"Pure maple extract" ??

[MustardSeedMum]

I thought I should come straight to the experts who live and breathe maple syrup. :)

I have been participating in a "food/diet" forum in which many are exclaiming joy in being able to
enjoy "sugar free maple syrup" and using "pure maple extract".

Sugar free maple syrup is an oxymoron. End of story period.

How about pure maple extract? I can't figure that one out. I mean, with vanilla extract, we can say that the
vanilla flavour is extracted from a solid substance (the vanilla bean) in a alcohol (vodka) solution. But can one
actually extract maple flavour??? Currently there is a lady claiming that pure maple extract - and I quote - "comes from oils in a sugar maple tree". That sounds off to me. But what do I know? I'm only a backyard sugarer. :lol:

Any comments and advice?

[happy thoughts]

a quick google search for pure vanilla extract brings up many similar products. All the ingredients listed are similar....

Ingredients: Alcohol, Sugar, Pure Maple Syrup, Caramel Color, Water

Notice sugar is an ingredient and also caramel color. This alone would not qualify as Pure in my own definition and is certainly not Pure Maple. Maybe because it is being sold as an extract and not syrup or sugar it allows bending of the rules??? If so, that loophole should be plugged. I'm sure Dr Tim will have some comments.

[DrTimPerkins]

How about pure maple extract?

Most "maple extract" is made via extraction (typically with alcohol) of fenugreek seed. The major flavor/aroma compound derived in this way is Sotolon (a type of cyclic ester condensed from alcohol and a carboxylic-acid group). This might also be called "natural maple extract".....the fenugreek seeds are natural after all, and the word "natural" means next to nothing in terms of advertising.

"Pure maple extract" is (typically) made by extracting or mixing maple syrup with alcohol. There are very few "oils" in maple syrup (other than what is added as defoaming agents). The flavor/aroma profile of such extracts can be similar in some ways to maple, but without the sugar, and are typically not nearly as highly concentrated as artificial extracts are, so it takes a lot (in comparison) of "pure maple extract" to add to products to get much of any flavor. So in many cases there is relatively little to be gained by using "pure maple extract" compared to simply adding "pure maple syrup" as the flavoring agent.

There is no such thing as "sugar-free maple syrup." There can be "maple-flavored sugar-free syrup", but it is not maple syrup. Pure maple syrup has a fairly well-specified legal definition, and the extraction process is not included in that definition. Some of the first food purity laws and regulatory actions in the U.S. were devised and enforced to protect maple syrup. Prior to that time it was said that more "pure" maple syrup was being made in factories in Chicago than in the woods of New England.

[MustardSeedMum]

Thanks HT & Dr Perkins for the insight & comments. You've confirmed my feelings on this.

It's really crazy how products are marketed these days & equally crazy how consumers can be duped into thinking they're getting real natural stuff.

[delivron]

I did a little research. We all know the name McCormick as a provider of extracts and spices. They list the following ingredients the product under the following category: McCormick Flavor Extracts
Lemon, Orange, Peppermint, Maple Bulk Foodservice Professional Sizes


Ingredients in McCormick Imitation Maple Flavor: Water, Caramel Color, Alcohol (16%), Vanilla Extract (Vanilla Bean Extractives in water, Alcohol, and Corn Syrup), Molasses Solids, Corn Syrup Colids, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sugar, Sulfiting Agents and Natural Extractives

Ingredients look like substitute maple syrup. Now are you waiting for the retail price. $11.45USD
Site: http://www.spiceplace.com/default.php/cPath/22?gclid=CLrg4OSZvboCFQyg4Aod5T4ATA
This might be an opportunity for someone to sell them the real product!

Cook on the other hand offers: 32 oz of extract for a whopping $35.00 per quart.
ingredients.
Ingredients: alcohol, sugar, pure maple syrup, caramel color, and water.

