Buy Amber if you mostly pour syrup over pancakes, waffles, oatmeal and yogurt. Buy Dark if you cook and bake with it and want the maple flavor to come through. Both are Grade A pure maple syrup, and the difference is color and how strong the maple tastes.
What's actually different
Amber and Dark are two of the four color classes in Grade A maple syrup. Amber has a rich taste. Dark has a robust taste, stronger than Amber's but not sharp or bitter.
Graders tell them apart by measuring how much light passes through the syrup. Amber lets through 50 to 74.9 percent. Dark lets through 25 to 49.9 percent. So Dark is darker, and its maple flavor is bolder.
Timing plays a part. Amber is usually made about mid-season. As maple season goes on, syrup darkens and develops a more robust flavor, and that's Dark.
Neither one is a step up from the other. The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association says the choice comes down to personal preference. Either way, you're getting pure maple syrup. For how that compares with pancake syrup, see real maple syrup vs. pancake syrup.
Is Dark lower quality?
No. Both are Grade A. The mix-up is understandable, though. Under the old grading systems, Vermont's among them, a darker grade was called Grade B, and a B sounds like second best. The new grades moved that syrup into Grade A, as long as it had no damage or off flavors. So Dark now carries the same grade as Amber. The full story is in what happened to Grade B.
Pick Amber if
- Most of your syrup goes on pancakes, waffles or French toast.
- You stir it into oatmeal or yogurt.
- You want one syrup that does a bit of everything, or you're switching from pancake syrup.
Amber is the all-rounder. The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association says Amber often seems to be the grade people pick most for all-purpose use. It says Amber works as well in salad dressings, cocktails and barbecue sauce as it does on waffles. Its advice: if you only keep one grade in your kitchen, make it Amber. Ours is warm and smooth with caramel notes, the one that goes on everything. If it's your everyday syrup, the 16 fl oz tin keeps you stocked longer.
Pick Dark if
- You bake with maple: cookies, muffins, quick breads.
- You glaze salmon, chicken or roasted vegetables.
- You like smoky, spicy flavors, or maple with bourbon.
The lighter the syrup, the lighter the maple flavor, and in baked goods it can get lost. The association suggests Dark for baked apples and squash, glazes for meat and vegetables, and baked goods. It pairs well with chipotle, sriracha and bourbon, too. Our Dark is deep and robust, built for cooking and baking.
A quick guide by use
- Pancakes, waffles and French toast: Amber.
- Oatmeal and yogurt: Amber.
- Coffee and tea: either. Amber for a softer maple note, Dark for more.
- Cocktails: Amber for most, Dark with bourbon.
- Cookies, muffins and cakes: Dark.
- Glazes and roasted vegetables: Dark.
- Barbecue sauce and baked beans: Dark for a bolder maple flavor, Amber for a milder one.
For coffee, the Vermont association suggests stirring maple into your morning cup or frothing it with milk.
Swapping syrup in for sugar? Our guide to baking with maple syrup instead of sugar has the ratios.
What about Golden and Very Dark?
They're the other two Grade A classes. Golden is usually made at the start of the season and has a delicate taste, and the association suggests it for pancakes and waffles, or over yogurt or vanilla ice cream. Very Dark comes at the end of the season and has a strong taste, for cooking and baking when you want a lot of maple flavor. Sticky comes in Amber and Dark, the two in the middle. Golden is lighter than Amber, and Very Dark is stronger than Dark.
Can't decide? Get both
You don't have to choose. Keep one of each: Amber for the table, Dark for the stove and oven. Our bundle gets you one Amber and one Dark, and both come in 8 fl oz and 16 fl oz tins.
Then taste them side by side. Pour a spoonful of each and taste them plain, then try each one on something you eat often. The association suggests tasting your favorite syrup every year, because your tastes can change and syrup itself differs from producer to producer and year to year. Fair warning: side-by-side tastings tend to end with two open tins.
