What to use instead of maple syrup
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Pourable sweetener over pancakes, waffles or oatmeal
It is about a third water, so it runs into the crumb instead of sitting on top of it, and the flavour is the thing people are actually after.
Sorghum or cane syrupRan out
1:1
Darker with a sour molasses edge and more of a mineral finish. It pours thicker straight from the fridge.
Honey, thinnedRan out
3/4 cup honey + 2 tbsp hot water per 1 cup maple syrup
Floral and noticeably sweeter, and it sits on the surface rather than soaking in. It stiffens as the plate cools.
Date syrupRan out
1:1
Thicker and less sweet, tasting of dried fruit and coffee. It reads well on oatmeal and heavy over pancakes.
Brown sugar syrupRan out
1 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup water, simmered 5 min
Gets the pour and the sweetness with none of the maple. Add a pinch of salt or it tastes like plain sugar water.
What doesn't work: Pancake syrup sold as table syrup when a recipe wants maple for its flavour. It is corn syrup with caramel colour and a trace of maple at best, so a pecan pie made with it tastes of sugar and nothing else.
Sugar and liquid in a baked or set sweet
It sweetens and loosens the batter at the same time, since a cup of it carries about a quarter cup of water, and it browns darker in the oven than white sugar does.
Brown sugar plus waterRan out
1 cup packed brown sugar + 1/4 cup water per 1 cup maple syrup
Closest match on taste after corn syrup. The filling sets a shade firmer because there is marginally less water in it.
Golden syrup or corn syrupRan out
1:1
Keeps a pie filling glossy and stops it crystallising, and gives up all the maple flavour to do it.
HoneyRan out
3/4 cup per 1 cup maple syrup, and drop the oven by 15C
Browns faster and tastes floral through the whole filling. A pecan pie sets slightly firmer and darker.
Date syrupRan out
1:1
Darker and fruitier and it sets softer, so a butter tart runs when you cut it warm. Chill it before slicing.
What doesn't work: Granulated sugar spoon for spoon in a filling built on syrup. A cup of maple brings about a quarter cup of water with it, and dry sugar in its place makes pecan pie stiff and grainy and chia pudding sandy.
Sweet glaze on something savoury
The sugars caramelise on the surface under heat and the syrup carries enough acidity to keep the glaze from tasting like candy poured over salt and smoke.
HoneyRan out
3/4 the volume
Catches and burns sooner, so brush it on in the last 10 minutes rather than at the start.
Molasses cut with waterRan out
1/2 cup molasses + 1/4 cup water per 1 cup maple syrup
Much darker and faintly bitter, which suits baked beans and overwhelms chicken.
Brown sugar plus cider vinegarRan out
3/4 cup brown sugar + 1 tbsp cider vinegar + 1/4 cup water per 1 cup maple syrup
Same stickiness with a sharper finish. It sets harder as it cools, so glaze and serve rather than glaze and hold.
Sorghum syrupRan out
1:1
Tangier and more mineral, and it goes on thicker. Good on ribs and pork belly.
What doesn't work: Maple-flavoured pancake syrup on a glaze. Corn syrup goes black at glazing heat well before it sets, and the artificial maple in it turns acrid rather than caramel.