Maple syrup freedom

[Anti Federalist]

Sometimes, you don't even know what's been banned from you.




Dark maple syrup, long banned in USA, could soon hit store shelves

http://thehill.com/regulation/206387-usda-considers-new-maple-syrup-regulations#ixzz320H6OvdR
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

By Tim Devaney - 05/16/14 06:23 PM EDT

Dark maple syrup that has traditionally been considered too rich for the average consumer's taste could be sold in retail stores for the first time under new rules from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA is considering new maple syrup labeling requirements that would relax the restrictions on the darkest blends of syrup and make room for it on stores' shelves across the country.

Previously, maple syrup producers were only allowed to sell lighter grades of syrup to consumers, which has a milder flavor and is often used on pancakes, waffles, and French toast. But darker grades of maple syrup are becoming more popular with certain consumers as of late, industry officials say.

This comes as the USDA considers a new universal maple syrup standard from the International Maple Syrup Institute, which the agency says will also help U.S. producers export syrup to sell internationally.

"This will better reflect the needs of consumers and help establish new international markets or expand existing ones," a USDA spokesperson said.

Maple is syrup is judged by its color. But there is little consensus from maple syrup producers in different states and countries as to what designates a light syrup compared to a darker syrup. So the International Maple Syrup Institute has suggested new universal standards for producers all around the world.

The state of Vermont, which is the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S., has already adopted the rules.

Now, the USDA is considering such a move. The public has two months to comment on the proposal.

[Dr.3D]

Now I have to wonder if there is some sort of International Beer Institute that has set some standards for what designates a light beer versus a dark beer.

Come to think about it, dark beer was illegal for awhile too. p:

[Zippyjuan]

Related article and chart:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2014/04/02/goodbye-fancy-so-long-grade-b-making-sense-of-maple-syrup/

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/larryolmsted/files/2014/04/MapleGrades.jpg


But when you go buy maple syrup at your local store, you might be surprised and confused because an entirely new labeling system with all new names is being phased in this year. The change may take many regular users of syrup by surprise, but ultimately it is being done to make life simpler for consumers.

Starting this year, Vermont has adopted new names for its four grades of maple syrup, shown on the left. Horizontal lines indicate where the four old grades (like Fancy) fall on the new spectrum. Courtesy of Vermont Maple Syrup Makers Association.

For years the maple syrup landscape, both in Vermont and its neighbors, has been mired in confusion thanks to archaic labeling terms, some of which are widely misunderstood. That is changing, and these friendly competitors have been working together to standardize the issue. As a result, Vermont rolled out completely new labeling standards for its maple syrup that will be phased in optionally this year, allowing producers to use up existing supplies of labels and printed bottles, before becoming mandatory in 2015. New York is also adopting the new standards in 2015, while Maine’s legislature passed the rules contingent on the USDA and Canadian Food Inspection adopting them. Canada is also working towards adopting the new lingo and New Hampshire is still in the midst of public hearings on the issue, but there is a high likelihood that in the next few years, these new labelling terms will apply to the bulk of real maple syrup sold around the world.

The biggest source of confusion has come from the fact that there is no quality difference between Grade A and Grade B syrup, contrary to common sense. Syrup has long been labelled based on color, and Vermont’s four grades, from lightest to darkest, were Fancy, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber and Grade B (there is also a Grade C that is darkest but not sold commercially as is, and instead used in other products like candy). Based on these names it is easy to see why someone might think Grade A was better than Grade B or Fancy was best of all, but that’s not the case. 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. It is possible to tap a particular stand of trees into a holding tank, then boil that syrup and throughout the several hour long process get all four grades of syrup using the same exact vat of sap. Canada also grades syrup entirely by color but to further confuse things they use numbers: Canada Number One, Two or Three.


