Birch Sap

You know we get maple syrup from the sap of maple trees. Other trees have sugary sap that runs in the spring as well. Minnesotastan, who I believe lives in Minnesota, noticed his birch tree was dripping sap after being trimmed. So he did what you would expect: he collected it in a bag, researched it, gave it a taste test, and blogged about it.

There is an outstanding amount of information at that link on the science of birch sap and the techniques for its harvest and for protecting the trees, and the subtleties of rendering it down to a syrupy consistency.

I haven't decided yet whether to undertake that aspect of the adventure. Everything I've read suggests the process is time-consuming and needs to be undertaken with some degree of care to avoid scorching the concentrate. I have about a half-liter of fluid now, because the trees are still dripping into this third day (memo to self: in the future don't prune when the sap is running).

Read more about birch sap at TYWKIWDBI. Link

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Here in Finland its a tradition to make a very nice, fresh tasting drink out of birch sap. It has a lot of Xylitol in it and protects you from tooth-ache and ear infections :-)

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First time I've seen mention in Western media of this very common drink here in Eastern Europe. It's supposed to be very healthy but doesn't have much flavor. We got a couple bottles this spring with lemon slices in it- which helps tremendously. The park I walk in most days is full of birch trees and nearly every tree was tapped- plastic 2 liter bottles of every kind and ilk attached to a metal spigot and collecting sap. It seemed that it was mostly ordinary citizens doing the tapping. We had a lot of wind and it wasn't unusual to see other people in the park line bottles up with their spigots if they got knocked away.
just some birch tree sap trivia... thanks for the post!

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Miss Cellania, I did the same thing. And was thinking, "What does a bag of water on a stick have to do wi- ...Oh."

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I don't know how many times I've scrolled past this item today and it looked like "bitch slap".