Made My Own Pancake Syrup--Saved a Bunch

[umsami]

When I went to buy pancake syrup at the store, I balked at the $4.00+ price for a bottle of high fructose garbage (that I dearly love.)  ;)  We can't afford real maple syrup.  I read on allrecipes that you could make your own using maple extract.  Bought a bottle of Mapleine at Wal-Mart for maybe $3.00--and made my first batch this morning.  No corn syrup.  No HFCS.  Delicious.  Cost me less than $1.00 for a whole bunch.  Plan to store it in the fridge in a glass jar and then nuke as needed.  

I know people do various combos of flavoring... maple alone, maple + vanilla, maple + butter, etc.  

The extract comes with a recipe, but we used one online which was 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup water, and 1 Tbsp extract.  You cook the sugars and water until dissolved... boil a bit to thicken...and add in the extract.

[applecider]

That is the exact recipe that my mom used growing up! Yum.

[chel]

growing up my family used just dark brown sugar and water

[ariahsmum]

OMG!  As a Vermonter I don't know if there is any level of poverty where I can get myself to resort to fake syrup.  

But the price is soooooo exorbitant and I'm happy for you that you found a good alternative for your family!

[umsami]

Originally Posted by ariahsmum 

OMG!  As a Vermonter I don't know if there is any level of poverty where I can get myself to resort to fake syrup.  

LOL...a good friend is from Vermont and I could never tell her that I did this.  She'd be completely mortified.  Unfortunately, the amount I made for pennies would cost me over $12.00 for "real" syrup--and we just can't afford that right now.

[beebalmmama]

This is what I grew up with and make all the time! We love it. Before dh and I had kids we would splurge occasionally and buy real maple syrup. But this is a great standby and not such a budget breaker.

[applecider]

Yeah, the cheapest I can find maple syrup at is Costco. 32oz for $13.

[lishoprah]

We buy the Costco maple syrup.  We are a family of 6 and we usually have pancakes or waffles once on the weekend and a couple times a month for dinner.  I think it lasts us about a month.  We just decided to cut out the once or twice a month we used to eat breakfast out so that we could stop eating corn syrup :).  We've never gone crazy with the syrup though -- we have family who would use up the Costco maple syrup for one breakfast if they had the chance.

That recipe sounds so much better than the high fructose syrups though!

[tea_time]

I've been making my own syrup for awhile now.  I do a simple recipe (like it thin though, yours might be the thick syrup one). 1/2 cup of boiling water over 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp Mapleine.  I put the syrup in a old glass syrup bottle and keep it in the fridge.  

[applecider]

Originally Posted by lishoprah 

We buy the Costco maple syrup.  We are a family of 6 and we usually have pancakes or waffles once on the weekend and a couple times a month for dinner.  I think it lasts us about a month.  We just decided to cut out the once or twice a month we used to eat breakfast out so that we could stop eating corn syrup :).  We've never gone crazy with the syrup though -- we have family who would use up the Costco maple syrup for one breakfast if they had the chance.

That recipe sounds so much better than the high fructose syrups though!

It's funny because I never let the kids pour their own syrup, too much $$! And when we have family over, I cringe at the amount of syrup they use. I"m like, "That @#$# it expensive!! You better be licking your plate when you're done!"

[mnnice]

I occasssionally buy real maply, but we use the maple extract/brown sugar type most of the time.

Last summer DS1 and I picked blueberries and made blueberry syrup (blueberries, sugar and water made per the instructions in my canning book).  It was a huge hit and we plan on making more next year.

We also like ripe pear or mango on pancakes and then skip the syrup.

[umsami]

We do fruit on pancakes sometimes too.

And for some reason, we love to make waffle sandwiches with unsweetened or homemade applesauce in the middle. :)

[lishoprah]

Yeah, we pour the maple syrup for that meal into a cream jug and heat it up so we don't use too much.

We had a leftover giant Mrs Butterworths container from Costco so we brought that out for my dh's family (that's what they use).  With two adults and four teens they used more than half of it!  I think it's 64 oz.
 

Originally Posted by applecider 

Originally Posted by lishoprah 

We buy the Costco maple syrup.  We are a family of 6 and we usually have pancakes or waffles once on the weekend and a couple times a month for dinner.  I think it lasts us about a month.  We just decided to cut out the once or twice a month we used to eat breakfast out so that we could stop eating corn syrup :).  We've never gone crazy with the syrup though -- we have family who would use up the Costco maple syrup for one breakfast if they had the chance.

That recipe sounds so much better than the high fructose syrups though!

It's funny because I never let the kids pour their own syrup, too much $$! And when we have family over, I cringe at the amount of syrup they use. I"m like, "That @#$# it expensive!! You better be licking your plate when you're done!"

[Guinevere]

Making your own pancake syrup is an excellent idea!

We're a family of 8 and eat pancakes most every Sunday morning and have breakfast for dinner about once a month, as well.

We buy a bottle of Costco maple syrup once every 3 months and use it sparingly, and I make fruit compote (fresh or frozen fruit, usually berries of some kind, with sugar and water) to sub for the syrup the rest of the time. Sometimes we use applesauce, apple butter, jam, or flavored yogurt as pancake toppings instead.

This year, DH got maple syrup for his birthday (Nov) AND in his Christmas stocking, so we currently have a stash, hooray! :D

Guin

[JudiAU]

Real maple syrup is something I dearly love. Two tricks for making it good further: add either some chopped banana or a bit of vanilla to your pancakes or other chopped fruit. Makes a huge difference. We also like variations that have cornmeal in them. For some reason the extra flavor cuts down on the need for maple flavor and you can use a lot less.

I was raised on Mrs. Butterworths, margarine, Cool Whip, and Miracle Whip. We only got the real thing on special occasions. Those four things are items I never compromise on. I didn't dislike the alternatives I just remember my mom making a big deal when we got the real thing and it went deep into my brain.