yes, another trader joe's post...

i realize there have been a lot of them lately, but it's pretty much the only place i do my shopping anymore and every now and then i stumble across something worth posting about. in this case it's their organic maple agave syrup. here's their description on this new product from the fearless flyer (isn't that thing so good? i want to be a fearless flyer writer one day!):

When prices get high, we get inventive. Take our Maple Syrup selection. We carry 100% Maple Syrup, but due to forces out of our control (nature), the price of this sweet sap has been steadily increasing. So we set to work on creating an all natural alternative that’s just as sweet and pure tasting, but not as pricey. Our new Organic Maple Agave Syrup Blend is a mixture of organic maple syrup, organic agave nectar and organic evaporated cane juice. That’s it. It’s sweet, but not overly sweet, and it’s an excellent match for breakfast classics like pancakes and waffles. And, as promised, it’s a great price – we’re selling each 8 fl. oz. bottle for $3.29.

i attempted doing actual the cost-per-ounce math of this stuff vs. pure maple syrup in my head while standing in the aisle with lucy on my hip. we checked out, got our (biodegradable) balloon, loaded the car, drove home, unpacked the groceries, had a snack, and by the time i thought about syrup again, all of the numbers had been magically released from my head. probably for the best--this valley girl happens to be a writer and not a mathematician, anyway. but this syrup blend is significantly cheaper than tj's non-organic grade a maple syrup.

of course, the real issue is how it tastes. we eat a LOT of pancakes around these parts (they're lucy's favorite, and mine, too). i kind of have this rule that anything we eat in mass quantities should be organic if possible, or at the very least, without artificial flavors or colors, which means that the fake syrup i grew up on is no longer cutting it. (um, high fructose corn syrup, anyone?) i switched us to the whole foods 365 organic syrup, but at $18 for a (good-sized) bottle, we were having to treat it like liquid gold.

this new stuff is good! nice and sweet, with real maple flavor, though not as rich as the pure stuff. it's almost like a diluted version of the real deal... oh, wait. it IS a diluted version of the real deal. but it works. we're down to the bottom of our first bottle, and i've already purchased a second. fully recommended by your loyal blogger!