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Thread: The Flavour Wheel

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    North Grenville
    Posts
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    Default The Flavour Wheel

    Hey all, thought I'd post this here in the Inn as I often see threads where posters are concerned about maple syrup that doesn't taste like maple.

    The wheel at the bottom of the page in the link shows all the flavours found in syrup, from mild sweet flavour notes like vanilla and marshmallow, to much stronger flavours like coffee/molasses/burnt sugar to the downright nasty (chemically crap) and pleasantly weird stuff, like the batch I made a few seasons ago that had a wonderful, mild fresh hay note to it.

    Enjoy!

    http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/science-and...=1231363888838
    Been tapping since 2008.
    2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
    2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
    2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
    2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
    2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
    2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    chester, ma
    Posts
    905

    Default

    My wife thinks I'm nuts, but I've checked several times, and I swear my latest batch has a very slight taste of strawberry syrup. It came no-where near a strawberry or anything like it. It just seems to be something in the sap! It also has a lot of other nice flavors to it. One of the best tasting batches I've made IMO.

    It's really weird to me how the same trees, just a few weeks apart, can make syrup that tastes so different.

    My first season, my first two batches were super-light, with no "maple" flavor, just a heavy vanilla/caramel flavor. They were almost the color of honey. It never happened again! So weird.
    2016: Homemade arch from old wood stove; 2 steam tray pans; 6 taps; 1.1 gal
    2017: Same setup. 15 taps; 4.5 gal
    2018: Same setup. Limited time. 12 taps and short season; 2.2 gal
    2019: Very limited time. 7 taps and a short season; 1.8 gals
    2020: New Mason 2x3 XL halfway through season; 9 taps 2 gals
    2021: Same 2x3, 18 taps, 4.5 gals
    2022: 23 taps, 5.9 gals
    2023: 23 taps. Added AUF, 13.2 gals
    2024: 17 taps
    All on buckets

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    North Grenville
    Posts
    1,476

    Default

    Usually my first batch has vanilla/marshmallow notes, then the flavour gets progressively more maple-y with each batch. Normally I earmark the mid-season batches for gifts as it's the expected maple flavour, but usually still retains some variation due to weather, run, etc.

    And yes I have made some late-run batches that tastes like molasses! Still can get thrown for a loop, that batch with the hay note to it was a mid-season batch.

    And last year a client gave me some syrup made by an Amish man who really likes to make strong syrup - it tasted somewhere between molasses and vinegar and the colour was so dark it almost had a greeny tinge, which was strange. I fed it to the septic system.
    Been tapping since 2008.
    2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
    2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
    2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
    2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
    2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
    2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,390

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Galena View Post
    The wheel at the bottom of the page in the link shows all the flavours found in syrup, from mild sweet flavour notes like vanilla and marshmallow, to much stronger flavours like...
    An alternative version of a flavor map for maple is at https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/defau.../VT%200899.pdf
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    North Grenville
    Posts
    1,476

    Default

    Very cool! Thanks Dr Tim :-) Noticed, though, that the American version posted was published in 2009 and the Canadian version was updated in 2017.
    Been tapping since 2008.
    2018 - 17 taps/7 trees...819l sap, approx 28l syrup
    2019 - 18 taps/8 trees...585l sap, 28l syrup...21:1 ratio
    2020 - 18 taps/8 trees...890.04l sap...gave away about 170l, 30l snafu'd....23l total for me from approx 690l
    2021 - 18 taps/8 trees...395l sap, 12 l syrup
    2022 - 18 taps/8 trees....7 sugars 1 red due to #2 having surgery so had the season off....582l sap, 18.5l syrup
    2023 - 18 taps/8 trees...all sugars again. 807l sap, so far approx 14l syrup

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