It takes a lot of work to make the syrup from sap, and that is probably the main reason for the cost! Still, I'd rather have maple syrup than caviar, ya know? I can't picture caviar on pancakes!
Canadian Maple Syrup Heist
Maple syrup is one of the most expensive things you can pour on your pancakes. A bottle generally retails for well over $20. Part of the expense involved in the syrup is the great inefficiency in producing it. It requires anywhere from 5 to 13 gallons of maple sap to make just one quart of syrup. To make sure that it has enough to meet the international demand, the Canadian province of Quebec maintains a Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve. In 2012, during an audit, it was discovered that 6 million pounds of the syrup (worth about $18 million wholesale) had been stolen in a daring heist. This was not some smash and grab theft; it would have taken dozens of trucks to move so many barrels. In the subsequent months, several arrests were made, and some two-thirds of the missing syrup was recovered.
Seems like the folks that stole the syrup were not real sharp. How are you going to hide that many barrels and keep it secret? At the wholesale price, some might consider the risk worthwhile!
Coffee out on the patio this morning. How about some biscuits and MAPLE SYRUP?
