Arri London > wrote:

>Steve Pope wrote:

>> Arri London > wrote:

>> >He's right as far as *your* palate goes Clearly Jean and I don't have
>> >that sort of palate. Fenugreek tastes/smells nothing like maple to me.
>> >It could explain why fake maple tastes so wrong to us though...

>> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
>> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
>> and myself.

>> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.

>But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
>have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?

So you think that your not having noticed a lingering cooked
fenugreek odor negates other peoples' experience?

This is becomoing a pretyt silly thread...

Steve

Steve Pope wrote:

>Arri London > wrote:
>
>>Steve Pope wrote:
>
>>> Arri London > wrote:
>
>>> >He's right as far as *your* palate goes Clearly Jean and I don't have
>>> >that sort of palate. Fenugreek tastes/smells nothing like maple to me.
>>> >It could explain why fake maple tastes so wrong to us though...
>
>>> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
>>> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
>>> and myself.
>
>>> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
>
>>But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
>>have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
>
>So you think that your not having noticed a lingering cooked
>fenugreek odor negates other peoples' experience?
>
>This is becomoing a pretyt silly thread...
>

It's silly because not everyone senses odors the same just as their
sense of taste is different. In fact no two people's sensory
perception is identical, and there is no way to prove that what one
person senses when eating say a hot dog is the same as what anyone
else senses... how can anyone prove that a person's sensory perception
for say hot dogs and say cabbage soup aren't reversed, you can't. To
me cilantro tastes like soap, as it does to many others, but there are
infinite soap variations... perhaps to me cilantro tastes like Irish
Spring green and to someone else cilantro tastes like Cashmere
Bouquet. And that's only true for today, tomorrow when I eat cilantro
it may taste like Colgate shaving cream. This is all about why TIAD
exists... why you have TIAD and I don't! LOL-LOL

On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 10:58:34 -0500, brooklyn1 wrote:

> Steve Pope wrote:
>
>>Arri London > wrote:
>>
>>>Steve Pope wrote:
>>
>>>> Arri London > wrote:
>>
>>>> >He's right as far as *your* palate goes Clearly Jean and I don't have
>>>> >that sort of palate. Fenugreek tastes/smells nothing like maple to me.
>>>> >It could explain why fake maple tastes so wrong to us though...
>>
>>>> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
>>>> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
>>>> and myself.
>>
>>>> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
>>
>>>But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
>>>have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
>>
>>So you think that your not having noticed a lingering cooked
>>fenugreek odor negates other peoples' experience?
>>
>>This is becomoing a pretyt silly thread...
>>
>
> It's silly because not everyone senses odors the same just as their
> sense of taste is different. In fact no two people's sensory
> perception is identical, and there is no way to prove that what one
> person senses when eating say a hot dog is the same as what anyone
> else senses... how can anyone prove that a person's sensory perception
> for say hot dogs and say cabbage soup aren't reversed, you can't. To
> me cilantro tastes like soap, as it does to many others, but there are
> infinite soap variations... perhaps to me cilantro tastes like Irish
> Spring green and to someone else cilantro tastes like Cashmere
> Bouquet. And that's only true for today, tomorrow when I eat cilantro
> it may taste like Colgate shaving cream. This is all about why TIAD
> exists... why you have TIAD and I don't! LOL-LOL

it's too bad your lack of taste in ass disease hasn't freed you up to
address your many other obvious pathologies.

blake

On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:02:09 -0500, "Ed Pawlowski" >
wrote:

>While cruising the supermarket the other day, bacon was on sale. They had a
>maple cured bacon in addition to the usual hickory smoked. It just sounded
>like a nice change so we bought a package. Yesterday, we cooked up the
>entire pound, eating some for breakfast, saving some for another use.
>
>Unlike days of old, bacon is injected with cure and given a quick smoking at
>best. The maple is some sort of artificial flavor and it stunk up half the
>house. We were careful to clean up any splatters, dispose of any grease,
>wash the pans, and even closed the trash bag with a paper towel used to
>drain the bacon on.
>
>The rest of the day and even today, I can still get a whiff of the maple
>odor now and again. It is lingering in a couple of spots like nothing else
>ever has.
>
>Anyone else ever notice the strong lingering odor? I'm not buying it again.
>Ed
>
>
Stan brought home some maple cured bacon last week. It was from a
little local market's meat counter, not pre-packaged from a major
chain mkt. This was the second time we bought this bacon from them.

