Maple syrup is one of those famously delicious and nostalgic flavors from childhood. Growing up in Vermont I had it on my pancakes every Sunday. And when there was a huge snow storm and school was canceled, what did we do? We got a bowl filled with freshly fallen snow and poured maple syrup all over it.
Maple syrup is a healthier alternative to processed white sugar. It has a glycemic index of 54, which has a lower blood glucose level than sugar and even raw honey. In the spring I would go on field trips to watch how maple syrup was made!
I bet you didn’t know it takes 21 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup. Being so lucky to grow up spoiled with nature’s liquid gold, I was very unprepared for brunch life when I moved to San Diego. Going to the grocery store was very depressing as maple trees are not native to Southern California. I was searching all over the World Wide Web looking for ways I could find a decent substitute for my new and largely different Sunday pancakes.
This fun infographic titled How to Make Your Own Pancake Syrup: 7 Quick and Simple Recipes is something everyone should have printed out in their kitchen.
While spending the day slowly boiling sap into syrup with your loved ones is a very romantic idea, nobody really has time or trees for that. Many of these recipes you probably have the ingredients to create already in your pantry.
The simplest on the list would be a two-ingredient fruit syrup made with light corn syrup and a jam of your choice. For me it would have to be strawberry. Whisk each one up to impress your friends with a syrup/pancake flight sometime. You will not regret it!
Though nothing could ever replace the fondness of real maple syrup fresh from the trees of Vermont, that Dutch Honey Syrup is a close second.
