You may have noticed that I don’t usually use a lot of maple syrup in my recipes. I personally have always loved it’s flavor, but in the last few years prices for maple syrup have soared. As much as I loved maple syrup, when it’s price got so high, I felt like it should not have priority in our tight budget. I felt like I should use the money it would cost to buy the maple syrup to buy more nutrient dense foods, like good quality eggs. It was a simple matter of priorities, but one that I was a little sad about. Instead I’ve used honey and other sweeteners in moderation and it’s worked well.
(For those curious, we haven’t been eating a lot of pancakes and such, just because I have been trying to have more protein and vegetables based dinners. But when we did have pancakes or waffles, we used butter and honey or, more often than not, homemade berry syrups).
However, recently, I noticed that prices have started to go down a bit in some venues for maple syrup. I am really excited about that! I had gotten a bottle of maple syrup at Christmas time and another really small one recently ( for half off ) for some special projects, but am just about out again. I’ve once again realized how much I like maple syrup, especially grade B for it’s robust flavor. I used it in my Coconut Milk Hot Cocoa and in my Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Butter and both recipes were hits around here (I have gone through a large amount of pumpkin seeds with that recipe! They had just been sitting around until I invented that recipe. ). I knew I wanted to get some more maple syrup, so I have been looking around for the best deals.
Last year, my friend Lindsay had mentioned that she saved money on buying maple syrup by buying through Amazon’s subscription feature. The prices were still too high for us at that point with our budget, but I’ve kept her tip in the back of my head. Now that the prices have gone down, I checked them out again, and they are indeed significantly better than any prices locally (I haven’t found the prices in stores to have gone down a lot yet).
If you aren’t familiar with the subscription program, you sign up to receive an item from Amazon once a year, once a month, once a week-whatever you want- and you receive a discount in the process. Since Amazon’s prices are already much better than what you can find in the store, this is a significant savings!
For example, you can buy a 32 ounce jug of non-organic maple syrup from Brown Family Farm through Amazon for $18.12. A good deal compared to what I find around here. But then, if you buy through subscription, you only have to pay $15.40! Click through here to check this option out. Brown Family Farm Pure New England Maple Syrup, 32-Ounce Jug
But since I like to buy everything I can organic and pesticides can be used on non-organic maple trees, I decided to check out the organic section. One brand, Coombs Family Farms, won a recent taste testing contest for their organic maple syrup and my recent bottle from the store was from them. I really like the taste of their maple syrup. They also have great prices on Amazon. Right now you can buy a 32 ounce jug of Organic Grade B maple syrup for $19.80. An incredible deal compared to the thirty plus dollars it would cost me to buy at the health food store. And if you buy through subscription, it only costs $16.83. This is only slightly more than the non-organic variety! Here is the link, Coombs Family Farms 100% Pure Organic Maple Syrup Grade B, 32 Ounce Jug
As soon as I finish up the half cup or so of what I have left, I am going to buy through Amazon (and I’ve convinced my dad to do the same too!). I think it’s a great deal and since I have been trying to hold our sweets to a minimum, our jug should last quite a while.
Anyone else have maple syrup savings tips? Or what about Amazon? Any good deals to report? I would love to have you chime in with your advice and tips!
Latest posts by KimiHarris (see all)
- 2 Ingredient Peppermint Bark - December 21, 2022
- Herbal Hibiscus Lemonade (Keto, THM) - March 16, 2022
- Creamy Curry Red Lentil Soup - December 8, 2021
Oh darn–I just filled up on my organic grade B maple syrup at People’s Co-op (in SE PDX) from the bulk section today but didn’t check the price. It was 10% off day so I know it was cheaper than usual at least *blush*. Of course, today was the 1st day I didn’t ask for an itemized receipt so I can’t even check that. If I find myself there anytime soon and the price seems reasonable, I’ll repost, for the Portlanders among us.
My mother in law loves that store!
This is excellent, thank you.
