Hi Claire,

Thank you for sharing your experience! The fat is entirely optional and won't change the recipe, but it does help those of us that don't have large pots at home to avoid the maple syrup boiling over (which has happened to me so many times!). It doesn't affect the texture or flavour of the final product.

There is no additional fat in authentic maple butter. If you find that it boils over, a larger cooking pot is the better solution. Don't go over 232°F. Turn the heat off before that and the residual heat will take you there just before the pot with the mixture is placed in an ice bath. The mixture must not be stirred while cooking or cooling. This will avoid crystalisation. Finally, beat and beat and beat some

Boiling maple syrup tends to boil over and I've found that adding a tiny amount of a neutral tasting oil (like canola) reduces the likelyhood the syrup will boil over. This can be made without but you have to be very careful with the size of pot you use and watch it closely to avoid the syrup overflowing.

You use canola oil but it's supposed to be one ingredient. I saw you used an asterick, but can it be made with just Maple Syrup?

Is it possible to scorch the syrup when put back into pot to reliquify?

I am not able to get temp over 220 F. I am unable to get to opaque. Color was good first go-round. second time seems too dark. I put in fridge overnight and got consistency in the morning. Standing at room temp allowed it to become "pourable". Any suggestions?

I purchased maple butter this year at the store in 4 oz jars (commercial canning). Sometimes it does have a skim of maple syrup on top (separation over time). But if they can do it, you probably can too. I just wonder why the whole thing doesn't "melt" or uncrystalize when you boil it in the hot water bath. I'm guessing the processing time is very minimal after adding your jars & returning the water to a boil. My mom used to buy refrigerated maple butter when I was young. It never lasted long enough to worry about spoilage!

Followed the instructions to a tee, only I halved the recipe. Turned out perfectly with the right consistency. I will keep this recipe and it is so easy to make at only a fraction of the actual cost to buy it. I live in Canada and maple syrup is a staple since it is so available to me but the more it is processed, the more expensive the end product. Sometimes making it yourself is the most rewarding.
Thank you for this great recipe. I think it would be helpful to people if you could put down approximate times since I think so many people rush the steps and don’t realize how long it should actually take. Just bringing it up to 235 should take close to 20 minutes. Then the ice water bath took another 15 or so and then waiting for it to come back up to room temperature is another 30 minutes. Then there is still 30 minutes of mixing. It is a slow process and you must be patient for it to turn out right. Thanks again for the great recipe.

I'm so sorry the temperature of 235 F doesn't seem to be working for you. Is it possible your thermometer isn't calibrated? From your description, it sounds like you've lost too much water and so the maple syrup is crystallizing and setting "dry." I think that would mean your syrup boiled to 245–255 F, which is the temperature for making blocks of crystallized maple sugar.
If your thermometer is off by 10–20 F, then I'd try boiling to 215–225 F to see if that solves the problem. It's so tricky because sugar syrups are so sensitive to temperature that if the boiling temperature is off, the texture is completely different. I use a Thermapen which is calibrated. It's a little more pricey than candy thermometers, but more reliable. I've had mine for over 10 years!
I hope this helps and let me know how it goes if you try again!