grade B question

[ejmaple]

i met a few people the other day, and after talking the subject of maple syrup came up. I told them i make it and then they asked if i had any grade B. i didn't so i told them no but i have grade A medium amber. they only wanted grade b because it was an ingreidant in a detoix drink. they didnt know why only b would work. so i was wondering if anyone on here knows if grade b has any different nutriants then grade a. thanks ed

[Bucket Head]

I recently was asked also about some Gr. B for what they called "cleansing". A fellow sugarmaker near me has been asked too. I have no idea why the B is required for the recipe.

"Cleansing" kind of sounds like one might be spending a lot of free time in the outhouse.

Maybe they should try making their own Gr. B and then they would'nt have so much free time, LOL!

Steve

[Russell Lampron]

I don't know why grade B is specified either but the recipe does say to use pure grade B maple syrup. This cleanse thing has been around for 3 or 4 years now and I usually have some grade B in stock if someone is looking for it. This year its a different story though. The grade B that I have left is private stock for the family. I don't have much grade A left either.

[maplehound]

I would think that they are calling for grade B because it is a stronger flavor. That is why most people use it for cooking over the other grades, you just don't get the flavor when mixed with the other ingredients with the other grades.

[mountainvan]

The "cleanse" is called the master cleanser and was developed by a doctor in Mass.. Grade b is called for because it has more nutrients than grade A, which is not true, but Elvis lives with aliens in Allentown, Pa.. Some people will believe anything, like formaldehyde is used in making maple syrup. That's the new one this year that I heard a lot! By the way Elvis is died, it's Col. Sanders in Allentown. Fried chicken is the fountain of youth in a cardboard bucket!

[KenWP]

Got asked for dark syrup twice yesterday. The one lady said she wanted something darker then light and when I said medium fonce she jumped on it and the other guy just wanted dark for his Quebecois wife.

[3rdgen.maple]

Umm colonial sanders died too. My cousin did the cleansing thing and used grade a medium amber I gave her. It is a crash diet thing and it actually worked for her. She lost a good amount of weight while she did it.

[DrTimPerkins]

Umm colonial sanders died too. My cousin did the cleansing thing and used grade a medium amber I gave her. It is a crash diet thing and it actually worked for her. She lost a good amount of weight while she did it.

It's called the Master Cleanse (or Beyonce) diet. Essentially it is a fasting regimin. The recipe calls for Grade B syrup, probably because somebody thought that dark syrup has more minerals and vitamins.

Tim Perkins
UVM PMRC

[nas]

It's called the Master Cleanse (or Beyonce) diet. Essentially it is a fasting regimin. The recipe calls for Grade B syrup, probably because somebody thought that dark syrup has more minerals and vitamins.

Tim Perkins
UVM PMRC
Or the good doc had a friend who couldn't get rid of his grade B so he did him a "marketing favor":rolleyes:

Nick

[brookledge]

It is a good way to retail syrup that otherwise would be sold in bulk.
Keith

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

But as producers we need to be careful that we do not "endorse" such diets. It is fine if the consumer asks us for Grade B for whatever they want to use it for. I'm glad to sell every ounce that I can retail but I don't want to be leading someone down the primrose path.

[latewood]

I agree-give the customer what they want. It seems not so long ago us producers here in NY could not retail grade B,but now it's a legitimate request.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I went thru a cleansing recently using Magnesium Citrate:o Now I find out I should have mixed in some "B":mad:

[sapman]

I've been asked for B many times as well. This year I actually have some that tastes decent, but the requests have dropped off, it seems. Figures. I asked Brian Chabot, of Cornell, about it on the tour last year. He affirmed what I thought, that it's only the higher bacteria count in the sap, nothing else.

Young Living has promoted this cleanse. The owner, Gary Young, says in one of his big books that lighter grades of syrup are made with formaldyhyde, therefore stick with grade B. I would like to set him straight on this. I did write another gentleman (whom I highly regard), who was promoting B in his book. They graciously responded by saying that their materials need updating, and appreciated me telling them.

Tim

[markcasper]

Actually....I have always heard that B and C grade does indeed contain more trace nutrients than A. Actually, how do I rephrase this.........We all know that many times towards the end of the season, and even mid season, the flavor starts to change. That flavor changing is some related to bacteria, but a good part of it is that the sugars are changing composition and getting more starchy, or buddy. That off flavor associated with the advancement of the buds carries with it a slight increase in the vitamins and minerals.

The thing with the grade B seems kind of far strung though, because I have made some awfully light syrup towards the end, but man did it taste bad. The dark color of B and resulting stronger caramel flavor often cover up other off flavors. So in a nutshell the more metabolism tasting the syrup, the more nutrients there are. I read this material many years ago out of research document. I cannot site where though.