I’ve been doing the subscribe and save on the Coombs Organic for 9 months now. LOVE it!
I ordered last year from Branonmaple.com. It’s organic as well, and a gallon is only $46, plus shipping. The cost to ship two gallons to Oregon was not much more than for one gallon, so if you can find some others to split an order it ends up being a good deal. The Amazon deal looks good too.
I recently ordered the Coombs Family grade b organic maple syrup from amazon…I’m waiting for it to arrive. 🙂 They have great deals on several bulk organic/”real” foods. I was able to get 24 cans of whole, unsweetened coconut milk for $40, which is definitely the best price I’ve found.
Good tip on the coconut milk!
The Coombs Family Organic Grade B Maple Syrup is awesome! 🙂 We’ve used that whenever we’ve had the money, and our family has gotten used to doling out the syrup in those little medicine cups (about 1 T) 😉 I did find it easier on pancake mornings to add the maple syrup to the cream I was whipping for the topping – adds flavor without everyone needing to douse their pancakes. Oddly, the raw cream is cheaper per ounce than the syrup! 🙂
I love the whipped cream idea!
I researched maple syrup deals this fall. Since I only buy a few things from the store and make everything from scratch using those few things I have lots of time to price things out.
What I learned is that maple trees have virtually no pests so organic certification is largely a matter of paperwork. I found many growers back east and priced the shipping to me in Seattle, even looking into splitting 5 gallons among a few of us who buy things typically at wholesale and then share. I could not get the price down below what you pay for maple syrup at Costco so I gave up and bought a gallon of syrup there.
You may find deals I couldn’t find but if you do be sure and compare them to Costco. I want to say it was around $12 for a 32 oz jug.
I thought the issue with organic syrup was the fact that they sometimes use formaldehyde in the processing of conventional maple syrup? I could be wrong–I just heard that from a friend, didn’t do the research myself…but I’ve been buying organic because of that, not because of pesticides used on the trees.
I looked this up (It talks about the formaldehyde in Nourishing Traditions) a few months back too, and I think what I found was that it stopped being common practice to use formaldehyde in the 80s, so the info is just outdated. I think it may even be illegal to use formaldehyde now. And it’s understandable that it isn’t feasible for small operations to pay for organic certification, so I’ve been comfortable with non-certified organic syrup.
I’ve ordered that from Amazon too 🙂 I think I paid more though, good to see it’s dropped in price!
It is now illegal to use formaldehyde.
That’s great to know! I’ve always wondered, but we’ve been getting non-organic maple syrup because we can get more for less. Nice to know they don’t use that stuff… I was wondering if that was outdated. Thanks!!!
It is illegal, but so is putting lead in cookware glazes, and a lot of companies are still doing it! I’m an organic freak, and basically, if it’s not organic, it doesn’t cross our mouths. However, since maple syrup is one of the big ticket items that we consume in huge quantities (we’re celiacs, so lots of GF waffles, pancakes, and hot cereals for breakfast and three little piggies who love it a bit too much!) I did a little research. I knew that formaldehyde is the main issue with maple syrup, so I contacted a local sugarbush (I’m on the East Coast) and talked to the owner. When I asked him about the formaldehyde, he said, indignantly: “That’s illegal!” He went on to assure me that the only thing that is added to their maple syrup is a food quality vegetable oil anti-foaming agent that is boiled off in the process. I’ve been buying my maple syrup from them ever since, which is a considerable savings over organic. I realize if you’re not from maple country, the shipping would be considerable and Amazon would be the way to go, but if you have access to a local sugarbush, I highly recommend asking questions. It’s a great way to save, and a great way to support local, often family-run business.
