BUCKHORN CLIFFSA preparedness field manual

Food · Supply

Maple Syrup

How long pure maple syrup keeps sealed and opened, why it needs the fridge once open and pancake syrup does not, what to do about mold, how to store it, and the jobs it does beyond pancakes.

INDEFINITE SEALEDFRIDGE OPENMULTI-USEWorks without power

Quick facts

  • Real shelf life
    • Indefinite unopened
    • cool
    • dark
  • Label date says1 year
  • OpenedRefrigerate: a year or more; the freezer indefinitely
  • Watch forMold on the surface; cloudiness; an off smell

Where this sits on the food shopping list

Pure maple syrup is about two-thirds sugar, which is enough to keep it indefinitely while the seal holds and not quite enough to keep mold off the surface once it's open and warm. So the rule is in two parts: sealed, it sits in the pantry for years, one of the field guide's Indefinite 15; opened, it lives in the fridge. Pancake syrup, which is corn syrup with flavoring, follows the corn syrup rules and does not need the fridge.

Which to buy

Pure maple syrup in glass or in the metal or plastic jugs from a sugarhouse, in the grade you like; the darker grades have more flavor and keep the same. Glass keeps best for years. If you only want the sweetener, corn syrup and sugar keep the same and cost a quarter as much; maple is for flavor and for the farm economy, and a half gallon per family per year is a fair stock. Pancake syrup for the long shelf if the fridge will not have room.

How long it really lasts

By how it is kept

FormLabel saysReal, stored well
Pure maple syrup, sealed, glass or metal1 yearIndefinite, cool and dark
Pure maple syrup, sealed, plastic jugYears; plastic breathes slowly and the color darkens
Opened, refrigeratedA year or more at full quality
Opened, frozenIndefinite; it thickens but does not freeze solid
Opened, on the counterWeeks before mold; the fridge is the answer
Pancake syrup (corn syrup based)Years, pantry, opened or sealed
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How to store it

Sealed jugs in a cool, dark cupboard or the cellar. Once opened, the fridge, where it keeps a year or more, or the freezer, where it keeps indefinitely and stays pourable. Decant a large jug into pint jars and freeze all but one. Keep the cap clean; the mold starts at the neck.

How to tell it has turned

Mold on the surface of opened syrup is the one thing that happens to it. The sugarhouse fix, used for generations: skim the mold off, bring the syrup to a boil, skim again, and pour it into a clean sterilized jar; the syrup is fine. Anyone who would rather not can discard it; the choice is yours and the syrup does not care. Cloudiness in a sealed jug is sugar sand (harmless mineral crystals) or, with a sour smell, fermentation from a bad seal, which is a discard. A darker color is age.

Keep it

Darkened syrup, sugar sand crystals in the bottom, a sealed jug years past its date, and syrup that was skimmed and reboiled after a surface mold.

Discard on sight

Syrup that smells sour or alcoholic, or a sealed jug that has fermented and bulged.

How much, and how to use it

A tablespoon is about 50 calories. The Indefinite 15 list below: sweetener, glaze for meat and vegetables, coffee and tea, baking, granola. It replaces sugar in a recipe at three-quarters of a cup per cup of sugar with the liquid cut by three tablespoons, and in the stored-food kitchen it's what makes oatmeal and skillet bread something to look forward to. Maple sugar, which is syrup boiled down and stirred dry, keeps indefinitely with no fridge at all and is the way to keep a big harvest.

When the power goes out

A sealed jug needs nothing. An opened jug in a warm house without a fridge is a few weeks before the surface molds, so finish the open one first, or boil it down to maple sugar when the ice runs out.

What else it does

  • Sweetener
  • Meat & veg glaze
  • Coffee/tea flavor
  • Baking
  • Granola sweetener

Shelf-life figures are from the Survival Foods field guide; fridge, freezer and pantry times are from the USDA cold and pantry storage charts. Run the look, smell, taste check before eating anything past its date.

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

How long does maple syrup last?

Indefinitely unopened, against a label of 1 year. Opened, a year or more in the fridge and indefinitely in the freezer, where it stays pourable. On the counter an opened jug molds in weeks.

How do I store maple syrup long term?

Keep maple syrup in a cool, dark place, where its real shelf life is indefinite. Once a container is opened, refrigerate it, because mold is the problem to watch for.

How do I tell if maple syrup has gone bad?

Mold is the sign to watch for, which is why an opened container belongs in the refrigerator. Stored cool and dark, maple syrup otherwise has an indefinite real shelf life.

Does maple syrup need to be refrigerated?

Pure maple syrup does once it is opened. Pancake syrup, which is corn syrup with flavoring, does not.

What do I do if maple syrup has mold on it?

The traditional fix is to skim the mold, bring the syrup to a boil, skim again and rebottle it in a clean sterilized jar. Discard it instead if you would rather; a sour or alcoholic smell means it fermented and goes.

Keep going

Read nextCorn SyrupWhy corn syrup keeps indefinitely, light against dark, how to store it, how to tell it has turned, and what it does in a food store that plain sugar cannot: candy, glazes, preserving, and keeping baked goods moist.Food · Supply

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