I have never sold so much grade B as this year. It sure is getting me thinking of charging the same for it all. I am going to run out of B I think. I had one customer come out, told him I was running low, but that he could taste the very last stuff out of the evaporator. It was not very good in my opinion. It was getting kind of ropy, it was never filtered, had a bad taste...etc. The guy ended up walking out with 2 5 gallon jugs of it. He said he had finally found what he was looking for.

Sure threw mw for a loop!

[DrTimPerkins]

Actually....I have always heard that B and C grade does indeed contain more trace nutrients than A. Actually, how do I rephrase this.........We all know that many times towards the end of the season, and even mid season, the flavor starts to change. That flavor changing is some related to bacteria, but a good part of it is that the sugars are changing composition and getting more starchy, or buddy. That off flavor associated with the advancement of the buds carries with it a slight increase in the vitamins and minerals.

<snip>

The dark color of B and resulting stronger caramel flavor often cover up other off flavors. So in a nutshell the more metabolism tasting the syrup, the more nutrients there are.

Lots of misconceptions about grade, flavor and nutritive value out there. Actually, although there are some slight differences in terms of carbohydrate (sugar) profiles as well as mineral/nutrient composition, these differences are not huge and are swamped out by the natural variabililty in composition of maple syrup to the point where it is nearly impossible to draw any real conclusions to the effect that darker grades of syrup have more minerals and nutrients in them. The sugar profile changes slightly as well with grade, with a tendancy for higher levels of invert sugars (glucose and fructose) later in the season, but this is all due to microbial changes. The sugar profile is still dominated strongly by sucrose regardless of the grade.

There are other changes in organics and amino acids, but these again tend to be very slight and subtle, with little real contribution to nutritive value or flavor.

As far as "metabolism" tasting goes....the term "metabolism" as used in the maple industry refers to an off-flavor that can be found in the beginning or the end of the season, and is quite damaging to the flavor. It is most likely caused by a naturally occurring compound, 2, 5 dimethyl pyrazine. Pyrazines form by the heating of sugar solutions containing nitrogenous amino acids. It is likely that some environmental condition predisposes trees to produce this mix of amino acids in the fall, and you often find the "metabolism" off-flavor in very light syrup at the beginning of the season. You may not even notice it when you make the syrup, but you open the can or drum later and it hits you. Very difficult to blend out because the odor/taste threshold is extremely low. There are other ways to remove the off-flavor because the compounds responsible are volatile.

"Buddy" is a whole different type of off-flavor, and is (most-likely) caused by the release of a different suite of amino acids into the sap stream associated with bud swelling late in the spring. Very nasty off-flavor.

Finally.....when talking about the nutritive value of maple syrup, it is important not to overdo it....keep in mind that maple is primarily sugar. Yes, it has more nutrients than other more highly refined sugars, but it is predominantly sugar we're talking about. It's a bit disingenuous to talk about maple syrup as a health food. What is probably more interesting and exciting is the putative antioxidative and antimutagenic properties of maple syrup. Lots of research going on in that area.

Tim Perkins
UVM PMRC

[Hop Kiln Road]

Geez, with all due respect Doc, yes, "maple is primarily sugar," but then so is high fructose corn syrup, which is the government approved and priced supported official US sweetener. We need to address the quality of our food supply. Next time anyone is in the grocery store look at simple canned tomatoes. We all know tomatoes are acidic and preserve (can) easily and safely. Yet, all the American brands have more than 10 times the sodium than some of the European brands at roughly the same unit cost. So yeah, maple is primarily sugar, but at the very least its health benefit may be only what it is not. Bruce

[red maples]

It's a bit disingenuous to talk about maple syrup as a health food.
Tim Perkins
UVM PMRC[/QUOTE]

the healthy part about it is it's "all natural" no additives, no chemical bleaching its pure the only perservative is the sugar itself which is natural!!!!

hop kiln road your correct on the over salting and perservatives etc. its all about shelf life how long can we keep it before it spoils. ever buy commercial broth yes...perservatives and salt salt salt!!!! I personally don't see a problem with high fructose corn syrup, unless there is something that I am ingnorant to.

I make my own veal stock and my own chicken stock and freeze it. my own tomato sauce I buy store bought in a pinch but it tastes fake!!! and its loaded with salt...sorry getting of topic here.

[sapman]

I've staarted charging the same for B this year, and it has not been a problem. Supply/Demand.

I agree with the Doc. I wouldn't want to overstate the benefits of syrup, either. But in a world where corn syrup and white sugar dominate, as mentioned above, maple syrup is a tremendous alternative, I think! Every bit as good (probably better), is raw honey, in my mind. But I think both have their place.

Tim

[Bucket Head]

So the "cleansing" thing is a diet regimen. Interesting.

