Grade A: Golden Color with Delicate Flavor

Grade A: Golden Color with Delicate Flavor Pure Maple Syrup is generally early season syrup. As tradition goes, this is the first few runs of syrup at the beginning of the season, however with modern technology, we can produce this grade of syrup throughout most of the season. It has a fine pronounced sweetness with a delicate maple flavor. This syrup is desirable for pancakes, waffles, French toast, and as an ice cream topping if a delicate maple flavor is desired.

Grade A: Amber Color with Rich Flavor

Grade A: Amber Color with Rich Flavor Pure Maple Syrup has a slightly stronger flavor with a noticeable darker color. This syrup is by far the most popular choice for all purpose syrup. This grade has a rich full bodied taste that makes it the perfect compliment to most foods. It is the gift of choice by many.

Grade A: Dark Color with Robust Flavor

Grade A: Dark Color with Robust Flavor Pure Maple Syrup is much darker in color and has a stronger more robust maple flavor. It is less desirable as a table syrup but often preferred in baking and cooking because of its strong flavor. This syrup is great to pour over baked apples or squash or use as a glaze on meats and vegetables.

Grade A: Very Dark Color with Strong Flavor

Grade A: Very Dark Color with Strong Flavor Pure Maple Syrup is generally very late season syrup. It is great is foods and recipes where a strong maple presence is desire. Wonderful in cookies, breads, and baked beans. Due to the nature of this syrup, it is often only packaged in larger plastic containers.

Grade Changes Adoption

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on January 28, 2015, that grading standards for maple syrup have been revised to match international standards giving consumers a better understanding of what they are buying. In 2010, the International Maple Syrup Institute, which represents maple producers in the U.S. and Canada, started the implementation procedures for these new grade standards in hopes of making it easier for consumers to understand what grade of syrup they are buying as grades used to vary amongst regions. The revisions completely do away with the Grade B syrup label as the USDA notes there is more demand for dark syrup for cooking and table use. All syrup producing regions will now follow the same grading standards with Grade A to include four color and flavor classes for maple syrup: golden color and delicate taste, amber color and rich taste, dark color and robust taste, and very dark and strong taste.

Source: https://mainemapleproducers.com/buyers-guide