Maple Syrup Week--Taste Test

Comparing real and "fake" syrup

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Early spring in New England means maple syrup!  We learned about maple syrup making by first reading several books about it. Next, we had a taste test!  We had waffles for lunch and tested them with "fake" and real syrup.  I really wanted to get a graded sampler like this:

, but I didn't get around to it.  However, upon inspecting our bottles, my sister and I discovered that we actually already had different grades, light and dark amber.  Since there are only three grades now, that wasn't a bad showing.   (There is no grade B--I can only assume we didn't want any syrup to get hurt feelings.  :)  In all honesty, though, some home boilers preferred B for it's strong flavor, so I guess it deserved a higher rating.)

     This was a great opportunity, or so I thought, for graphing the preferences of our taste testers, but I couldn't get my act together and pretty much everyone preferred real, anyway!  There was some disagreement about light vs. dark amber, though.

     As usual, I had a pinboard full of ideas that I didn't get to use.  You can check it out here. 

Everyone got in on the action.

We will probably revisit this topic every year, so I'll get my chance!