Maple syrup
Acer saccharum (sap) · Sweetener
Top 10 pairings
One of the few sweeteners made from a tree: the spring sap of the sugar maple, boiled down into a thick syrup. Graded by colour from pale Golden to near-black, it smells unmistakably of maple, with caramel and vanilla behind it.
Picking a good onedrag
Sealed, clear, unmistakably mapleFizzing, fuzzy, sour
Open in the fridgeEveryday bestWipe the thread, cap it tight and keep it cold to hold off mould. Use it in baking, glazes and coffee.
Read the labelPure, named sugarhouse, no grade
Hold the jug to the lightDarker or paler: just another grade
The cap and the first turnOpen, sticky ring, syrup on thread
Smell it off a clean spoonDelicate vanilla, or molasses-deep