The short answer: maple extract is a concentrated maple flavour for baking, and most shop bottles are flavourings, not maple. At home you have two honest routes: mix maple syrup and vodka 1 to 1 for a mild extract of real maple, or steep toasted fenugreek seeds in vodka for about 4 weeks for the bold maple scent that shop flavouring copies.
Maple syrup tastes of maple in the jug. Bake it into a cake and most of that taste is gone. That is why bakers reach for maple extract: a teaspoon puts maple into frosting, cookies and pancake batter without a cup of extra sugar and liquid. Before you make it, know what the shop bottle is.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Work | 10 minutes |
| Waiting | 2 weeks for the syrup version, about 4 weeks for the fenugreek version |
| Ratio | 1 part maple syrup to 1 part vodka, or ¼ cup fenugreek seeds to 360 ml vodka |
| Keeps | A year or more for the fenugreek version, closed, cool and dark |
What shop maple extract really is
Most bottles labelled maple flavoring or imitation maple extract hold no maple at all. Their scent comes from sotolon, an aroma compound that smells of maple syrup. Fenugreek seeds are full of it. The smell is so loud that in 2009 New York traced a mystery maple syrup smell over Manhattan to a plant in New Jersey that processed fenugreek seeds.
Some bottles sold as maple extract do start from real maple syrup, often with most of the sugar taken out. Read the label: maple syrup or maple concentrate near the top means real maple. Flavor alone usually means sotolon or something close to it.
So a homemade maple extract can be one of two things:
| Version | What it is | Tastes like | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syrup and vodka | Real maple syrup thinned with vodka | Mild, sweet, true maple | Frosting, whipped cream, drinks |
| Fenugreek | Toasted fenugreek seeds steeped in vodka | A bold maple scent with a faint spice edge | Cookies, cakes, pancake batter |
Ingredients
- 120 ml (½ cup) pure maple syrup, the darkest you can find
- 120 ml (½ cup) vodka, 40% alcohol (80 proof)
- ¼ cup (about 45 g) whole fenugreek seeds, for the second version
- 360 ml (1½ cups) vodka, 40% alcohol (80 proof), for the second version
- Clean glass jars with tight lids, a fine sieve and a coffee filter
The syrup: dark, robust syrup gives more flavour than a golden, delicate one. Pancake syrup is corn syrup with flavouring, so it will not work.
The seeds: fenugreek is sold in Indian shops as methi seeds and in most spice aisles. Buy whole seeds, not powder.
How to make maple extract with maple syrup
- Mix. Pour the syrup and the vodka into a jar. Close it and shake until no syrup sits on the bottom.
- Rest. Keep the jar in a dark cupboard for at least 2 weeks and shake it once a day. Most recipes say 2 months tastes rounder.
- Bottle. If there is sediment, pour it through a fine sieve. Bottle it and write the date on the label.
This version is real maple, but it is mild. You need more of it than of a shop extract, and it brings a little sugar with it.
How to make maple extract with fenugreek
- Toast. Warm the seeds in a dry pan on very low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until they darken a shade and smell of maple. If they smoke, they are burnt and will taste bitter. Start again.
- Crack. Let them cool, then crush them lightly in a mortar. They are hard; you only want them broken.
- Cover. Tip the seeds into a jar and pour in the vodka. The seeds swell and drink some of it, so top up to keep them covered.
- Wait. Keep the jar dark and shake it every few days.
- Taste. From week 2, smell a drop on a spoon. Strain when it smells clearly of maple, usually around 4 weeks. Left much longer, the fenugreek note can take over.
- Strain. Pour it through a sieve lined with a coffee filter. Bottle it and write the date on the label.
A thicker maple concentrate
Finished fenugreek extract is mostly alcohol. Reduce part of it and you get more maple scent in less liquid. The NOIDS Herb Lab has an Evaporation function for this. It reduces infused liquids with a boiling point no higher than 100 °C / 212 °F, and it stops by itself at 102 °C / 215.6 °F. Use it for the fenugreek extract only: as syrup thickens, its boiling point climbs past what the function is made for.
- Pour 200 ml of strained fenugreek extract into the Glass. Stay under the MAX mark.
- Cover with the Dish Lid, place the Glass in the Main Body and turn the Rotary Control to Evaporation.
- It reduces about 50 ml per hour. Turn the Rotary Control to OFF when the volume is where you want it. About a third of the start is a good first try.
- Let the Glass cool, then bottle the concentrate. Use about a third of the amount of plain extract.
Safety: use only food-grade spirits. Run Evaporation in a room larger than 50 m³ with fresh air coming in. Keep the cooker at least 5 m from any open flame. To collect the alcohol instead of letting it into the room, fit the Condenser.
How to bake with maple extract
- Maple frosting: ½ to 1 teaspoon per 250 g of butter, then taste.
- Cookies and blondies: 1 teaspoon per batch, next to the vanilla or in its place.
- Pancakes and waffles: ½ teaspoon in the batter gives maple taste before the syrup goes on.
- Whipped cream: the syrup version, a teaspoon per 250 ml of cream.
Spread pancakes with our maple butter, and keep a bottle of homemade vanilla extract next to the maple: most maple bakes use both. Fenugreek maple also pairs well with hazelnut extract in cookies.
How to store maple extract
- Fenugreek version: closed, cool and dark, a year or more. No fridge needed.
- Syrup version: mixed 1 to 1, it sits near 20% alcohol, about half of a normal extract. Keep it in the fridge and smell it before you use it.
- A little sediment in the syrup version is normal. Shake it before use.
More flavours to start on the same shelf are in our homemade extracts guide.
Questions
Is maple extract the same as maple flavoring?
Not always. Maple flavoring usually gets its taste from sotolon, the aroma compound in fenugreek, with no maple in it. Some maple extracts start from real maple syrup. The ingredients list tells you which.
Can I use maple syrup instead of maple extract?
Yes, but syrup is far milder. You need several spoons of it for the taste of one spoon of extract, and it adds sugar and liquid to the recipe.
Does fenugreek maple extract taste of curry?
Fenugreek is a curry spice, so the raw seeds smell savoury. Gentle toasting and a sweet bake push it toward maple. Strain it on time so the spice note stays in the background.
How long does homemade maple extract last?
The fenugreek version keeps a year or more, closed, cool and dark. The syrup version has less alcohol: keep it in the fridge and use it sooner.
Can I make maple extract without alcohol?
Not one that keeps. Food-grade glycerin works for the fenugreek version, but it is weaker and does not last as long.
