Any other birch tappers in Michigan?

[Cedar Eater]

I have almost as many birch trees as maples within 100 yds of my house. I live on a small hardwood hill surrounded by a cedar bog. The maples have taken a nap, but the one birch that I tapped just woke up yesterday. I'll either be making more spiles or swapping some over from the maples. This is my first year of tapping trees and I've never tasted birch syrup, so I'm looking forward to it.

[austin357]

If i had some birch trees i would tap them but sadly i dont

[BobMac]

Cedar Eater, you might find this old post interesting
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?6014-Birch-Tapping-one-Month-Away&highlight=tapping+birch+trees

[Cedar Eater]

Cedar Eater, you might find this old post interesting
http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?6014-Birch-Tapping-one-Month-Away&highlight=tapping+birch+trees

Thanks for that. A five year thread is impressive. I'm only started on the first year, so it looks like it will have lots of info.

[bpski71984]

This year I thought it would be a great idea to try tapping other trees other than your typical maple trees.so I tapped 12 paper birch and 8 walnut,wanted to try boxelder and hickory but just ran out of time.I had a guy tell me that birch syrup was the worst syrup he had,well I didn't believe him so I had to prove what he told me was wrong.so went to boiling my 15 gallons I had saved up in my freezer.it smells good when your boiling,but you will be very disappointed when everything that I heard was true,It was awful.definitely has an acquired taste, very rich taste almost like a bitter molasses.good luck and I know if you were bit by the bug like I was your going to be tapping and boiling that looks like it would produce some sap.the walnut though was a homerun it taste great,deffinatly Will b tapping more next year.

[bpski71984]

This year I decided to tap other trees than your typical maples,so I tapped 12 white birch and 8 walnut. Before I tapped the birch trees I talked to a guy that has tried birch syrup and he said it was awful, well I didn't want to believe what he had to say,so I went to boiling my 15 gallons I had collected.I will say when it's boiling my expectations were high for something new, boy was I let down bad,it was nasty.to me it tastes a little like molasses and very rich coffee.maybe it's an acquired taste, but I think I'll stick to maples.on the other hand the walnut has a bit of a nut flavor (go figure),but it tastes a lot like maple.definitely will b tapping more of those next year. Good luck on your birch syrup I'd like to hear any other comments on birch,walnut, hickory,and boxelder syrup if anybody has tried them

[Cedar Eater]

This year I thought it would be a great idea to try tapping other trees other than your typical maple trees.so I tapped 12 paper birch and 8 walnut,wanted to try boxelder and hickory but just ran out of time.I had a guy tell me that birch syrup was the worst syrup he had,well I didn't believe him so I had to prove what he told me was wrong.so went to boiling my 15 gallons I had saved up in my freezer.it smells good when your boiling,but you will be very disappointed when everything that I heard was true,It was awful.definitely has an acquired taste, very rich taste almost like a bitter molasses.good luck and I know if you were bit by the bug like I was your going to be tapping and boiling that looks like it would produce some sap.the walnut though was a homerun it taste great,deffinatly Will b tapping more next year.

I'm glad I've been reading the other referenced thread. It tells me not to boil the same way you would for maple syrup. Boil it down on an evaporator, but not all the way to syrup, and then finish very slowly, either with a very low flame or in a double boiler so as not to exceed 212 degrees. Only go to 60 Brix and expect thin syrup. That's what I plan to try.

[bpski71984]

Sorry for the double posts,I thought I lost the one that was replied to and then I tried to remember would I said and wrote a second one,getting Older isn't that fun,thanks for the info,maybe I'll give it another try again,after all the birch are just starting to run good

[fishman]

I did some 3 years ago. 120 gallons sap and 3 qts syrup. Simmered slowly and finished on low heat and still tasted like crap. It does work well as a marinade or for braising meat. I'll have enough for several years though.

[Cedar Eater]

Sorry for the double posts,I thought I lost the one that was replied to and then I tried to remember would I said and wrote a second one,getting Older isn't that fun,thanks for the info,maybe I'll give it another try again,after all the birch are just starting to run good

No problem. Getting older isn't that fun, but for now it beats the alternative. I've been wanting to try birch syrup ever since I heard it could be made. Supposedly it's good for glazes on meat and making wine and beer. I sweeten my coffee and oatmeal with maple syrup, so I want to try the birch syrup in those.

[Ausable]

Cedar - I tapped some white birch trees about ten years ago and batch boiled into syrup - It reminded me of an off tasting molasses - but it was sweet. I never did it again as the trees bled sap for months with insects all over the sap. One of my Granddaughters and her Husband make maple syrup and they are trying to make birch syrup this year. I have to get an update from them on their birch syrup.

[Cedar Eater]

I made my first one pint batch of birch syrup and I like it, but it is very dark, even with the precautions I took to prevent overheating it. We will be using it with meat and fish dishes and also on ice cream and in coffee. But it isn't as good as maple syrup. So I decided to experiment, to see how I could make it taste better and evaporate more like maple sap. Birch sap lacks sucrose, and sucrose is one of the reasons maple syrup boils so well. So I took one gallon of birch sap and added 1/4 cup of table sugar. It doesn't say on the package whether it was cane or beet sugar and it was Spartan brand, so I'm assuming it was whatever was cheaper. The results were quite dramatic. Even after all of the intermediate tasting, I got four ounces of an orange syrup that sheets off a teaspoon, but still retains the distinct birch flavor, only not nearly as strong. I think the sucrose helped keep the fructose from the birch sap from caramelizing too quickly. I haven't tried it on pancakes, but it sure tastes great straight from a spoon. I'm making another much larger batch now, but this time with only 1/8 cup of sugar per gallon.

I suspect there are purists who will babble, "But that's not birch syrup!" I can understand keeping maple syrup pure, because it tastes great pure, but unless I get an RO to further minimize the caramelization of the fructose, this "sweetened birch syrup" is what I'll be making to let family members get the taste of something birchy.