I asked Mom what her secret was and she said that she has always used the recipe on the Mapleine bottle. They don't carry it in Canada but Mom imported some for me when she was down south. Since then, I have been making this syrup and totally loving it. The recipe on the bottle is:

1 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon mapleine

A large bottle of Mapleine (enough for 50 recipes) could last you 10 years even at a high level of syrup consumption.

The recipe makes about 700 ml. It keeps for a few months in the fridge. You could probably freeze it in little individual ice cubes or in bigger containers but I usually don't need to because I polish it off. I have found all sorts of new things to sweeten with a little maple sugar including coffee and hot cereal.

I figured the cost out at a little over $1. The same size container of Aunt Jemima is around $4 and who knows what other preservatives come along with that price tag. $20 for the same amount of #2 Real Maple Syrup.

The verdict is... Making your own syrup is totally worth it!

Thanks to my Mother for the wonderful idea and thanks to my Mother-in-law who found me this great retro diner syrup container.