Table syrup, also known as pancake syrup and waffle syrup, is a

syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...

used as a topping on

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a Starch, starch-based batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or fryi ...

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe used ...

s, and french toast, often as an alternative to

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...

. It is typically made by combining

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to softe ...

with either

cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

high-fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzym ...

, water,

food coloring Food coloring, or color additive, is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food coloring is used in both commercial food ...

, flavoring, and preservatives. Table syrups were introduced in the late 19th century to fill the desire of maple syrup for Americans moving into urban areas. After World War II, major brands like

Aunt Jemima Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima from 1889 to 2021) is an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix for the brand was developed in 1888–188 ...

and

Mrs. Butterworth's Mrs. Butterworth's is an American brand of syrups and pancake mixes owned by Conagra Brands. The syrups come in distinctive bottles shaped as the character "Mrs. Butterworth", represented in the form of a matronly woman. The syrup was introduced ...

were introduced with little actual maple syrup.

Naming

In the United States, table syrups can be sold under a name consisting of any word followed by the word ''syrup'' with the exception of ''maple'', ''cane'', and ''sorghum''. Commonly used names are ''table syrup'', ''pancake syrup'', ''waffle syrup'', and ''pancake and waffle syrup''.

History

In the late 19th century, as Americans moved into urban areas, they brought with them demand for the taste of the maple tree that they were accustomed to. To capitalize on this, table syrups were made to emulate the taste and look of maple syrup. This was achieved by adding

decoction Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal-medicine systems. De ...

s of maple wood, hickory, or corn cobs, and by giving them a brown color mimicking that of maple syrup by boiling

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

. By the beginning of the 1900s, the amount of Vermont maple syrup being sold was ten times the actual production. Frustration with these misleading products helped bring about the

Pure Food and Drug Act The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, also known as Dr. Wiley's Law, was the first of a series of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. ...

, which set out to ban mislabelled foods. Following this, products like

Mapleine Crescent Foods, Inc. was a Seattle, Washington, spice and flavorings company founded in 1883 that was bought by McCormick & Company in 1989. Earliest history Crescent's earliest incarnation was a spice business operated in a Seattle store. Six y ...

and

Log Cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...

branded themselves as maple syrup alternatives that used science and research to produce a superior flavor. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, products backed by large corporations like

Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. S ...

and

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

were introduced. These products only contained trace amounts of actual maple syrup.

Production

Table syrups are primary made from other syrups combined with water, coloring, flavoring, and preservatives. The syrups most often used to create table syrup are

and

. Some brands such as Log Cabin syrup use

rice syrup Brown rice (malt) syrup, also known as rice syrup or rice malt, is a sweetener which is rich in compounds categorized as sugars and is derived by steeping cooked rice starch with saccharifying enzymes to break down the starches, followed by str ...

. Despite serving as an alternative to maple syrup, modern table syrups often do not have any maple syrup content. Major brands of table syrup include

Pearl Milling Company Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima from 1889 to 2021) is an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix for the brand was developed in 1888–188 ...

, formerly

;

; and

Usage

Table syrups are often used as a cheaper alternative to

, with, as of 2015, prices of table syrup, , being 5-8 times lower than those of maple syrup, . In a 2015 survey by

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

it was found that 70% of Americans prefer using artificial syrups on their pancakes compared to real maple syrup largely in part due to its cheaper price. Maple syrup production is also limited to the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

, giving Americans outside of that region less exposure to maple syrup. Compared to the complex maple flavor of maple syrup, table syrups are said to be singularly sweet with little complexity and noticeable artificial flavors.

References

{{Sugar American cuisine Syrup