Maple Syrup vs. Pancake Syrup

When I was younger I hated the taste of real maple syrup. It had a strong, overpowering flavor that I did not like with my breakfast items - it could easily take over the taste of my french toast. I also thought it too thin to put on pancakes...it ran all over my plate and made them soggy. As I looked to start eliminating manufactured food products such as high-fructose corn syrup my traditional syrup had to go (sorry Log Cabin).

It took a bit of getting used to real maple syrup, but its all I use now. I still find a few brands to have an overwhelming flavor and some to have a bitter aftertaste. I typically prefer a Light Amber syrup, but based on the taste test results in the article linked below it seems that the taste of the syrup has more to do the brand than the grade. Hopefully you find this article helpful next time you are standing in the breakfast aisle at the market wondering which type of syrup to buy.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/tastetests/results.asp?docid=18253

Farm Fresh? Cage-Free? Organic? What type of eggs to buy?

Many times I find myself overwhelmed with choices when it comes to buying eggs. The choices used to be simple - medium, large, extra large or jumbo, but now...Do I buy the cage-free because it's a bit more humane or the vegetarian fed with omega-3s because they provide more nutritional benefit to me???

The link below is to an excellent article on the difference between the myriad of eggs now available on the market. Their test results look at both taste and performance for various applications. Hope it helps you feel a bit less overwhelmed the next time you go to buy eggs.

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/howto/detail.asp?docid=15947&Extcode=L2BN3AC00