This homemade maple syrup is easy to make and costs much less than store-bought pure maple syrup.
Syrup. The biggest challenge in my breakfast life. Between this oatmeal pancake mix, plain French toast, and waffles, we always enjoy a hot breakfast every morning.
I’ve complained about our syrupy solution for years. In the mornings it makes me feel even worse than I already am.
I don’t recommend using heavy pancake syrup from the store because it’s full of additives and high fructose corn syrup.
That’s my go-to pure or homemade maple syrup (or begging a friend who extracts his own berries for a lovely golden juice he made himself!).
Over the past year I’ve bought pure maple syrup at Sam’s Club and always paid a great price, but recently I’ve had to give it up to cut our grocery budget a bit.
I’ve tried other homemade syrups, but I’m put off by the film that forms on top of the syrup (with many butter recipes) or the fact that they contain enough corn syrup, I might as well buy them at the store.
I want one that looks like oak without the high price of pure oak and no junk. Is that too much to ask?
Okay, enough complaining, on to the solution! This homemade maple syrup is easy to make and tastes just like… maple syrup! Cheers!
Because of the lack of corn syrup, it is rather runny, but that is fine for my family since we are used to the taste and consistency of pure maple syrup, which is very runny.
This syrup is probably a bit thicker than pure maple syrup. I was calculating the nutritional facts for this syrup (mostly sugar content) a while back when I was making it and if I recall correctly, pure maple syrup has about 50g of sugar per 1/4 cup and this syrup has 48 or 49g of sugar exactly.
I haven’t bought pancake syrup from the store in years so I’m not sure it tastes the same. I think the “light” or “low sugar” brands have less sugar, but beware of mixed processing additives.
I buy my pure maple sawdust here. If you can find the brand in your area, even better!
I hope this homemade maple syrup makes you as happy as I do! What did the early bird do to me? Ha! Not even recently, but it helps me feel a little more motivated to get up and make breakfast for my family.
Homemade Maple Syrup
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
- Half a glass of honey
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
Instructions
- In a 5- to 6-quart pot, combine the sugars, honey, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 20 minutes, then stir in the maple and vanilla. Allow the sugar to cool for another 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, before filling the jars/containers. Once the containers are thawed, allow them to cool to room temperature uncovered.
- Store in jars or other covered containers and keep in the refrigerator. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. If desired, rewarm gently before serving.
Notes
Maple Extract: I like to use pure maple extract because it doesn’t have too many additives (I think it’s caramel colored, that’s all) but if you can’t find one, you can use artificial maple extract from the store with similar results.
