Michigan blueberries are in season, I picked some up at the farmers market. Ate some raw, put some in a smoothie, then i had a taste for Blueberry pancakes. Checked the cupboard, no syrup. Off to the store. Started reading labels, lots of high fructose cornsyrup with maple flavor out there. We all know this is bad. So I bought 100% maple syrup. Costs more, definetly tastes better. I noticed that i use less than i would with the other syrup so this is good. My questions is, is maple syrup any healthier oz per oz than the corn syrup stuff? or is sugar, sugar.
Not really an expert, but I would think it isn’t processed as much so it must be a little better for you.
it’s healthier just from the standpoint that 100% pure maple syrup is naturally occuring…it’s not processed.
in some of my natural health books maple syrup is recommended to aid in fasting and for a few other things.
from a common sense standpoint, if you use less of it and it has less sugar, then you’re already ahead.
i bet that was good. i’d sure like to have some pancakes about now…dang.
well, sugar is pretty much sugar. The only difference b/w the maple and the processed is the addition of some preservatives. As far as calories go, it’s the same. But since you are likely to use less of the good stuff go for the maple. That sounds like a good way to rationalize eating pancakes right? Enjoy!!
That sounds like a good way to rationalize eating pancakes right? Enjoy!!
Thats what i thought. But my pancakes aren’t that bad. Whole wheat flour, 1 egg bought from a farm, little sugar baking powder, blue berries. And i only ate 2 and dumped the rest of the batter. Probably less calories than a big Mac and no chemicals.
sounds like power food to me. next time, save your batter for the next round 
Maple syrup, good!
dumped the rest of the batter? Are you crazy? Those sound yummy, you should have sent the leftovers down to me and Kittycat in Cincy!!
in some of my natural health books maple syrup is recommended to aid in fasting and for a few other things.
How many calories are you allowed to have before it is no longer “fasting”?
On topic, I make buttermilk pancakes from scratch for my family (the Sour Milk pancake recipe from the original Joy of Cooking). They insist on using the fake syrup (my wife grew up with that), while I insist on the real maple syrup. No contest on taste, in my book.
I sure hope not. I had maple syrup on my granola and soy milk this morning. The soy milk was unsweetened so I felt justified in using the syrup.
Because I come from the Ottawa area, I’m pretty hard-core when it comes to buying it. First of all, anything “maple-flavoured” or made by someone’s “aunt” is disgusting. It has to be the real thing. I live out west, but even the “real” maple syrup out here isn’t quite good enough for me. Buying it from Safeway seems wrong. I think that the people in PQ purposely send the off-spec stuff to the Albertans. Fair enough, if I lived in another province, I’d hate Albertans as well.
Maple syrup only tastes good when it’s bought in a can or (even better) in an old 26er of Royal Reserve rye. Yes, that’s how my parents used to buy it. It’s preferable to purchase the syrup from a PQer who doesn’t speak English. I’m not sure why, but I think that if the syrup is exposed to the English language, it loses some of it’s flavour.
yeah, I don’t know…and truth be told, I don’t believe in “fasting” as a way of “detoxing” the human body…it does it on its own for petes sakes.
there is one book called the “master cleanser” and it recommends lemon juice, pure maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water. disgusting…my personal trainer tried to make me drink this stuff. no thanks.
anyway, maple syrup is said to have positive and negative sugars, so during a fast it will stabilize the blood sugar, etc. i don’t buy into this, but alot of people do.
yeah, I don’t know…and truth be told, I don’t believe in “fasting” as a way of “detoxing” the human body…it does it on its own for petes sakes.
there is one book called the “master cleanser” and it recommends lemon juice, pure maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water. disgusting…my personal trainer tried to make me drink this stuff. no thanks.
anyway, maple syrup is said to have positive and negative sugars, so during a fast it will stabilize the blood sugar, etc. i don’t buy into this, but alot of people do.
From what I saw on the Web, maple syrup is 88-89% sucrose, and the rest is mainly glucose, with a smattering of fructose. What’s a “negative sugar”, and do you pay real money for these books?
lol…the master cleanser is something my personal trainer had me read one day while doing cardio.
but the other health books i have aren’t hookey. and those I paid for
Love maple syrup and pancakes. We buy our maple syrup in season from local farmers.
After sampling these last week at the LTF expo, I’m hooked.
Yummy…bought a whole box!
Maple syrup only tastes good when it’s bought in a can or (even better) in an old 26er of Royal Reserve rye. Yes, that’s how my parents used to buy it. It’s preferable to purchase the syrup from a PQer who doesn’t speak English. I’m not sure why, but I think that if the syrup is exposed to the English language, it loses some of it’s flavour.
Absolutely. We still get it that way. It just feels wrong to buy it at Loblaws when I run out.
okay all you guys from back up north SUCK!!! my 'rents are in Wisconsin and they are plowing away at the Blueberries and cherries. Anyway back to the orginal question… maple syrup and “healthiness”
Granted it is not refined but the glycemic index of maple syrup is still quite high b/c it is a concentrated form of the sap (boiled down). However if you are combining this with whole grain pancakes and fruit and only using a marginal amount then you’re cool… if not you most likely cause and insulin spike and then will have a downer feeling after an hour or so.
Back to MI… Jim, you from there? I am originally from TC but havent been back in years…next time i go though the bike is coming with me… old mission, blueberries, cherries and peaches… oh yeah! 
wish they would put an IM or Half IM up that way…
wish i could be UP NORTH
wow, this post got a lot of replies.
yes sugar is sugar, BUT:
the cheap maple syrup out there is not so bad due to the high fructose corn syrup ingredient, it is bad because of all the other bizarre crap they put in there: flavors, colors, stabilizers, additives, etc. to make it pass as “maple syrup.”
heck, if they made a minimally-processed corn syrup (but not sure if that is possible) it might be about the same nutritionally for you as the real maple syrup, but it wouldn’t taste anything like it. also, real maple syrup likely has a large no. of slightly beneficial trace elements/minerals that the fake maple syrup has zero of.
You put syrup, any kind of syrup on fresh blueberry pancakes - are you insane?
Syrup is meant to cover up the taste of dry boring pancakes - with blueberries in them you should be able to eat them dry!
dumped the rest of the batter
I always cook all the pancakes the batter can make… Cool on a rack and store in the freezer for future eats…