Spring finally reached Vermont yesterday for the first time after a long cold winter, with a sunny day and temperatures soaring to around fifty degrees. That meant the long-awaited sap is finally running from the maple trees here and it’s “sugaring” season, when the entirety of the state’s maple syrup production will be made in a whirlwind of round the clock labor that typically lasts only 7-10 days.
The sugar maple trees that produce maple syrup are indigenous only to North America, and while the Midwest and other regions have small amounts of production, almost all of the pure maple syrup consumed worldwide comes from New England, New York and Quebec, with Vermont enjoying the most name recognition and quality reputation for its most famous agricultural product. Vermont is also the top producer of pure maple syrup in the country by quantity.
But when you go buy maple syrup at your local store, you might be surprised and confused because an entirely new labeling system with all new names is being phased in this year. The change may take many regular users of syrup by surprise, but ultimately it is being done to make life simpler for consumers.
Starting this year, Vermont has adopted new names for its four grades of maple syrup, shown on the... [+]
For years the maple syrup landscape, both in Vermont and its neighbors, has been mired in confusion thanks to archaic labeling terms, some of which are widely misunderstood. That is changing, and these friendly competitors have been working together to standardize the issue. As a result, Vermont rolled out completely new labeling standards for its maple syrup that will be phased in optionally this year, allowing producers to use up existing supplies of labels and printed bottles, before becoming mandatory in 2015. New York is also adopting the new standards in 2015, while Maine’s legislature passed the rules contingent on the USDA and Canadian Food Inspection adopting them. Canada is also working towards adopting the new lingo and New Hampshire is still in the midst of public hearings on the issue, but there is a high likelihood that in the next few years, these new labelling terms will apply to the bulk of real maple syrup sold around the world.
The biggest source of confusion has come from the fact that there is no quality difference between Grade A and Grade B syrup, contrary to common sense. Syrup has long been labelled based on color, and Vermont’s four grades, from lightest to darkest, were Fancy, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber and Grade B (there is also a Grade C that is darkest but not sold commercially as is, and instead used in other products like candy). Based on these names it is easy to see why someone might think Grade A was better than Grade B or Fancy was best of all, but that’s not the case. Grading is done simply by color, and color in turn varies largely based on weather, with sap from the same tree capable of producing different colors and thus different grades from one day to the next - or even within a single boiling run of the same sap. It is possible to tap a particular stand of trees into a holding tank, then boil that syrup and throughout the several hour long process get all four grades of syrup using the same exact vat of sap. Canada also grades syrup entirely by color but to further confuse things they use numbers: Canada Number One, Two or Three.
Interestingly, in recent years there has been very high demand for Grade B syrup because of a popular fad cleanse that specifically calls for it, apparently based on some misperception that the darker Grade B is less processed, which is completely untrue. “It’s never been the case that any one grade is ‘better,’ it just depends on your taste,” said Randi Calderwood, a fourth generation Vermont syrup maker who owns Echo Hill Farm in the northeastern part of the state. “All the syrup is tested and has to meet exactly the same standards and it’s all the same level of quality, but the names Grade A and Grade B confuse people. 30 years ago everyone wanted Fancy because they thought that name meant it was better. In recent years Medium Amber has been the best seller and Grade B is part of a popular cleanse with cayenne pepper and now we ship all of our Grade B to California because of that. I’ve had people tell me it has to be Grade B because it is purer and less processed but that’s not true at all. We’ve had days where we’ve gotten every single grade out of the same batch, but if they want us to send them Grade B we’re happy to sell it.”
The new standards are meant to signify more clearly to consumers what they should expect to taste in a particular bottle of maple syrup in a way that “Fancy” can’t. Now all four levels of color are Grade A, but with more descriptive names: Golden Color with Delicate Taste, Amber Color With Rich Taste, Dark With Robust Taste and Very Dark With Strong Taste. The new grades do not precisely line up with the old ones but rather overlap, so for example the new Amber Color With Rich Taste includes all of what used to be Medium Amber and the lighter colored segment of what used to be Dark Amber. The attached graphic shows these comparisons more clearly. It also lets people who already know what grade they like best find it under Vermont’s new labeling system, which in all likelihood will be extended to other major maple producing states in the near future.
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