I've had your same experience with other maple cured bacon, it's so
horrible I'm still a little leery. I still cook just one little test
piece before proceeding. This batch of bacon was wonderful also.

We had a great breakfast of bacon, eggs and fried potatoes.
http://i45.tinypic.com/ily35e.jpg
close up
http://i45.tinypic.com/2it3o6o.jpg

I hope you find a good source, it's really good.

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 01/10/10

On Jan 15, 7:39*pm, (Steve Pope) wrote:
> Arri London > wrote:
>
> >Steve Pope wrote:
> >> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
> >> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
> >> and myself.
> >> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
> >But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
> >have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
>
> Sure, unless you are not perceiving this particular olfactory
> clue. *I have no idea what fraction of people perceive this.
>
> Steve

I cook with fenugreek often and I had never noticed it smelling like
maple until I heard it mentioned here on rfc awhile back, It doesn't
taste like maple to me though.
Just to be clear - I am talking about fenugreek seeds not leaves. I
have never used the leaves. I have never even seen them before, so I
have no idea what they smell or taste like.

Tracy

On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:35:54 -0700, Arri London >
wrote:

>
>
>Steve Pope wrote:
>>
>> Arri London > wrote:
>>
>> >He's right as far as *your* palate goes Clearly Jean and I don't have
>> >that sort of palate. Fenugreek tastes/smells nothing like maple to me.
>> >It could explain why fake maple tastes so wrong to us though...
>>
>> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
>> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
>> and myself.
>>
>> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
>>
>> Steve
>
>
>But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
>have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?

He offered a challenge which I took and you seem stuck on your
viewpoint without taking him up. When I returned home I had totally
forgot I had done the seed toasting and I sure smelled it when I came
home. That's all I though Mr. Pope was trying to point out. I didn't
see him suggesting you should use fenugreek to make pancake syrup or
anything. We're not trying to solve global warming here but talking
about some freeking seeds!

Lou

On Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:40:28 +0000 (UTC),
(Steve Pope) wrote:

>Arri London > wrote:
>
>>Steve Pope wrote:
>
>>> Arri London > wrote:
>
>>> >He's right as far as *your* palate goes Clearly Jean and I don't have
>>> >that sort of palate. Fenugreek tastes/smells nothing like maple to me.
>>> >It could explain why fake maple tastes so wrong to us though...
>
>>> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
>>> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
>>> and myself.
>
>>> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
>
>>But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
>>have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
>
>So you think that your not having noticed a lingering cooked
>fenugreek odor negates other peoples' experience?
>
>This is becomoing a pretyt silly thread...

It is pretty funny what prompts some folks to get all wound up.

Lou

Tracy > wrote:

>I cook with fenugreek often and I had never noticed it smelling like
>maple until I heard it mentioned here on rfc awhile back, It doesn't
>taste like maple to me though.
>Just to be clear - I am talking about fenugreek seeds not leaves. I
>have never used the leaves. I have never even seen them before, so I
>have no idea what they smell or taste like.

I am guessing I'm faimliar with the ground seeds. I just
buy it in powder form (methi) at the south Asian stores.

A few more aspects that may be significant. My kitchen has
no hood or fan, so therefore it's pretty easy for cooking odors
to penetrate house-wide. Secondly, we always toast or sautee
the fenugreek by itself. I suspect that if you skip this
step and just add it to the other ingredients, you may not
get the lingering odor effect.

Steve

Steve wrote on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:04:43 +0000 (UTC):

>> I cook with fenugreek often and I had never noticed it
>> smelling like maple until I heard it mentioned here on rfc
>> awhile back, It doesn't taste like maple to me though. Just
>> to be clear - I am talking about fenugreek seeds not leaves.
>> I have never used the leaves. I have never even seen them
>> before, so I have no idea what they smell or taste like.