The problem with the Maple Syrup that Costco sells is that it is grade A not grade B, so it has a higher glucose content than B (Glucose levels generally decreased from light to dark—grade B is the darker). This is important especially if you are diabetic or hypoglycemic. From The Master Cleanse book:
“Grade A syrup is not recommended because of the refinement process that it goes through which severely depletes the vitamins and minerals in the syrup. Grade B Maple Syrup includes B2, B5, B6, PP, Biotin, and Folic. The main minerals present are: calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron. Amino Acids, the building blocks of all proteins, are also present in Grade B Maple Syrup.” I also read in the book that Grade B doesn’t change your glycemic index, but that Grade A does, however I couldn’t find it fast enough to finish writing this. When I Googled it I got very conflicting answers…
We have been able to get local maple syrup (local being a state away, in WI) for $18/32 oz. — but it’s not certified organic. I am now buying eggs, milk, butter, etc. from an Amish farm, and I noticed that they sell maple syrup for $14/32 oz. They aren’t certified, but use organic/sustainable practices. Good price!
We’ve always rationed our syrup. So, it’s for topping pancakes, yogurt, etc. Not for use in recipes — mainly because I found that it takes so much syrup for the flavor to come through at all. We typically stick with raw honey as sweetener in granola, etc.
i can get local bulk maple syrup for 4.29/lb, so its only 8.60 for 32oz,at the wedge coop here in mpls.
That’s amazing!
i know… our co-ops here are awesome.
That’s awesome Emily! I love co-ops!
hmm–I can actually get it cheaper at Whole Foods. I buy grade A syrup, and I’m only paying $0.47/oz for grade A at WF–so even when you add 9.5% food sales tax, it’s still cheaper than the subscribe & save price on the Coombs syrup at Amazon (about $16.46 at WF vs. $17.32 at Amazon).
We actually make our own maple syrup. All you need to do is tap a few maples (they don’t have to be sugar maples) and boil it down. We have a great time doing it and we get FREE organic maple syrup out of our efforts. This year we’re hoping to get 5-10 gallons. We also got 2 beehives last year so we can harvest organic honey. Hopefully this year we’ll get a good harvest of honey and syrup and we won’t have to buy hardly any natural sweeteners.
I have found that organic maple syrup in our area is cheaper than honey (which is difficult to find organic w/o chemicals). Before we tapped, we purchased from a local Amish lady that sells it for a good price (I think $27/gallon).
Now that’s something I would love to do! And $27 dollars per gallon is a wonderful deal! I wish that we could find local maple syrup….
I was wondering where approximately you lived. We live near “Amish Country” and would love to find a good source for maple syrup if this Amish woman sells to the public. We are in NE-Ohio. Thanks!
Have you tried to calculate the energy costs for making your own syrup?
I keep toying with the idea of making some mainly for the experience, but have been warned that for a small batch, the propane to do it outside is likely to run about $50/gallon of syrup. That has really held me back!
We were also told at a sugaring demo last weekend that it doesn’t even have to be maple. That’s just the quickest one. The guy said that he’s done hickory, sycamore, and black walnut, but that you only get half to three-quarters as much syrup from the same amount of sap. Very tempted to try the walnut trees we have!
Does anyone know whether you can use partially evaporated sap for anything? Seems like you should be able to make a nice lightly sweetened tea or something from it even if you lose interest or run out of fuel before it reaches the point of “syrup”.
I make maple and walnut syrup using organic practices (small hobby scale) and I can tell you the walnut is my absolute favorite, it is so incredibly dark and delicious. The trees just don’t produce nearly as much sap (don’t bleed as fast as maple) so the syrup yields are much less, around 8 oz finished syrup per hole vs 4x that for maple. I haven’t used partially evaporated sap before but I’m sure you could probably use it in either hot or cold teas. I have heard of people making hot teas with straight sap, not much sugar but a hint still can add to flavor of the tea.
We’ve been buying Coombs Family from Amazon for a while and really love it. I’ve always liked grade B syrup better as it has more flavor and if you use Amazon’s ‘subscribe and save’ program its $16.83 for 32 oz.
My parents still to this day make several gallons of maple syrup from our farm! Nothing a like!
I don’t like to plug Whole Foods too strongly, but I did find their 365 brand 32 oz. Grade B Organic Maple Syrup for $13.99 just the other day.