Interestingly, in recent years there has been very high demand for Grade B syrup because of a popular fad cleanse that specifically calls for it, apparently based on some misperception that the darker Grade B is less processed, which is completely untrue. “It’s never been the case that any one grade is ‘better,’ it just depends on your taste,” said Randi Calderwood, a fourth generation Vermont syrup maker who owns Echo Hill Farm in the northeastern part of the state. “All the syrup is tested and has to meet exactly the same standards and it’s all the same level of quality, but the names Grade A and Grade B confuse people. 30 years ago everyone wanted Fancy because they thought that name meant it was better. In recent years Medium Amber has been the best seller and Grade B is part of a popular cleanse with cayenne pepper and now we ship all of our Grade B to California because of that. 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. We’ve had days where we’ve gotten every single grade out of the same batch, but if they want us to send them Grade B we’re happy to sell it.”

The new standards are meant to signify more clearly to consumers what they should expect to taste in a particular bottle of maple syrup in a way that “Fancy” can’t. Now all four levels of color are Grade A, but with more descriptive names: Golden Color with Delicate Taste, Amber Color With Rich Taste, Dark With Robust Taste and Very Dark With Strong Taste. The new grades do not precisely line up with the old ones but rather overlap, so for example the new Amber Color With Rich Taste includes all of what used to be Medium Amber and the lighter colored segment of what used to be Dark Amber. The attached graphic shows these comparisons more clearly. It also lets people who already know what grade they like best find it under Vermont’s new labeling system, which in all likelihood will be extended to other major maple producing states in the near future.

[liberty2897]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHBtdzpETPw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup

Cultural significance

The motif on the flag of Canada is a maple leaf.
Maple syrup and maple sugar were used during the American Civil War and by abolitionists in the years prior to the war because most cane sugar and molasses were produced by Southern slaves.[84][85] Because of food rationing during the Second World War, people in the northeastern United States were encouraged to stretch their sugar rations by sweetening foods with maple syrup and maple sugar,[14] and recipe books were printed to help housewives employ this alternative source.[86]

[Occam's Banana]

"This will better reflect the needs of consumers and help establish new international markets or expand existing ones," a USDA spokesperson said.

Thank God for the Oberwafflegruppen USDA - soon to be heavily armed & armored!
Who else is going to figure out what "will better reflect the needs of consumers" for us?

[LibForestPaul]

This is so sad. And I have an inkling that Vermont producers want this and the USDA.

[ClydeCoulter]

How much did this all cost the taxpayers, both the banning and now the unbanning and relabeling? smh

[osan]

Apparently there is no stone Theye leave unturned.

And people think we will be able to reason and protest our ways out of this?

It is to laugh.

[fisharmor]

How much did this all cost the taxpayers, both the banning and now the unbanning and relabeling? smh

Oh, be realistic here. There's no way any of us can reliably be able to tell what color syrup is.
I mean, I myself have had some sort of official art instruction for only nine years. Really, how can I be expected to tell light syrup from dark syrup?

Whatever other restrictions they have in place make a bottle of maple syrup retail for north of $16 each (just bought one this morning), so really, the only viable solution is for them to make sure I know what I'm getting.

[Anti Federalist]

When I have boiled off my own, it came out between Grade A Amber and Grade A Dark.

[Anti Federalist]

Oh, be realistic here. There's no way any of us can reliably be able to tell what color syrup is.
I mean, I myself have had some sort of official art instruction for only nine years. Really, how can I be expected to tell light syrup from dark syrup?

Whatever other restrictions they have in place make a bottle of maple syrup retail for north of $16 each (just bought one this morning), so really, the only viable solution is for them to make sure I know what I'm getting.

I'm sure government tomfuckery has something to do with the price, but aside from that, make no mistake, it is a difficult process, very labor and fuel intensive, and you only get two weeks a year, at most, to do it.

That's why store bought "maple syrup" went from being about 5% syrup, when I was a kid, to now, 0%.

Log Cabin, Mrs. Butterworth's, and all the rest, are nothing but HFCS, artificial flavors and sodium hexametaphosphate.

