People could avoid a lot of shit by avoiding products with more than five ingredients and any that use corn syrup, or seed oils. This would weed out 80% of the horseshit and takes a two second glance at the ingredients label to check.
I also don't think 12 bucks for maple syrup is a big deal. Do people really eat pancakes that often?
I eat them maybe once a month if that. They're more of a treat than an actual breakfast in my opinion.
Dear friend, maple syrup is for oh so much more than just pancakes, but only if you buy the real kind. For instance, I use quite a bit of maple syrup in overnight oats. A cup of steel-cut oats, cup and a half of milk, quarter cup of maple syrup, and an add-in or two like raisins or chopped walnuts, and in the morning you will have a delicious quick cold breakfast that is 100% better tasting and more nutritious than any cereal in a box you could think of. And it will contain a lot less sugar per serving without sacrificing sweetness.
Maple syrup is also a very versatile flavoring for many things from candies, baked goods, and even meats. A maple-bourbon marinade with thyme and garlic as a brush-on glaze can be absolutely divine on pork, but only if the syrup is real. Maple syrup also makes a terrific glaze for a variety of donuts, muffins, cakes, and corn breads, but again, it's gotta be real maple. I thought I hated old fashioned maple bar donuts until I had one made with real maple and cooked in lard instead of butter-flavored coconut oil, it was divine. Maple syrup has its own properties in binding and consistency that can't be replaced by maple-flavored corn syrup.
A lot of people actually don't like real maple syrup, because they're raised on the goyslop flavored corn syrup variety. The corn syrup variety has a much more intense sweetness and a more watery texture than maple syrup. The "maple" flavor is artificial, but that's what many people have learned that "maple" is supposed to taste like, so that's what they want. It bears noting that this maple flavored corn syrup isn't very useful in cooking. It's more efficient to put in your own corn syrup and maple artificial flavoring when cooking so that you can control the consistency and sweetness, since bottled "pancake syrup" is inconsistent in sweetness, thickness, and amount of maple flavoring across brands. The dollar store "pancake syrup" is almost pure watered down corn syrup, for instance. And it's not nearly as good on hoecakes either. Love me some good hoecakes.
