Maple Syrup

[JJean]

Where is the best place to buy maple syrup on a Canadian/New England  cruise?

[LHT28]

Local supermarket

It is more expensive in the tourist shops

We like the darker  one

 

 

[GTJ]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Local supermarket. It is more expensive in the tourist shops.

The quality of local supermarket (in my case, the local warehouse club) and the tourist shops is the same: a blend of pure maple syrup from many places so as to provide a consistent product. On the other hand, if you should visit a local farm then you might get a distinct product that is not a blend. But would it be so distinct to make a worthwhile going into rural parts? As to a Canadian-New England cruise, you would likely find the most maple farms in the rural parts of Québec.

[LHT28]

If you are docking in Quebec City   I see there is  a shop near the cruise port 

La Petite Cabane à Sucre de Québec

94 Rue du Petit Champlain, Québec, QC

 

I have not been there but may check it out  this weekend  when we dock 

Just look for pure   Maple syrup it is in the tourist area  so might be more expensive

[JJean]

I will check out the shop in Quebec and also local supermarkets.  Thanks.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, JJean said:

I will check out the shop in Quebec and also local supermarkets.  Thanks.

What other ports  do you stop at?

[LHT28]

5 hours ago, GTJ said:

The quality of local supermarket (in my case, the local warehouse club) and the tourist shops is the same: a blend of pure maple syrup from many places so as to provide a consistent product.

Buy  form small sugar bush  places  sometime specialty grocery stores sell  small batch products

Big box stores sell the  blends

Maybe we are luck to live in an area where we can get local Maple syrup from small companies  or even the Farmers markets have some good stuff

 

[GTJ]

25 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Big box stores sell the blends. Maybe we are luck to live in an area where we can get local Maple syrup from small companies or even the Farmers markets have some good stuff.

 

Yes, I think you are fortunate. Here, it can sometimes be a struggle finding any type of maple syrup (the shelves are filled with flavoured corn syrup), though fortunately the warehouse club does stock the real stuff. Even though the state where I reside--New York--has much syrup production, it is upstate and distant from my home in the southern-most part of the state.

 

For those in the middle of a cruise, I would be concerned about them going on a wild goose chase, trying to track down a local supplier, someone who is likely distant from any port. As to the store, la Petite Cabane à Sucre de Québec, I have been to a similar establishment in Montréal. Nice collection of everything maple, but a bit expensive and I would not expect a single small supplier of syrup. Perhaps I am wrong--wouldn't that be great?!--but again I would be concerned about a wild goose chase and ending up with the same thing as in a good supermarket at an inflated price.

[Nitemare]

Trader Joe's has a decent and well priced REAL Maple Syrup.  It's a blend but it's not corn syrup

[chengkp75]

If you're going to Portland, Lisa-Marie's Made in Maine gift shop, or the Union Wharf Market have syrup at competitive prices. Both within walking distance of the pier.

Edited September 29, 2023 by chengkp75

[GTJ]

9 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

If you're going to Portland, Lisa-Marie's Made in Maine gift shop, or the Union Wharf Market have syrup at competitive prices.

Excellent suggestions for persons looking to shop in Portland while on a cruise. I checked their websites and saw that the Union Wharf Market sells a 32 oz. container of Foss Hill maple syrup, amber, for $26, and Lisa-Marie's sells a 32 oz. container of Larivière maple syrup, amber, for $29. For comparison's sake, the 32 oz. container of generic New England-Canadian maple syrup, dark, is sold in my local warehouse club for $16, and many farms in New York and New England sell 32 oz. for between $18 and $22. Do consider if you want amber or dark (or perhaps even very dark) . . . many tourists prefer the lighter amber syrup, while enthusiasts seeking more robust flavor prefer the darker grades.

[chengkp75]

Yes, our local grocery stores sell a 32oz for $19-22, so when you add in the taxi fare to get there, it comes out about the same.

[LHT28]

@JJeancheck the  shop in Old Quebec  the  Maple syrup  is about $18-20  CAD for 500ml  to 750 ml

local bottled syrup not blended

 

      

 

[JJean]

Thanks, we will look there.

[GTJ]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

check the  shop in Old Quebec  the  Maple syrup  is about $18-20  CAD for 500ml  to 750 ml    

For those Americans less facile with Canadian equivalents: $18-20 CAD is about $13-15 USD; 500 ml is about 16 oz.

[Ashland]

If you have a Costco their maple syrup is very good and priced well.

[LHT28]

On 10/1/2023 at 12:08 PM, JJean said:

Thanks, we will look there.

we saw some in Bar Harbor   about the same  but  USD

[Spudd]

You might want to Google for farmers markets in the ports you'll be stopping in - my local farmers market has a guy who sells not only maple syrup from his own farm but also walnut syrup!