Yum!

The real stuff is worth it.

[fisharmor]

I'm sure government tomfuckery has something to do with the price, but aside from that, make no mistake, it is a difficult process, very labor and fuel intensive, and you only get two weeks a year, at most, to do it.

Easter lilies are supposed to bloom once, in July/August. Yet every church the country over has them in March/April, because they force them in hothouses.
At $16+ per bottle, there's a way... there has to be. I can smell a cartel.


The real stuff is worth it.
Yeah, once I tasted the real stuff as an adult, the other stuff seemed a lot like coagulated cola to me.

[angelatc]

Sigh.

Fuck you, government.

[2young2vote]

They already do this with ice cream. It has to be atleast 10% butterfat to be considered ice cream, which means soft serve and custard are not ice cream. And when you see a company advertise "premium" ice cream it is referring to the butterfat content, not the quality of the product.

It is just more useless government regulation. What would we ever do without our great savior the U.S. government?

[Anti Federalist]

Easter lilies are supposed to bloom once, in July/August. Yet every church the country over has them in March/April, because they force them in hothouses.

At $16+ per bottle, there's a way... there has to be. I can smell a cartel.

Not sure how you can stuff a couple hundred 60 foot maple trees into a hothouse, and then trick them into thinking it is eternally March 15 or so.

Let more people demand the stuff, that will bring more syrup makers into the market.

Hell, I might get my land straightened out to the point where I could commercially sap.

[jbauer]

Easter lilies are supposed to bloom once, in July/August. Yet every church the country over has them in March/April, because they force them in hothouses.
At $16+ per bottle, there's a way... there has to be. I can smell a cartel.


Yeah, once I tasted the real stuff as an adult, the other stuff seemed a lot like coagulated cola to me.


Sigh.

Fuck you, government.

Yup. Didn't know about the ban. But it would be the reason I was given a "secret" bottle of syrup....which by the way was one of the most flavorful things I've ever ate.

[jclay2]

Wait a tick, so your telling me that there is no quality difference between Grade A and Grade C, yet the USDA regulated it like there was. This leads me to question (1) just how many millions of gallons were taken off the retail market and (2) where the real equilibrium price would be without this government nonsense? And people think I am crazy when I say that without large and intrusive government, we would be working 1-2 days a week.....

[nbruno322]

Apparently there is no stone Theye leave unturned.

And people think we will be able to reason and protest our ways out of this?

It is to laugh.

"The built-in majority of welfare recipients and government employees guarantees that there will be a solid voting block to continue—and accelerate—these policies. It would be foolish to assume that a meaningful number of these people would vote to stop the government from giving them benefits or otherwise vote to break their own rice bowls.

The notion that a significant number of people living off of government largesse will be brought around to an individualist or libertarian way of thinking is a pipe dream.

You’d have better luck converting them to become Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In other words, there is no hope for positive change to come from the political system."

http://www.internationalman.com/articles/youd-have-better-luck-converting-them-to-become-jehovahs-witnesses

[Anti Federalist]

"The built-in majority of welfare recipients and government employees guarantees that there will be a solid voting block to continue—and accelerate—these policies. It would be foolish to assume that a meaningful number of these people would vote to stop the government from giving them benefits or otherwise vote to break their own rice bowls.

The notion that a significant number of people living off of government largesse will be brought around to an individualist or libertarian way of thinking is a pipe dream.

You’d have better luck converting them to become Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In other words, there is no hope for positive change to come from the political system."

http://www.internationalman.com/articles/youd-have-better-luck-converting-them-to-become-jehovahs-witnesses

http://i.imgur.com/x24r4Hq.jpg

[otherone]

Dark maple syrup, long banned in USA, could soon hit store shelves

[

Maybe the ATF should include breakfast condiments.

[nbruno322]

http://i.imgur.com/x24r4Hq.jpg

Exactly...