> I am guessing I'm faimliar with the ground seeds. I just
> buy it in powder form (methi) at the south Asian stores.

> A few more aspects that may be significant. My kitchen has
> no hood or fan, so therefore it's pretty easy for cooking
> odors to penetrate house-wide. Secondly, we always toast or
> sautee the fenugreek by itself. I suspect that if you skip
> this step and just add it to the other ingredients, you may
> not get the lingering odor effect.

If I make a curry, it does not seem to have an authentic taste unless I
include pan-roasted (just turning brown) fenugreek seeds (same for
mustard seeds.)


--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton > wrote:

> Steve wrote on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:04:43 +0000 (UTC):
>
>If I make a curry, it does not seem to have an authentic taste unless I
>include pan-roasted (just turning brown) fenugreek seeds (same for
>mustard seeds.)

We diverge on this in my household. I prefer sauteeing the
spices in vegetable oil; my cohabitating dining partner
prefers using the toaster oven. Either method works well.

Steve

Steve Pope wrote:
> Tracy > wrote:
>
>> I cook with fenugreek often and I had never noticed it smelling like
>> maple until I heard it mentioned here on rfc awhile back, It doesn't
>> taste like maple to me though.
>> Just to be clear - I am talking about fenugreek seeds not leaves. I
>> have never used the leaves. I have never even seen them before, so I
>> have no idea what they smell or taste like.
>
> I am guessing I'm faimliar with the ground seeds. I just
> buy it in powder form (methi) at the south Asian stores.
>
> A few more aspects that may be significant. My kitchen has
> no hood or fan, so therefore it's pretty easy for cooking odors
> to penetrate house-wide. Secondly, we always toast or sautee
> the fenugreek by itself. I suspect that if you skip this
> step and just add it to the other ingredients, you may not
> get the lingering odor effect.
>
> Steve

I use the seeds only. I use them for one dish that I make often - which
is a Moroccan dish. Fenugreek is the primary seasoning. The smell does
linger in my kitchen and elsewhere.

Tracy

Steve Pope wrote:
>
> Arri London > wrote:
>
> >Steve Pope wrote:
>
> >> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
> >> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
> >> and myself.
>
> >> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
>
> >But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
> >have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
>
> Sure, unless you are not perceiving this particular olfactory
> clue. I have no idea what fraction of people perceive this.
>
> Steve

My perception of scents is superb! As a chemist, an excellent sense of
smell can be a lifesaver, literally. If there were a lingering odour,
wouldn't have missed it.

Steve Pope wrote:
>
> Tracy > wrote:
>
> >I cook with fenugreek often and I had never noticed it smelling like
> >maple until I heard it mentioned here on rfc awhile back, It doesn't
> >taste like maple to me though.
> >Just to be clear - I am talking about fenugreek seeds not leaves. I
> >have never used the leaves. I have never even seen them before, so I
> >have no idea what they smell or taste like.
>
> I am guessing I'm faimliar with the ground seeds. I just
> buy it in powder form (methi) at the south Asian stores.
>
> A few more aspects that may be significant. My kitchen has
> no hood or fan, so therefore it's pretty easy for cooking odors
> to penetrate house-wide. Secondly, we always toast or sautee
> the fenugreek by itself. I suspect that if you skip this
> step and just add it to the other ingredients, you may not
> get the lingering odor effect.
>
> Steve


Anyone who knows how to make curries (and we do) would toast (or fry)
the spices first That's a given, as is grinding them afterwards.

On 2010-01-18, Arri London > wrote:
> Anyone who knows how to make curries (and we do) would toast (or fry)
> the spices first That's a given, as is grinding them afterwards.

