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Home   Grade B Maple Syrup vs. Grade A

Grade B vs. Grade A?
That is the question.

What's the difference between Grade B Maple Syrup vs. Grade A Medium Amber or Grade A Dark Amber? We get this question a lot, especially from people trying the Master Cleanse Diet.

Some people say there's more minerals in the darker grades of pure & natural maple syrup, while others say the mineral content is the same. So, who's right? Here's what we believe...

We believe Grade B maple syrup has the same "mineral content" and nutritional values as lighter grades; Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber, or Vermont Fancy. The real difference is that there is less sugar content in the sap used to produce Grade B, therefore it needs to be boiled longer to become syrup, and thereby appears darker and thicker. Truth be known, Grade B even though it's darker, has the same density as Grade A or even Fancy for that matter. All maple syrup is required to be finished to the same minimum density 66.0 degrees Brix at 68 degrees F (Federal US and Canadian law). The real difference is in the color and flavor. Darker syrup has a more pronounced maple flavor. Darker syrup also has a lower percentage of light transmission measured with a spectrophotometer. It is our thinking (and we're currently researching this) is that by volume all maple syrup has the same mineral and nutritional value and the only way to get more minerals or nutrition out of syrup would be to make it more concentrated. How? Leave the syrup open in your refrigerator (always keep opened syrup refrigerated) and let the water content evaporate off - Fancy, Grade A Medium Amber, Dark Amber, Grade B, it doesn't matter which. Think of it like this...

If you pour a glass of orange juice and drink only a couple sips then put the remaining OJ in the refrigerator for a day or two, you may notice when you go for your next sip that the OJ is now more concentrated because some of the water in the OJ evaporated off while sitting in your fridge. The OJ still contains the same mineral and nutritional value, it's simply more concentrated with more pulp. Grade B maple syrup vs. Grade A thereby have the same mineral content and nutritional value at normal concentration. Of course, when considering maple syrup grades, one should really be considering flavor, not mineral content or nutritional value. After all, this is syrup we're talking about!