 
Yes we have birch trees around here, but they're puny little things with a short life span - you have to go to a cooler place like Maine or Alaska for real birch trees. Come to think of it, I wonder why they dont make birch syrup in Maine?
 
Cheers, John  

 We would be happy to host you in Alaska if and when you decide to come up here. We have some great Roadfood places here that  I would love to initiate you to.
  R.W.'s for the first stop and then the AK Dog Stand on the Palmer, Wasilla Highway, and then to the Tastee Freeze on the Parks Hwy. Also on the Parks Hwy, A Jerky Wagon that sells Bison, Elk, Deer, Moose, and venison versions. 
 
  Not to brag, but we have the best roadfood for miles around.
 
  David O.

mbrookes
Maple syrup is very good, but have you ever had Louisiana pure cane syrup? Try it. Very different from maple but I actually prefer it.

Interesting. When I was living in the Netherlands, beet sugar syrup was quite popular. It was pretty damned good. Editing: I just recalled that one product in the U.S. that has it are stroopwaffels (often sold in upscale pretentious coffeeshops).
 
Bart