You grind even the fried whole spices? M&P?

nb

Steve Pope wrote:
>
> Arri London > wrote:
>
> >Steve Pope wrote:
>
> >> Arri London > wrote:
>
> >> >He's right as far as *your* palate goes Clearly Jean and I don't have
> >> >that sort of palate. Fenugreek tastes/smells nothing like maple to me.
> >> >It could explain why fake maple tastes so wrong to us though...
>
> >> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
> >> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
> >> and myself.
>
> >> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
>
> >But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
> >have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
>
> So you think that your not having noticed a lingering cooked
> fenugreek odor negates other peoples' experience?
>
> This is becomoing a pretyt silly thread...
>
> Steve

No *you* are saying that. The way we prepare the various spices for our
curries doesn't result in a lingering odour, with normal ventilation.
Can't say what other people's experiences are. Clearly they are
different than mine.

Lou Decruss wrote:
>
> On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:35:54 -0700, Arri London >
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >Steve Pope wrote:
> >>
> >> Arri London > wrote:
> >>
> >> >He's right as far as *your* palate goes Clearly Jean and I don't have
> >> >that sort of palate. Fenugreek tastes/smells nothing like maple to me.
> >> >It could explain why fake maple tastes so wrong to us though...
> >>
> >> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
> >> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
> >> and myself.
> >>
> >> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
> >>
> >> Steve
> >
> >
> >But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
> >have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
>
> He offered a challenge which I took and you seem stuck on your
> viewpoint without taking him up.


It isn't a viewpoint, it is fact. When we use fenugreek and other spices
in currymaking, there is no lingering scent of *anything*. Maybe other
people don't have decent ventilation in their kitchen. But we do. Any
lingering scent of cooking would be extremely distasteful to me, no
matter how nice it was to begin with.


When I returned home I had totally
> forgot I had done the seed toasting and I sure smelled it when I came
> home. That's all I though Mr. Pope was trying to point out.

He pointed out that he smells lingering scents (of fenugreek etc) in his
kitchen. We don't. How difficult is that?


I didn't
> see him suggesting you should use fenugreek to make pancake syrup or
> anything. We're not trying to solve global warming here but talking
> about some freeking seeds!
>
> Lou


The topic opened up with fenugreek being used as artificial maple
flavour. He never suggested it be used at home for that reason and no
one else has said that he did either LOL!

Tracy wrote:
>
> On Jan 15, 7:39 pm, (Steve Pope) wrote:
> > Arri London > wrote:
> >
> > >Steve Pope wrote:
> > >> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
> > >> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
> > >> and myself.
> > >> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
> > >But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
> > >have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
> >
> > Sure, unless you are not perceiving this particular olfactory
> > clue. I have no idea what fraction of people perceive this.
> >
> > Steve
>
> I cook with fenugreek often and I had never noticed it smelling like
> maple until I heard it mentioned here on rfc awhile back, It doesn't
> taste like maple to me though.
> Just to be clear - I am talking about fenugreek seeds not leaves. I
> have never used the leaves. I have never even seen them before, so I
> have no idea what they smell or taste like.
>
> Tracy

The leaves have a slightly bitter flavour to them. However they don't
taste anything like the seeds. In the same way coriander leaves taste
nothing like coriander seeds.

Arri London > wrote:

>Lou Decruss wrote:

>> He offered a challenge which I took and you seem stuck on your
>> viewpoint without taking him up.

>It isn't a viewpoint, it is fact. When we use fenugreek and other spices
>in currymaking, there is no lingering scent of *anything*. Maybe other
>people don't have decent ventilation in their kitchen. But we do.

I would believe that having strong exhaust ventaliation would
prevent a person from being able to tell which ingredients
were most liable to leave a lingering scent.

(BTW I'm not opposed to the concept of kitchen exhaust systems but
it is a significant cost item and has not clawed its way
to the top of the spending priorities for us. Many people
in the world do not have exhaust systems in their kitchens.)

