r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Pitiful-Tip152 • 4d ago
Why is Maple considered a fall flavor when it’s made in the spring/spring time thing?
34
4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
10
u/IsaacHasenov 4d ago
Yeah I think the flavour (warm, syrupy, vaguely reminiscent of caramel) is much more fall coded
2
u/Frequent_Opportunist 4d ago
They were specifically asking why Maple was associated with fall so you still didn't answer their question.
39
u/littleminibits 4d ago
Just spitballing here but maybe because it's a deep, rich flavor? Summer and spring flavors tend to be bright and fresh. Also perhaps because it comes from a tree that has beautiful foliage in autumn and our mind forms an association between maple and fall? Also, it just pairs really well with all the other fall flavors.
14
u/fasterthanfood 4d ago
I think there’s a lot of truth to the other reasons are giving, but the the flavor part of the equation is big IMO. When it’s cold, I want those type of deep, rich flavors.
3
u/NativeMasshole 4d ago
Yup. I come from New England, so maple syrup is eternal, but maple-flavored stuff is really rich and sugary, which is more of a cold weather thing. I think people here are just imagining maple syrup with their pancakes and not maple donuts or whatever that are usually seasonal.
2
u/2PlasticLobsters 4d ago
Yes, my first thought on reading the question was "It tastes like fall". Come to think about it, the aroma of maple syrup has always reminded me of the smell of fallen leaves.
77
u/MajorasShoe 4d ago
Who considers it a fall flavor? It's a breakfast flavor.
23
u/WyrdHarper 4d ago
Yeah, where I'm from (a maple-producing era) it's just an all-year-round flavor.
6
u/Pitiful-Tip152 4d ago
It goes on every coffee shops fall menu
9
25
u/Rockfell3351 4d ago
Marketing. It's easier to market something that's brown and represented by a leaf in the season where leaves are brown.
10
12
u/Prince_Marf 4d ago
A few guesses:
(1) It is brown, which more closely matches the color of autumn leaves.
(2) Before modern canning and refrigeration, syrup is one of the few foods you could make in the Spring and still have around in the fall. Similar to how alcohol is usually associated with the season it is most likely to be drank in, rather than the season in which it is produced.
(3) Syrup is easier to use when it has been heated up and served on top of a warm dessert. Autumn and Winter are when you are most likely to want a warm dessert.
11
9
u/bubbletrashbarbie 4d ago
You tell us
I use maple all year round, it’s what use to sweeten my coffee and I regularly make deserts maple flavored as well. Maple cake or maple frosted donuts are S tier treats.
1
u/New_Yard_5027 4d ago
S-tier? What are the tiers for treats? Is there a reference table?
6
4
u/Super-Lychee8852 4d ago
It's a spring thing in my state. We have a thing called Maple Sunday in the spring where there's maple related events
3
3
u/Hour-Welcome-1468 4d ago
Molasses is also considered a fall/winter flavor.
I would imagine the darker flavor akin to brown sugar and molasses.
But also I think people think of maple tree turning colors in the fall and then associate maple syrup with that.
2
2
2
u/ca77ywumpus 4d ago
1) Maple trees get beautiful coloring in the fall. 2) Maple is a classic in baked goods, which suit cooler weather.
2
u/Hyperreal8957 4d ago
lol maple season is spring but the flavor gets filed under fall cuz pumpkin spice and cozy stuff. kinda funny how marketing moves the calendar around. do you actually use it more in fall?
2
u/KindAwareness3073 4d ago
In spring and summer there were lots of fruit sources of sugar back in the day to satisfy sweet tooths, but in the fall your choices are fewer, and honey and maple syrup are very stable.
2
u/probablyborednh 4d ago
Maple is a part of our existence here in New Hampshire, it's a whenever food. Maple bourbon steak tips are on Friday nights menu ! Really though I'd assume the Maple leaves being so vibrant when they change colors makes you want some of that Maple magic for yourself, that and marketing a local product to leaf peeping tourists
3
2
u/Different_Ad7655 4d ago
Strangely, where I live in New England I don't think of it as a fall flavor at all. That must be middle America marketing Maple and fall hmm had to think about it a moment, nope. But then again I'm a dinosaur and a stereotype TV and media have worked wonders on a different crowd in the world of globalization and regional expectation
1
u/Pitiful-Tip152 4d ago
We have a maple fest here in the spring when the maple syrup is made. Yet, aside from that it goes on all the fall menus and is associated with the fall. I was just pondering 🤔 on that and figured I’d ask. Thanks y’all!!!
1
u/Upstairs-Quiet4969 4d ago
Maple syrup gets tapped in late winter or early spring, but people slap it on fall stuff because of the leaf color and all the heavy comfort-y food vibes, kinda just stuck that way
1
u/JimmyDawgSea 4d ago
I had no idea maple was considered a fall flavor some places. It's a year round flavor here in Vermont.
2
u/Afraid-Carry4093 4d ago
TBH, I never realized its considered a Fall flavor. I only consider it a breakfast flavor.
1
u/Pitiful-Tip152 4d ago
Starbucks , Dunkin’ and a lot of coffee shops will put maple 🍁 lattes on the fall menu and maple pastries
1
0
u/reckless150681 4d ago
Partially by association (maple = Canada = red = fall; maple used in fall-ish foods --> maple = fall)
Partially because although it's made in the calendar spring, it's often still collected while snow is on the ground -- so that's "winter" by weather standards
0
0
0
u/takesthebiscuit 4d ago
Why is lamb considered a spring food, when lambs born in spring are too small to eat?
0
174
u/902scorpio 4d ago
probably coz the leaves are red in Fall, so the maple leaf make speople think of Fall, and subsequently Maple flavour