Maple Grove Farms Sugar Free Maple & Butter Flavor Syrup Review

I’ve used Maple Grove Farms Sugar Free Maple & Butter Flavor Syrup for a few months now, to add low-calorie buttery maple flavor to buckwheat pancakes and waffles. This naturally and artificially flavored syrup offers a pleasant alternative to butter syrups that contain much corn syrup and sugar. While this does not taste exactly like natural maple, it’s not too far off.

The Maple Grove Farms low sugar buttery maple syrup has 30 calories per 1/4 cup serving, or about 8 calories per tablespoon, compared with pure maple syrup that socks you with 50 calories per tablespoon or 200 calories per quarter cup.

This product seems to equal honey and agave nectar in terms of sweetness. However, I’d suggest that you not use butter flavored syrup in place of these other sweeteners, as it’s flavor interacts differently with the foods you put it on, given its significant butter taste. Thus, the resulting flavors may not be what you hoped for or expected.

Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features

Though a low-calorie imitation of real maple syrup, this product nonetheless, impresses the palate as a, medium-strength maple flavor, and has a pronounced, albeit fake-smelling, maple aroma. The same is true of the butter flavor as well.
This brand appears darker than the corresponding name brand syrups such as Mrs. Butterworth’s.
This flavored syrup is clear and indeed, dark amber in color when poured onto a white plate; a bit darker than both honey and agave nectar. So it can darken the colors of foods or beverages you put it in. Keep this in mind.
This product is easy to find at bigger grocery stores.
I’ve never experienced any intestinal or stomach problems from this good-tasting syrup.
This syrup indeed has a syrupy feel to it, but somewhat thicker than grade A pure maple syrup. In fact, real maple syrup tends to flow more freely (thinner) than these imitation varieties.
When they talk about the classic taste of pancakes and buttery maple syrup, they must have had the Maple Grove Farms brand in mind. Though this syrup is not as good-tasting to me as their real maple syrup with consumer-added butter, the basic idea of maple butter flavor is well replicated in this product.
Though this product indeed compromises on taste as compared to the real thing, I’d say that it’s one of the least compromising maple flavored syrups on the market thus far.
They sweeten this product with Splenda brand sucralose zero calorie sweetener, along with the sorbitol sugar alcohol.
This product seems comparably priced to others in its class.

Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns

I wish they’d package this product in glass instead of plastic.
Most of the sweetness in this product comes from sugar alcohol, that can wreak havoc in some people. I’d recommend that they do away with the sorbitol and rely entirely on sucralose for the sweetness.
While it has the caramel color of real maple syrup, and a hint of maple essence in its aroma and flavor, this syrup does not taste nearly as good as actual maple syrup. It definitely tastes, “diety.”

Ingredients

Water, sorbitol, cellulose gum, natural & artificial maple butter flavor, salt, sucralose, caramel color, sodium benzoate (to preserve freshness), phosphoric acid, acesulfame potassium, potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness), sorbic acid, citric acid.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1/4 cup (60 millilitres). Servings per container: about 12.
Calories: 30. Fat calories: 0.
Total fat: 0 grams, 0% DV.
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams, 0% DV.
Sodium: 105 milligrams, 4% DV.
Total carb: 11 grams, 3% DV.
Sugar alcohol: 10 grams.
Protein: 0 grams.

Product Rating

I like this sugar-free maple flavored syrup. The butter flavor makes this product taste better than the butter flavor-free version. Clearly though, it’s not as good-tasting as real maple syrup. But for the sacrifice in some of that great natural maple flavor, you also avoid most of the sugar calories of real maple syrup. So I’d rate this product at 91 out of 100. Much of the goodness that’s missing in flavor, is found in the reduced calories and low sugar.

Where To Buy Maple Grove Farms Sugar Free Maple & Butter Flavored Syrup

Look for the clear plastic bottle with the red, green, yellow, and white label that is capped with a yellow lid at your favorite larger grocers.

References

Revision History

2015-02-27: Adjusted category and tag assignments, fixed typos, and added white space.
2012-06-27: Originally published.