If you have a bottle or two of maple syrup in your cabinet or refrigerator, you might want to check the label. Not all bottles marketed as maple syrup actually contain the sought-after derivative of maple tree sap.
Simply put: many of the most popular brands of maple syrup, also called pancake syrup, are not maple syrup at all.
As one savvy Target shopper has shared, many brands of syrup on store shelves are not really all that maple-y.
In a video that has drawn over 466,000 views on TikTok, user Jillian Pelliccio (@jillianpelliccio) highlights that she has noticed a difference in the ingredients of a variety of brands of products that most people might refer to as “maple syrup.”
“I just learned something in the syrup aisle,” she says in the video. “I always get the bottles that actually say ‘maple syrup.’ Usually not too picky about the brand, because in general, I don’t think syrup is actually good for you, but when my kids have pancakes that I make at home I like to give them the best syrup I can pick.”
Pelliccio says she thought she was staying away from highly processed “maple syrups.”
“So all along I thought I was avoiding the other maple syrups because they were processed or had additives, but now I’ve learned that they’re actually not syrup at all,” she says, picking up a bottle of syrup. “So you could pick any of these other ones and just look. No maple syrup in these ingredients. And it goes for all these other ones that I looked at. But if you look at the ones that actually say maple syrup, then you’ll notice. Ingredients: maple syrup. Did you know this?”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Pelliccio via TikTok comment regarding the video.
What is the difference between syrup and maple syrup?
When it comes to the two products that frequently share shelf space in grocery stores, only one is made with the sap from a maple tree: maple syrup.
The sap is boiled down to a thicker consistency, eventually becoming the sweet sticky goodness folks have been pouring over pancakes and waffles for decades.
Other products, often labeled as pancake syrup, or just syrup, are more commonly corn syrup-based, with artificial maple extract added for taste.
For many, the imitation syrup might well scratch the itch. However, for purists, it just isn’t the same.
Savvy shoppers
In the video’s comment section, several commenters noted that this difference between the different kinds of syrup might be more common knowledge than the poster anticipated.
“I thought it was common knowledge that syrup and maple syrup or two completely different things,” one commenter wrote.
“I’m confused about your confusion,” another said.
“I watched this entire video thinking you were going to say something revolutionary,” a further user wrote.
@jillianpelliccio Social Post #4 ♬ original sound – JillianPelliccio
Others shared that they specifically chose to purchase the non-maple syrup for their pantries because they like the taste or the price better.
“See I just eat Mrs butterworth , very aware it ain’t actual maple syrup but it tastes the best so oh well,” one commented.
“Is it bad that I prefer the taste of pancake syrup over maple syrup,” another commenter wrote.
“Maple syrup is great and all, but I don’t like it on my pancakes and waffles so,” a third said.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
