Vegan Maple Syrup?

SapphireLightning

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Ok I posted this on another forum days ago, but noone has replied so I figured I would try here as well:

Ok, I know most maple syrup is not vegan due to the use of ATMOS, or other animal derived products (cream, lard, etc) as a defoamer, but there must be some properly vegan maple syrups out there.

Does anyone know of which nationally (USA) available brands of maple syrup use vegetable oil or an other non animal derived defoaming agent?

I don't wan't to have to give up maple syrup, but then again I guess I don't really need the short chained sugars in it either, so it isn't the end of the world...
 
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So I see you’re in Maine. Do you happen to have maple trees on your property? It’s extremely easy to make your own maple syrup. We tap three trees, and end up with about a gallon and a half of syrup. We could easily double or triple that some years. The process is just collecting it and boiling it down. We don’t have to use a defoamer with such a small batch.
I would think most super small scale maple syrup producers would know exactly what products they use. A lot of little shops and cafes around here sell local maple syrup- do you have anything like that near you?
 
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I went to google and I found like ten sources that stated that ALL maple syrup was vegan. then I finally found one that mentioned animal products as being a defoamer.

And although the source of the defoamer won't be listed in the ingredients, there are two things that you can look for on the label.
Kosher maple syrup. Maple syrup that uses animal products as the defoamer cannot be certified as kosher. You are looking for the word "Pareve" on the label, and/or a "U" like symbol.

Also at least in Vermont, Maple syrup that is labeled Organic will be vegan, too.

I ran to my cupboard and my Trader Joe's Canadian Maple Syrup does not say it is organic. but it says its Kosher. So I feel better already.

Here is my source.

Vermont's Guidelines.

Or head over to Whole Foods and get this one.




961
 
I've started emailing some of the maple syrup brands around here so I can start a database/list of brands and if they are vegan. I just found out about ATMOS defoamer (and the older practice of hanging a chunk of lard over the back plate, so that the foam moves up and hits it and dissolves some of the fat which breaks the foam) a few weeks ago. How has this not come to the fore in the vegansphere before? Also, vegetable oil works just as good as anything else does for defoaming, so maybe we will need to get loud and put pressure on some of the larger companies to switch.

MBeth: I live in an apartment in a small island village, so no maple trees for me... :<
 
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The kosher certification might not always be reliable as far as vegan goes. there appear to be some loopholes.

As I read more about the maple syrup process it seems like the larger producers are less like to need or use a defoamer.
So far I think the best bet is (certified ) organic maple syrup from Vermont.
 
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The kosher certification might not always be reliable as far as vegan goes. there appear to be some loopholes.

As I read more about the maple syrup process it seems like the larger producers are less like to need or use a defoamer.
So far I think the best bet is (certified ) organic maple syrup from Vermont.

So far I think the best bet is (certified ) organic maple syrup from Vermont Canada. ;)

Emma JC
 
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Canadian Maple Candy for you, @Lou

:yum

Emma JC
 
Liked the discussion shared above. As a vegan I was also looking for the information, whether maple syrup is vegan or not. My sister is not vegan, she says her favorite sweetener choice is maple syrup. So I wanted to know and thank god it is vegan food.
 
So I wanted to know and thank god it is vegan food.

Well as was discussed above, most maple syrup is NOT vegan, due to the use of animal fats as a defoamer. It depends on the brand though. I still haven't heard back from any of the maple manufacturers I emailed...
 
Well as was discussed above, most maple syrup is NOT vegan, due to the use of animal fats as a defoamer. It depends on the brand though. I still haven't heard back from any of the maple manufacturers I emailed...

Not sure we can use the word "most" yet till we hear back.
We are still not sure about maple labeled kosher. At least some of it should be vegan.
And it seems like syrup made in Vermont labeled organic is vegan. Maybe even all the brands labeled organic.
Even without the organic or kosher labels, some companies may choose to use a vegetable-based defoamer.
It also might be a safe assumption that the very big companies that make big batches don't need to use a defoamer. So the big brands are probably ok.
Yes, this does leave a lot of doubts and unanswered questions. So one still needs to proceed with caution.
 
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How did Canada win? I don't see the word "vegan" or "certified vegan". I see organic and Kosher. But as we discussed earlier that may not be a guarantee.
Unless the mapley syrup is from Vermont. It seems organic maple syrup in Vermont is vegan.
I'm still working on the Molly Stone's organic Canadian maple syrup. but eventually, I will have to buy more so I hope we can get this figured out.
 
How did Canada win? I don't see the word "vegan" or "certified vegan". I see organic and Kosher. But as we discussed earlier that may not be a guarantee.
Unless the mapley syrup is from Vermont. It seems organic maple syrup in Vermont is vegan.
I'm still working on the Molly Stone's organic Canadian maple syrup. but eventually, I will have to buy more so I hope we can get this figured out.

Organic from Canada is also vegan as far as I could find out. If I am off on this assessment, then let me know.
 
I have sent an information request to one of the New Brunswick companies, we'll see what they say.

Emma JC
 
Just look for pure maple syrup. It should only involve boiling the sap leaving you with pure naturally sweetened syrup only. Check local farmer's markets or health stores. Not sure how it is where you live but in NY- local pure maple syrup is very common and easy to find. I just picked one up at an Amish stand on the NYS thruway. ?