Grade A versus
Grade B
Vermont Maple Syrup comes in many
variations, each as satisfying as the others. Vermont Syrup is organized into
four categories, which then falls into either Grade A or Grade B. Many people
have debated the difference between the two grades of syrup. Questions about
which is healthier have arisen, causing some cultures to pull for certain
grades more than other.
(Vermont Maple Syrup
Makers Association via Forbes)
It
has become a recent fad in certain cultures to try cleanses and other health
boosting practices. It’s been said that Grade B syrup, because of its lighter
pigment, has less of a detrimental effect on people’s allotted caloric intake
each day. People have created a false pretense that Grade B is healthier than
the darker batch of Maple Syrup labeled as Grade A. In actuality, both grades
of liquid gold are as processed and sugary as the other. Randi Calderwood, a
fourth generation Vermont syrup maker, said, “I’ve had people tell me it has to
be Grade B because it is purer and less processed but that’s not true at all.”[1]
Each tapped tree is processed an equal amount and the color of the syrup is a
result of the temperature, not an absent amount of calories.
The only difference between the
various grades of the wonderful product is the taste. “Grading is done simply by color, and color
in turn varies largely based on weather, with sap from the same tree capable of
producing different colors and thus different grades from one day to the next –
or even within a single boiling run of the same sap.”[2]
No matter the grade, everyone can experience the joyous, processed treasure
that is Vermont Maple Syrup. The rumors about a higher processed rate in Grade
A syrup holds no merit, which means people should select their syrup by taste,
not rumored health benefits.
Personally, I’ve always been a fan of Grade A
Dark with Robust Taste.
Olmsted, Larry.
"Goodbye Fancy, So Long Grade B: Making Sense Of Maple Syrup." Forbes.
Forbes Magazine, 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
[2]
Olmsted
I always wondered what the grading meant on syrup. I was undertake impression for some reason that B was darker? My in-laws are from Michigan so we always come back with some great syrup from there when we visit. I wonder what the differences are in terms of taste. What makes for a truly excellent syrup?
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