Steve

On Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:03:54 +0000 (UTC),
(Steve Pope) wrote:

>Arri London > wrote:
>
>>Lou Decruss wrote:
>
>>> He offered a challenge which I took and you seem stuck on your
>>> viewpoint without taking him up.
>
>>It isn't a viewpoint, it is fact. When we use fenugreek and other spices
>>in currymaking, there is no lingering scent of *anything*. Maybe other
>>people don't have decent ventilation in their kitchen. But we do.
>
>I would believe that having strong exhaust ventaliation would
>prevent a person from being able to tell which ingredients
>were most liable to leave a lingering scent.
>
>(BTW I'm not opposed to the concept of kitchen exhaust systems but
>it is a significant cost item and has not clawed its way
>to the top of the spending priorities for us. Many people
>in the world do not have exhaust systems in their kitchens.)

Most of the world's people have their cooking outdoors... they don't
shit where they live either.

notbob wrote:
>
> On 2010-01-18, Arri London > wrote:
> > Anyone who knows how to make curries (and we do) would toast (or fry)
> > the spices first That's a given, as is grinding them afterwards.
>
> You grind even the fried whole spices? M&P?
>
> nb

Yes. That's the best way to release the most flavour. Second best is
frying the preground spices. 'Raw' spices just don't do it

Steve Pope wrote:
>
> Arri London > wrote:
>
> >Lou Decruss wrote:
>
> >> He offered a challenge which I took and you seem stuck on your
> >> viewpoint without taking him up.
>
> >It isn't a viewpoint, it is fact. When we use fenugreek and other spices
> >in currymaking, there is no lingering scent of *anything*. Maybe other
> >people don't have decent ventilation in their kitchen. But we do.
>
> I would believe that having strong exhaust ventaliation would
> prevent a person from being able to tell which ingredients
> were most liable to leave a lingering scent.
>
> (BTW I'm not opposed to the concept of kitchen exhaust systems but
> it is a significant cost item and has not clawed its way
> to the top of the spending priorities for us. Many people
> in the world do not have exhaust systems in their kitchens.)
>
> Steve

Our windows still open The vent hood over the cooker died quite some
time ago Looking into replacing it myself. The DIY places sell the
right size for the opening and they aren't really all that much. Not
contemplating anything more sophisticated cos the income is so erratic
:P

Arri London wrote:
>
> "Jean B." wrote:
>> Steve Pope wrote:
>>> J. Clarke > wrote:
>>>
>>>> I dunno what it is with these artificial maple flavors--I love maple syrup
>>>> of the kind that originally came out of a tree, and while I'm not the sort
>>>> that pours it on French Fries, getting some on the bacon isn't bad. Way
>>>> backalong (I'm talking 30 years or so) I tried some maple-sugar-cured bacon
>>>> and it wasn't bad. One day something changed and it got awful. A few
>>>> months ago I tried some B&M baked beans with "maple"--they were as awful as
>>>> the later bacon. I'm thinking that the maple syrup industry should start a
>>>> class action suit against the use of whatever _crap_ is being used as
>>>> imitation maple flavor.
>>> The "artificial" maple flavor is fenugreek; its in fact a natural
>>> flavoring, and so a better term is "imitation" maple. It's one of my
>>> favorite spices, and it does indeed linger in one's environment for
>>> days and days. Figure about five days, anytime you use it.
>>>
>>> Heat a pan, place a little vegetable oil in and toast some fenugreek,
>>> and you will see what I mean.
>>>
>>> The problem with it being in bacon and similar products is that
>>> this effect is unexpected. And if you were cooking Indian food
>>> routinely you may never notice it.
>>>
>>> Steve
>> Hmmm. Having cooked with fenugreek, I am finding this hard to
>> imagine.
>>
>
>
> Same here. It does say in lots of places that artificial maple is made
> from fenugreek though. The notion and sense of 'maple' has never entered
> my mind while cooking with fenugreek (methi/methe). The two just don't
> taste the same.

It hasn't entered my mind either. Weird.

--
Jean B.

