Syrup Is The Sweet Addition Missing From Your Everyday Eggs

Eggs are no stranger to syrup. While they might not be the most obvious pairing, the two foods have long split the rent on the proverbial American breakfast plate. So, unless you're a food separatist (i.e., someone who doesn't like their food to touch), chances are you've eaten eggs and syrup in the same bite. 

Even without pancakes and sausage links in the picture, eggs and syrup go hand in hand. The next time you're looking to liven up your everyday eggs with an ingredient you probably already have at home, reach for that bottle of maple syrup — yes, the same one you usually reserve for batter-based breakfast items. When paired with the richness of the eggs, sweet syrup makes for a simple yet decadent morning treat. 

If you find the idea of drizzling syrup over your scramble to lack a certain artfulness, you've come to the right place. Here's an inventive — and classic — way to give the two ingredients a proper introduction. 

If you don't believe that eggs and syrup are a foolproof combination (as opposed to one we just made up or saw on TikTok), just ask some French Canadians for their opinion on the matter. Oeufs sans le rirop d'erable, or poached eggs in syrup, is a Quebec breakfast staple that makes use of the region's most prized possession: the maple tree. Legend has it that the tradition started when an intrepid maple harvester decided to boil a few eggs in the sugary sap that was on its way to becoming maple syrup.

To make the dish, all you need is a cup of maple syrup, eggs, and some (optional but highly recommended) flaky salt. Bring the maple syrup to a boil in a small saucepan, as you would with water for a standard poached egg, and reduce it to a simmer. After that, carefully drop in your cracked eggs and cook for two to three minutes, basting the eggs in the hot syrup all the while. 

When the eggs are done, transfer them to a plate and top them with flaky salt. Eat the delectable things on their own, or pair them with your other syrup-friendly breakfast favorites.

French-speaking Canada seems to have everything figured out when it comes to using maple syrup in savory applications. Sasha Chapman of Saveur tasted many of them on a trip to Bas-Saint-Laurent, the second-largest maple syrup region in Quebec. 

Among syrup-poached eggs, she listed tomatoes that were "slow-roasted until jammy" with maple syrup and olive oil, mushroom and wild rice soup that was drizzled with syrup for "unexpected depth," and roasted duck from the Quebec City restaurant Panache. Chapman was in awe of the ingredient: "How, I wondered, can it sometimes taste like vanilla and at other times of smoke?" 

We don't have an answer to that question, but we do know that maple syrup's mercurial properties make it a fine addition to countless dishes you might not think to pair it with. Take maple-glazed salmon, a fairly common dish that lends an addictive sweetness and lightly caramelized bite to the fatty fish.