Removing alcohol from maple extract

Question

I would like to remove the alcohol, or as much as is reasonable, from maple extract. I plan to use this for flavoring cold foods, and don't want the alcohol taste. I have thought to do this by heating at a low temperature over a given amount of time. I searched on this, but I don't find anything regarding maple exclusively. Most of what I find is regarding vanilla, for which people say that doing this will remove the vanilla as well.

Is it possible to remove the alcohol by slow heating without removing the maple flavoring?

Answer 1

Actual maple flavor, as found in maple syrup and sugar, is the result of boiling maple sap for periods ranging from hours to days. Temperature ranges from 219°F (7°F over boiling, if at elevation) for syrup (starting at water boiling temperatures with fresh sap) to the high 230's for sugar.

I have no idea what's in maple extract, if it's purportedly real or not, etc. If it is purportedly real, you could presumably boil off the alcohol with no effect on the flavor, considering the above method of getting it in the first place. If it's artificial, I have no idea as I never use fake maple.

I've never bought maple extract; I put maple syrup (the darker the better) in whatever it is I want maple flavored. That is what I'd actually recommend doing for an alcohol free maple flavoring.

Answer 2

Actually, I discovered quite by accident that the simplest way to do this is to simply let the alcohol/water evaporate in open air. I placed a little bit of extract, maybe about 1-2 teaspoons in a tin with a flat bottom. This allowed the extract to spread out with a depth of about 1/4 inch. Simply leaving it setting out on the counter on a warm day for a day or so allowed it to reduce down to a goo. I then reconstituted it with water, and used a dropper to apply. Very simple, requires no special setup, and no risk of altering the properties of the maple by heating. One could also use a larger tin to process more extract while keeping it spread out and the depth at a 1/4 inch.

The next time I will set the tin on my gas stove top above where the burner pilot light burns underneath, which gets quite warm to the touch, and it should evaporate more quickly.

One thing I will note regarding using the extract versus maple syrup, is that I don't think it is especially economical as I was hoping to achieve. In fact, to get the same degree of flavor, it seems it might even cost more to use the extract. However, the extract does avoid the sugar.

Answer 3

I suggest letting it sit in an open bowl or tray away from any flame. I would not set it on a stove with a pilot light. Real maple extract is high in alcohol, upwards of 40 percent by some accounts. One major brand with a red and white label (and box) lists alcohol as the first ingredient and warns of dispensing near open flame. I can definitely smell and taste the alcohol in that product.

Answer 4

If you don't want to risk changing the flavor by heating it all: underpressure or sudden drop of pressure would also reduce the alcohol content (by evaporating it).

With regular at-home equipment I don't know how significant this reduction would be but some can definitely be extracted by increasing the pressure (for example by using a regular basketball-pump through a cork) and then quickly dropping it (aka removing the cork). This will gasify a noticeable portion of the alcohol (blow it out otf the bottle with a straw afterwards). [This works best for high-proof base alcohols so I don't know whether this will allow you to get close to zero]