What’s with all the different colors of syrup?

By Jon Bodell - Mar 21, 2017 | 0 comments

There are four grades of maple syrup: Grade A Golden, Grade A Amber, Grade A Dark and Grade A Very Dark. In general, the darker the color, the richer the taste. It basically comes down to, the longer it takes to boil, the darker it gets in color and more robust in flavor. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)

There are four grades of maple syrup: Grade A Golden, Grade A Amber, Grade A Dark and Grade A Very Dark. In general, the darker the color, the richer the taste. It basically comes down to, the longer it takes to boil, the darker it gets in color and more robust in flavor. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)

A seasoned maple syrup pro can tell a lot about the temperatures of a given season by looking at the color of the syrup. Darker syrup correlates to warmer temperatures, and lighter creations to colder temps. In this shot taken at Mapletree Farm in Concord, the first two bottles on the left are from this year – one for each boil owner Dean Wilber has done so far. After those two, the rest are bottles from last year’s season, in order. By looking at this photo, we can tell that last year started off a little warm (the first bottle is on the darker side), then it cooled off for a little while, which is why you see the very light colors in the middle. Then, at the end of the season when it was the warmest, the syrup was the darkest.

If you’ve ever noticed a difference in color from one bottle of maple syrup to the next, you’re not losing your mind (hopefully). And no, that isn’t just food coloring (again, hopefully).

Maple syrup comes in four grades: Grade A Golden, Grade A Amber, Grade A Dark and Grade A Very Dark. These grades relate to the color of the syrup and also the flavor. In general, the darker the syrup, the stronger the flavor.

But how do they end up as one of these shades?

Just ask Mother Nature. Or Dean Wilber, owner of Mapletree Farm in Concord.

“The lighter syrup comes from colder temperatures,” Wilber said.

The warmer it is outside, the more freely the sap runs through the tree, which makes it easier to extract. However, with the warmer temperatures come more bacteria, meaning that sap needs to be boiled longer. And as we all know, the longer you leave something on the burner, the darker it tends to get.

The longer boil time makes for a darker syrup, and it also makes for a more robust taste. Since this has been an odd season so far, Wilber said he doesn’t know anyone who has made light syrup yet – it’s either been so cold that no sap is running or so warm that it flows like water.

As a matter of personal preference, Wilber doesn’t make the darkest grade, Grade A Very Dark. “It has a real earthy taste,” he said, and if he doesn’t like that kind, he doesn’t want to subject customers to it, either.

Assuming a “normal” season (is there such thing in New Hampshire?), one could expect light syrup in the beginning (when it’s cold) and darker syrup at the end (when it’s warm). But you never know what kind of tricks Mother Nature is going to pull.