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Birch Syrup




Making birch syrup is more difficult than making Maple syrup, requiring about 80 to 100 Litre s of sap to produce one litre of syrup (twice that needed for maple syrup). The tapping window for birch is generally shorter than for maple, primarily because birches live in more northerly climes. Birches have a lower trunk and Root Pressure than maples, so the pipeline or tubing method of sap collection used in large maple sugaring operations is not as useful in birch sap collection. The sap is Reduced using Reverse Osmosis machines and Evaporator s in commercial production, using low-heat, low-pressure extraction, as the sap is prone to scorching. Birch sap is more temperature sensitive than is maple sap because fructose burns at a lower temperature than sucrose, the primary sugar in maple sap. Birch sap is also acidic, so the metal taps, buckets, or tanks used in maple sugaring will give birch sap a metallic taste, and plastic or ceramic tools and utensils must be used.

Most birch syrup is made in Alaska from Paper Birch or Alaska Birch sap, about 3800 litres (1000 U.S. gallons) a year, with smaller quantities made in Canada (also from Paper Birch), and Russia and Scandinavia (from other species of birch). Because of the difficulties in production, birch syrup is about five times as expensive as maple syrup.


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REFERENCES AND EXTERNAL LINKS


  • "Alaska Sap Suckers" (A story from National Public Radio's ''All Things Considered'' program, May 29, 2001)