Web site:
http://cooksvanilla.com/product/38/Pure-Maple-Extract-4-oz.html

Reading on Cooks site people blend the extract with sugar both brown and white and water to make syrup. Oh my what people do to produce syrup! We have a lot of work to do!

[cjmiller272]

I was chatting about maple with a coworker when he says "oh yeah i make maple syrup too, using my grandmas recipe. Maple extract, brown sugar etc.. then boil it on stove and jar it up" probably spending more $$ per quart than if he just bought pure maple off the shelf

[Ausable]

Cody - Even though both of our States have a lot of Sugar Maples. It is amazing how few of our residents have ever tasted Maple Syrup. I had my first taste of Maple Syrup at the tender age of 45 and have been making up for lost time ever since. lol So - I can understand - Why so many are so easily fooled. ----Mike----

[Kara Godfrey]

Most "maple extract" is made via extraction (typically with alcohol) of fenugreek seed. The major flavor/aroma compound derived in this way is Sotolon (a type of cyclic ester condensed from alcohol and a carboxylic-acid group). This might also be called "natural maple extract".....the fenugreek seeds are natural after all, and the word "natural" means next to nothing in terms of advertising.

"Pure maple extract" is (typically) made by extracting or mixing maple syrup with alcohol. There are very few "oils" in maple syrup (other than what is added as defoaming agents). The flavor/aroma profile of such extracts can be similar in some ways to maple, but without the sugar, and are typically not nearly as highly concentrated as artificial extracts are, so it takes a lot (in comparison) of "pure maple extract" to add to products to get much of any flavor. So in many cases there is relatively little to be gained by using "pure maple extract" compared to simply adding "pure maple syrup" as the flavoring agent.

There is no such thing as "sugar-free maple syrup." There can be "maple-flavored sugar-free syrup", but it is not maple syrup. Pure maple syrup has a fairly well-specified legal definition, and the extraction process is not included in that definition. Some of the first food purity laws and regulatory actions in the U.S. were devised and enforced to protect maple syrup. Prior to that time it was said that more "pure" maple syrup was being made in factories in Chicago than in the woods of New England.

To be perfectly clear...Sugar Maple Extract is Pure Maple Syrup...Is this correct?

[Galena]

OMG as someone who worked in Advertising for several years, I sure learned how to manipulate words to make crap sound fantastic...but some of the examples cited by Dr Tim take the cake! Talk about a slippery slope (made with all that maple oil, y'know)...think I'll get me a glass if that sugar-free maple syrup from the kitchen faucet now :-)

[DrTimPerkins]

To be perfectly clear...Sugar Maple Extract is Pure Maple Syrup...Is this correct?

Read the label to be sure. It'll either say made with "Pure Maple Syrup" or something else.

[Kara Godfrey]

PRMSE is a concentrated Extract that McGill University is studying regarding medical science. Apparently it is a concentrated Extract of maple syrup. Do you know what this extract is? I am researching the medicinal benefits of maple syrup. I am also interested to know about maple syrup (Acer Saccharum Extract) as an ingredient component in cosmetics. Is this ingredient 'pure maple syrup' or a concentrated extract?

[saphound]

PRMSE is a concentrated Extract that McGill University is studying regarding medical science. Apparently it is a concentrated Extract of maple syrup. Do you know what this extract is? I am researching the medicinal benefits of maple syrup. I am also interested to know about maple syrup (Acer Saccharum Extract) as an ingredient component in cosmetics. Is this ingredient 'pure maple syrup' or a concentrated extract?
Your question is quite confusing. You state that it's an extract, then say it's apparently an extract, then ask if it's an extract. I would say the E in PRMSE defines it as an extract. 'Pure Maple syrup' is what we make and pour on pancakes. I'm not aware of any other name for it...certainly not PRMSE.

[CBOYER]

Phenolic-Rich Maple Syrup Extract (PRMSE)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OJbyq9q0g4

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/mu-cms041615.php