When a maple syrup label calls the syrup Vermont, it has to be 100 percent pure maple syrup made entirely in Vermont. Vermont also requires its syrup to be a little denser than the federal minimum, so it's a touch thicker. Those two rules are most of what the word Vermont tells you.
Vermont has its own maple rules
All maple syrup sold in the US has to meet a federal definition. It's made from the sap of maple trees, and at least 66 percent of it has to be solids that come only from that sap.
Vermont adds its own Maple Products Regulations on top, enforced by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. Vermont's maple law applies to all maple products sold in the state. Here's what the rules say, in plain English.
What it takes to say Vermont
Here's the labeling rule. No maple syrup can be labeled as a Vermont product, or labeled in a way that implies it was made in Vermont, unless it is 100 percent pure maple syrup produced entirely within the state.
"Produced in Vermont" has its own definition: made in its entirety from pure, unprocessed maple sap within Vermont. So syrup from somewhere else can't be finished, blended or packed in Vermont and sold as Vermont syrup.
There's one wrinkle worth knowing. If a company's name or trademark includes the word Vermont, it can appear on syrup made elsewhere, as long as the front label also clearly shows the state or country the syrup came from. So when you see Vermont in a brand name, look for the origin.
Pure means nothing added
Vermont defines maple syrup as the liquid made by concentrating and heating maple sap. It can't be processed in any way that adds or removes naturally occurring soluble materials. The only exceptions are approved filter aids, which help strain out particles, and approved defoaming agents.
Federal rules leave a little more room. They allow salt, chemical preservatives and defoaming agents in maple syrup. Salt or a preservative would have to be named in an ingredient list. Maple syrup with nothing added is a single-ingredient food, so it doesn't have to carry a list at all.
A slightly thicker syrup
Syrup density is measured in degrees Brix: the percentage of solids by weight. Sugar makes up most of those solids, so Brix is often read as percent sugar.
The federal minimum is 66 Brix. Vermont's minimum for packaged syrup is 66.9 Brix at 60°F, and its maximum is 68.9. The federal grade standards also cap Grade A at 68.9.
That's a small gap, less than one point. The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association says it makes Vermont syrup just a bit thicker, and that it may have a different mouthfeel.
The range has a purpose. Cornell's maple program explains that syrup at 63.4 Brix or lower molds easily, and syrup at 69 or higher can crystallize at room temperature. The Vermont association says its narrow band keeps syrup shelf-stable and free of sugar crystals.
Vermont even regulates the tool. A maple syrup hydrometer, the floating instrument sugar makers use to check density, can't be sold in Vermont unless the state has approved it. According to Cornell, most of the hydrometers its maple program uses are made for Vermont's 66.9 standard, even though New York only requires 66.
Grades, batch codes and inspections
Vermont uses the same four Grade A color classes as the rest of the maple world: Golden Color and Delicate Taste, Amber Color and Rich Taste, Dark Color and Robust Taste, and Very Dark Color and Strong Taste. The grade has to be clearly marked on the main panel of the container, with every word the same size. Grade A retail containers also need a batch code.
Syrup that can't make Grade A is Processing Grade, and it can't be sold in retail packages. Artificially flavored products can't be called maple syrup at all, however the words are dressed up.
And the state checks. Vermont Agency of Agriculture inspectors visit stores, review labels and sample syrup to test its color, flavor, clarity and density against Vermont's standards.
What this means when you shop
If a label says Vermont, the syrup should be pure and made entirely in the state. For the rest of the label, our guide to reading a maple syrup label walks you through it.
Sticky's syrup comes from one Vermont forest. It's Grade A, and the ingredients line on our product pages reads "100% pure Vermont maple syrup." Shop Amber and Dark, or find more answers in our FAQ.