Lou Decruss wrote:
> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:12:33 -0500, "Jean B." > wrote:
>
>> Steve Pope wrote:
>>> J. Clarke > wrote:
>>>
>>>> I dunno what it is with these artificial maple flavors--I love maple syrup
>>>> of the kind that originally came out of a tree, and while I'm not the sort
>>>> that pours it on French Fries, getting some on the bacon isn't bad. Way
>>>> backalong (I'm talking 30 years or so) I tried some maple-sugar-cured bacon
>>>> and it wasn't bad. One day something changed and it got awful. A few
>>>> months ago I tried some B&M baked beans with "maple"--they were as awful as
>>>> the later bacon. I'm thinking that the maple syrup industry should start a
>>>> class action suit against the use of whatever _crap_ is being used as
>>>> imitation maple flavor.
>>> The "artificial" maple flavor is fenugreek; its in fact a natural
>>> flavoring, and so a better term is "imitation" maple. It's one of my
>>> favorite spices, and it does indeed linger in one's environment for
>>> days and days. Figure about five days, anytime you use it.
>>>
>>> Heat a pan, place a little vegetable oil in and toast some fenugreek,
>>> and you will see what I mean.
>>>
>>> The problem with it being in bacon and similar products is that
>>> this effect is unexpected. And if you were cooking Indian food
>>> routinely you may never notice it.
>>>
>>> Steve
>> Hmmm. Having cooked with fenugreek, I am finding this hard to
>> imagine.
>
> So did I so I just tried it. He's right.
>
> Lou

Really. I'll have to try this when I think of it downstairs.

--
Jean B.

Arri London wrote:
>
> Steve Pope wrote:
>> Arri London > wrote:
>>
>>> Steve Pope wrote:
>>>> Arri London > wrote:
>>>>> He's right as far as *your* palate goes Clearly Jean and I don't have
>>>>> that sort of palate. Fenugreek tastes/smells nothing like maple to me.
>>>>> It could explain why fake maple tastes so wrong to us though...
>>>> The datapoint is not whether it is wrong, but whether it
>>>> is an unusually lingering odor, as noted by the OP, Lou,
>>>> and myself.
>>>> You are free to ignore this, or any other, datapoint.
>>> But it doesn't have that either. We cook with it all the time. Would
>>> have noticed any lingering odour by now, don't you think?
>> So you think that your not having noticed a lingering cooked
>> fenugreek odor negates other peoples' experience?
>>
>> This is becomoing a pretyt silly thread...
>>
>> Steve
>
> No *you* are saying that. The way we prepare the various spices for our
> curries doesn't result in a lingering odour, with normal ventilation.
> Can't say what other people's experiences are. Clearly they are
> different than mine.

Well, this certainly does result in lingering scents (which I
rather enjoy but others have been known to complain about). I am
wondering whether using the fenugreek in conjunction with various
other spices is somehow masking the odor that others have spoken
of. Or whether genetics are at play. I will try frying some
seeds alone in the near future.

--
Jean B.

Fenugreek is the actual flavor that's used in "pancake syrup", a.k.a
fake maple syrup. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenugreek :

In the United States, where maple syrup is popular but expensive,
fenugreek is widely used in lower-cost syrup products as a maple syrup
flavoring such as Mapleine.


On Jan 14, 5:41*pm, (Steve Pope) wrote:
> Dave Smith > wrote:
>
> >Steve Pope wrote:
> >> Try googling on "fenugreek" and "maple syrup"... lots of
> >> datapoints. *In any case, it is certainly fenugreek that
> >> is responsible for the lingering odor noticed by the OP.
> >> If I cook a curry using 6 Indian spices, the next day
> >> it may smell like all six in the house, but by the third
> >> day only the fenugreek smell remains.
> >> It may or may not smell like imitation maple products to
> >> you guys, but it does to me, and this is one of its uses.
> >Perhaps it is the fenugreek in artificial maple syrup that makes it so
> >bad. While it has the maple smell, the flavour is a major disappointment..
>
> Yeah. *It comes down to expectations. *If you want maple, use
> maple, if you want fenugreek, use fenugreek.
>
> I personally would be happy with pancakes and fenugreek syrup;
> I've been tempted to make up a batch of fenugreek syrup and
> see how it comes out.
>
> Steve