Coombs Family Farms is a seventh generation small family maple farm that works with other small independent family farmers who share our commitment to quality, environmental stewardship, and sustainable forestry.
Year after year, more small farms disappear from our national landscape. We support the plight of the family farms and a continuation of this way of life. Coombs Family Farms does this by providing preseason equipment credits and education resources to individuals who work hard every day to maintain our American small farm heritage. Together, we understand that there are no shortcuts to creating high quality 100% pure maple syrup.
Does Coombs actually farm maple or does it just package and sell it?
Coombs Family Farms is one of the few maple companies that still farms much of its maple. We’re a seventh generation small family farm, and pure maple has been a way of life for us since 1840. Having said that, we also source 100% pure and organic certified maple from other small, independent farmers who share the Coombs commitment to quality, environmental stewardship, and sustainable forestry management, and we package it. We support other family farms through pre-season equipment credits, education, training, and other resources.
What is the difference between pure maple, organic pure maple, and maple flavored syrup? What makes organic maple organic?
Today, there are many different kinds of maple in today’s market. There’s 100% pure maple and organic pure maple, and then there’s maple flavored syrup, which isn’t really maple at all but rather a bunch of corn syrup and other stuff that’s artificially flavored. Organic maple means it was made without artificial flavors, preservatives, or thickeners, and is certified by the Quality Assurance International (QAI) and carries the USDA organic seal.
The QAI certifies that sustainable forestry practices are followed. The seal ensures trees aren’t over-tapped for short-term gain. It certifies that no pesticides are used on or near the farm and that appropriate cleaning processes are followed. Coombs Family Farms has offered organic maple syrup since 1988. Since 1840, Coombs Family Farms has produced 100% pure maple syrup--which also means that it has been made without artificial flavors, preservatives, or thickeners.
Why is Grade B better to cook with than other grades?
Grade B to maple is a lot like extra virgin olive oil is to olive oil in the sense that it’s the strongest flavored maple. While this taste profile really works well for cooking and baking, it’s also becoming more and more of a food trend to use it for everyday maple use such as atop pancakes, too. Some people still think that Grade A is the “best” tasting maple, but it really depends on your personal preference.
Contrary to popular belief, maple syrup grades do not indicate a difference in quality or purity. For example, Grade A does not mean that it’s higher in quality than Grade B. At Coombs Family Farms, we offer Grade A light amber or “fancy” maple syrup, Grade A medium amber maple syrup, Grade A dark amber maple syrup, Grade B maple syrup, and Commercial grade maple syrup for our restaurant and food company friends. These are the five grades that the USDA syrup grading system uses. These maple syrup grades have upper and lower limits for color and flavor. As a rule, the darker the color, the stronger the flavor.
To match consumer’s discriminating tastes more closely, we add our Coombs Family Farms standards to the USDA standards and make them even tougher. Within each grade, we categorize seven flavor gradients. Our "seven-tiered" grading standard is stringent and steadfast. It segregates the maple syrup by flavor profile for added quality assurance and consumer satisfaction.