I buy maple syrup at Whole Foods also. It’s $17.99 for 32 oz generally. I find it’s the same price for honey, so we use both equally. I am in NJ.
HI Kimi
We’re gearing up to tap too.. my husband can’t wait. We always end up making a little too much for us, but not enough to try to sell. I could send you some of our overage if you’d like…can you contact me via my comment info?
Maybe you could sample different batches from around the country and decide which you like best..everyone says upstate NY is the best Maple Syrup~
Tina
Great info. on my favorite sweetener! I’ll look into the Amazon deal, but like Sharon, I found it for the same $13.99 price at Whole Foods.
Living in rural NH, we buy ours from local folks…but this year my husband and I are going to do some backyard sugaring!
How fun – I’m excited for all of you to tap your own maple syrup! No maple trees around here, though. 🙁
When the prices for maple syrup got so high, I began adding Frontier’s maple syrup flavoring to agave syrup. I was wondering, though, if that was okay to do from the Nourishing Traditions point of view.
I looked at the syrup and they also have a maple sugar. Do you know anything about that? It sounds intriguing.
My mother-in-law and I have been getting our organic maple syrup from Emerson’s Maple Farm in Alfred Station NY (emersonsmaplefarm.com) Their current price is $28.50 for 1/2 gallon, so $57 per gallon. Coombs prices will save us over $20 per gallon! Thanks for sharing their link.
One way we make our expensive syrup stretch is we dilute it half and half with water. It is still plenty sweet to pour onto waffles, etc. I’ve even tried thickening it with cornstarch to get that thicker syrup consistency, but we like it just fine watered down.
EDIT: I just realized I was thinking a gallon was two 32-oz jugs. Silly me!
So actually our source (emersonsmaplefarm.com) is CHEAPER than the Coombs family farm. The Coombs’ syrup would come to over $67.00 per gallon, and Emerson’s is $57.00 per gallon. It is also organic, and tastes great. We get grade B.
Naomi, I am assuming this includes shipping. Thanks for the tip.
K
I wish I could sign up for that program. We love maple syrup around here, but we have to use it sparely :o) When we lived in the states, I used to buy maple syrup from a local farmer’s father… she would bring it down from her father’s farm up north and sell it in our area. So good!
Note for Leah H. – Maple sugar is wonderful!! I have used it in the past like sugar. Very sweet and excellent for sprinkling on top of cookies and coffee cakes.
Hi, my family’s farm makes certified organic maple syrup in Vermont. We sell it on the farm for $18 per quart (32 oz), and priority mail shipping anywhere in the US is $10 for 2 quarts.
I also sell our maple syrup in person at the Fremont Sunday Farmer’s Market in Seattle, WA where I now live ($20 per quart, or 50-75 cents per fluid ounce if you bring a refillable glass container). If any Seattleites are reading this post be sure to drop by!
For everyone else, all I can say is, if you care about the taste and quality of your maple syrup, please buy from a real farmer! It’s totally worth the extra couple of dollars. The larger companies make their money by buying barrels and barrels of the lowest grade syrups available (the batches that farmers would be embarrassed – or forbidden by law – to sell to individuals) and mixing it with just enough good syrup to meet the Grade B or Grade A standard (note that grades are based on color, not taste, although darker color almost always means stronger flavor).
If you buy your syrup from a farmer, we know that if we sell you a mediocre product, you won’t be back. Plus many of us have websites now, so you can see what kind of a farm you are supporting (a quick Google search will show organic and non-organic farms in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Pennsylvania, Michigan… and even Ebay has good deals sometimes from farmers who don’t have websites). If you’re dealing with a real farm and have any questions about the use of chemicals or why they aren’t certified organic, you can just send an email and get the farmer (or a spouse or kid) to tell you directly. Plus you’ll probably learn something about syrup – I’ve never met a sugarmaker who wouldn’t happily talk your ear off about making maple syrup on their farm.