That is'nt the description that I got. The description I got made me wonder why anybody would want to do it!

Thanks for the info.

Steve

[KenWP]

One reason for a so called cleansing is that the colon stores way to much and that is one of the reasons they figure for big tummys. So a easy quick weight loss is to cleanse and if you keep doing it you can shrink the colon size down a bit. If people just ate less or right they wouldn't need to go to extremes.

[Hop Kiln Road]

There is a correlation between our consumption of HFCS and our body mass index. And there is a correlation between our consumption of HFCS and government incentives for the food industry to produce it. See the paste below:





In a study published in the June 2008 Journal of Nutrition, researchers reported that increased consumption of fructose doubled the subjects’ lipogenesis — that is, their ability to make fat — when compared with glucose. In addition, the fructose led to higher levels of triglycerides, a blood fat that is an independent risk factor for heart disease. These findings confirmed other research along the same line.

• Another study, published in the July 2008 Archives of Internal Medicine, found that African-American women who regularly consumed either soft drinks (sweetened with HFCS) or fruit juices were far more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. What’s the problem with fruit juices? They are a more concentrated source of sugar and they lack the fiber of fresh fruit that would blunt increases in blood sugar. Worse, some brands of juice even have added HFCS and more sugars overall than soft drinks!

Tip: Read the ingredients lists on bottles and packages. Pay attention to added syrups, juices, and concentrates used to sweeten; and reject products containing HFCS.

• Fructose might also alter appetite, increasing hunger and cravings for sweet foods. According to some research, fructose decreases levels of leptin, a hormone that normally suppresses hunger. At the same time, it raises levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger. The result? Feeling hungrier, eating more, and packing on pounds.

• Some researchers have argued that the consumption of fructose by children may program developing brains with an intense desire for sweets, leading to a lifelong over-consumption of sweets and an increased risk of overweight, diabetes, and related health problems.


So it ain't just sugar. And 500 mg's of sodium per cup of tomatoes does not extend its shelf life nor will it extend our shelf life!

[DrTimPerkins]

There is a correlation between our consumption of HFCS and our body mass index.


Correlation is not the same as causation.

What you say is technically correct, however trying to make the argument that sucrose is a better and more nutritive alternative is kind of like saying you'd rather jump off an 90 ft cliff than a 100 ft cliff. The result is the same either way.

Tim Perkins
UVM PMRC

[red maples]

OK...anyway so moderation right!!!

I love sweets!!! don't most of us right.

I live by "body for life" and "eating for life" by Bill philips.

I eat healthy 6 days a week, that's very little sugar, whole grains 6 smaller meals a day protein shakes, Fat free milk, egg beaters alot of chicken breast, fresh veggies and all the healthy stuff. and I go to the gym 5-6 days a week 3 days lifting weights and 2-3 days cardio. Sundays are the free day and man I go for it no work outs and eat what ever!!! gets all the mental cravings out and make myself feel stuffed fat and terrible. I can't wait to get to the gym on monday morning.

here the proof that it works.

I am 5'10" and was 222# and now 170#

I lost 50# lost 10 inches off my waist my cholesteral went from 304 to 158 and my blood pressure went from 145/95 to 122/68 last time I checked. Sucrose fructose what ever really has no nutritional valve. Do I love it? yes. plus with kids around junk food is here!!!

OK now after saying all that. if I cheat and eat more sugary stuff with what ever kind of sugar (this usually happens between holloween and christmas)... I can put on 4-5 pounds really quick in a week or 2. why because you retain that junk in your small and large intestine and your body turns it into fat and stores it because it thinks it needs to and thats why your eating it!!

then when I cut out the sugar for a week or 2 I drop the 4-5 # and my body clenses itself of that junk. stored up in it. and I feel better lighter and healthier. and then my body can work on shedding the fat that weaved through out my body

[brookledge]

Just when Grade B seems to be getting so popular the IMSI wants to restructure the grades and eliminate grade B from being able to be sold retail.
I understand the industry wanting all states and providences to be standarized but to re-educate the consumers and re do all of the labels and screens for jugs will cost a fortune
Keith

[Homestead Maple]

And that 200+ dollar grading kit you might have bought in the last couple of years, will be out the door or a decoration. Who does the change really benefit?

[Haynes Forest Products]

It reminds me of the government trying to control the beef industry and set prices for sertain cuts. So what did the butchers do They came up with new cuts and fancy names for it. It will backfire and we will sell what we have and people will buy it.

[brookledge]

I agree with the lost money on grade kits. I was going to buy a permanent kit but I'm holding off until the changes are made. Not only are things like Vt. Fancy going to be gone there will be changes in the light transmission between each grade. It will definately require all to re-educate the consumer.
Keith