where can I find maple extract?

I am planning on making a big batch of buttermilk donuts for my family's 4th of July weekend in northern MI. I would like to make a maple icing for them and all the recipes I'm finding online call for maple extract, like vanilla extract except maple-flavored (obviously). Does anyone know where I can find some of this stuff? The internet has not been helpful so far.

GNR The Spice House?

McCormick's makes an imitation maple flavoring that can often be found in larger supermarkets, but if you want the real deal you might try a Whole Foods. I checked the websites for The Spice House and Penzey's, neither have maple extracted listed but they might have something in their retail locations or may be able to tell you who might have some.

Could you use maple sugar in a standard icing or glaze recipe? Might give you a better maple flavor.

-Dan

I agree with Dan - maple extract is usually that imitation maple flavor that they use in really cheap pancake syrup; maple sugar will give you a really concentrated natural maple-y flavor. I'm pretty sure I've seen maple sugar at the Spice House and at some natural foods stores.

I hadn't thought about maple sugar. Most of the recipes (I will post one below) are fairly basic and do call for confectioners sugar, I suppose I could substitute maple sugar. Maple sugar is a bit more grainy though right? I fear that the texture of the icing would be gritty. I wonder if I could grind the maple sugar in a spice blender?

2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon maple extract

In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and 3 tablespoons milk; stir well. Add additional milk to reach desired consistency. Stir in maple extract.

Found this at King Arthur Flour. The carry a lot of otherwise hard to find baking stuff.

And just as an aside, the Fischer Nut store in Barrington is still open, although the building is up for sale, and they'll probably still have some maple extract. Most of the spices they still have on hand are 1/2 price.

Maple extract is made from alcohol, sugar, maple syrup, caramel coloring and water. So I wonder if you could you just add a little maple syrup to your frosting mix, maybe thin it out a little first. You are also right about the maple sugar, it is a coarser grind. You could easily make it finer in your food processor or spice/coffee grinder and its flavor is quite addictive.

In the past, I've found it at Sur La Table.

Does the milk in icing do anything other than add water content? Could you go with maple syrup instead of milk (adding in some powdered milk to make up for milk solids, if they're needed for something)?

-Dan

Does the milk in icing do anything other than add water content? Could you go with maple syrup instead of milk (adding in some powdered milk to make up for milk solids, if they're needed for something)?

Since maple syrup is a bit thicker than milk, I think the icing would be too dense and would be worse if you added milk solids.

That said, I would be inclined to replace some of the milk with maple syrup and then adjust the milk and/or sugar to get the right thickness, rather than using extract.

The flavor of the syrup isn't intense enough to make a yummy icing.
Gordon Food Service sells the extract in large bottles.

Most maple extract is not artificial but is generated from late season maple syrup which tends to be a lot stronger than the first boilings. Often, small operators sell their syrup to the large commercial syrup makers when they make more than they can sell in their normal channels.

Penzey's and GFS are sources that I would recommend.

Fox & Obel also has a lot of extracts that are hard to find elsewhere.

Do it the way we do it up here: gently simmer the maple syrup for a loonnnng time in an open pan. It'll concentrate just fine—after all, that's the way it was initially produced from the tree sap!

Geo

I bought maple extract at Super Target - Archer Farms brand. I also tried to substitute maple syrup in recipes, but the flavor is not nearly intense enough.