And just to clarify on the meaning of organic in maple syrup production: Kimi is right that formaldehyde is now illegal in the US. But certified organic farms still have to adhere to stricter regulations concerning lead in equipment, types of filtering agents, and bans on chemical defoamers. And we also have to work with certified foresters to ensure the sustainable management of our forestland, promote tree health and biodiversity, and reduce erosion. Finally, organic certification is not a major hardship for small farms since the Federal government pays 75% of any certification fees, and the paperwork required is really just records farmers should be keeping anyway! We only produce 500 gallons of syrup per year on our farm, and we have been certified organic for years now.
So what’s the best deal on organic maple syrup? Know your farmer! We probably can’t beat Costco’s price most of the time, but we make a much better product, you’ll be proud to have the bottle on your shelf, and the conversation with your salesperson will almost definitely be more interesting.
Do you still sell your syrup at the Fremont Sunday Farmer’s Market in Seattle, WA? What months of the year is the market open? Thank you!
I can sell you Grade Fancy 1/2 gallon (32 oz) for $26.00, plus shipping, and you can be guaranteed it’s fresh, locally made, not claimed to be, and though it is not certified organic, it is – because we do nothing to the property the trees are on which is all our land which surrounds our home, with no abutting neighbors except the river and the Green Mountain National Forest. We are a small family operated sugarhouse. If you can find it cheaper, that is price of doing business, but I can guarantee we have some of the sweetest and best tasting maple syrup coming out of Vermont. With over 30 years of experience – we know what we are doing and how to do it right. Please feel to email me at wht78vette@hotmail.com if you are interested in purchasing some of the finest maple syrup you will ever find. Besides when did the price of quality become comprised by quantity. This is homemade, with hours of labor and love put into a every drop we make.
Thanks… Lisa : )
Ooops should have just left out the ounces, here is a list of sizes and prices as they are labeled in sold normally:
Gallon – $48
1/2 Gallon – $26
Quart – $15
Pint – $9.50
These prices do not reflect shipping since it costs more to ship the further west than it it does along the east coast. I only charge exactly what it costs me to ship it to you. The email to make an order is wht78vette@hotmail.com
Happy sugarin’
organic maple syrup? how do they make maple syrup where you are from that you feel the need to buy the one with the organic label? sounds like you are being duped.
Let me try to help out here. We are a small maple syrup producer. we are certified through the “Certified Naturally Grown” program, a farmer-to-farmer based effort, no goverment. Maple syrup is a “natural” product. the certification for “organic” is; Of course being clean about the entire process,using food grade materials for collecting, handling and storage, etc. the sugarbush free of trash, no pesticide use(drift from neighboring farms that spray can be a problem) good stewardship of the land, using lead free equipment, etc. You can go to their site to see local farms and products and standards. We keep our prices extremely low so that everyone can enjoy our syrup. We carry no debt, so everything is free and clear. We are very proud of what we have accomplished here. This year we have upgraded to all new equipment. No fomaldehyde is used anymore. Go to farmers markets and check the internet for the best deals. Stop by your local sugarhouse during the sugaring season and pick it up fresh! i would NEVER buy from a store unless I knew the sugarmaker. The big discount stores buy up all the bulk from all over and reprocess it and package it. UGH! MY OPINION! Buy local and you know what you’re getting.
Hi I am trying to find Organic 100% Pure Maple Syrup Grade B in the UK but have had no luck what soever. I would order from the US but I have to pay more for the shipping cost than the syrup itself not to mention the wait. I need at least 1 gallon for a 40 day detox and ordering something that heavy from across the pond will cost me and arm & a leg just for shipping. I was wondering if anyone knows what store and where in the UK I can buy the above maple syrup I’m need? I’ve been to several stores and was able to find Canadian pure maple syrup but it’s very small and it isn’t organic or grade b. I found it online but same problem. Thanks in advance for any info I do appreciate it. A Happy New Year to all.
True x
Whoops excuse my grammar.