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Thread: Can you mix Maple and Birch sap ?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    east kingston, nh
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    just like happy thoughts said, noone really did it before because the seasons don't happen at the same time. There is how ever maple birch blends, with different %'s of each 25%/75%, 50%/50%, 75%/25%. different price on each of those as they birch syrup is WAY more expensive than maple.
    may your sap be at 3%
    Brad

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  2. #12
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    May 2011
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    Chepachet, Rhode Island
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    Do to the horrendous maple season I had last year, I tried tapping some birch trees after maple season ended. I won't do that again. Birch sap is not sweet. I thought that it might have some of the wintergreen flavor of the bark. It doesn't. It doesn't smell sweet when it's boing either. The trees will pump out over 5 gallons a day. I couldn't keep up. It finally boiled down to a molasses like syrup. I got about a gallon after boiling about 130 gallons or so. It didn't taste or smell good. I'm sure it scorched a little because it's all but unavoidable if you want to keep it boiling. Waste of time.

    I'm sticking to maples from now on.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Hop Bottom, PA
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    I was thinking of starting a thread to ask a question but this thread is likely a good place to ask...Anyhow I've been considering tapping the birch trees that grow amongst my already tapped maples.
    I'm not considering mixing them but my thought was to run them into the same mainline as my maples throw shut offs on all branches and simply shut off my maples tap and turn on the birch lines...Obviously clean up after maple season and do a few weeks of birch sap...Any reason this won't work?

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    Quesnel, British Columbia
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    It should be fine to tap birch trees after maple & even to mix both saps together. Typically birch will run after maples although there may be a slight bit of overlap on any given year. The only way to do so on any scale would be to freeze maple sap until the birch starts to flow which sounds like alot of work. We sell a birch syrup production manual & have been selling quite a few to maple producers in recent years that also have birch trees. If you've got the equiptment & trees & a fuel source then why not give it a try.
    The two trees are as different as night & day. You use the same equiptment however that is where the similarities end.
    Some producers do make blends but as already noted it cannot be sold as a pure product. We do a 75% maple 25% birch blend which sells quite well. The birch is quite bold so the small % makes it a moderate product for folks that have little experience in the birch world.
    Many folks in Europe & north america drink the sap as a health tonic. We call it nature's gaterade, & use it for lots of things including just a refreshing drink with a bit of nutrients & a touch of sugar.

    One key point is it is extremely difficult to make pure birch syrup on an evaporator. It is a different tree, different sugars & a different end use. We take our concentrate off our evaporator at about 25 to 30 deg brix & finish on a double boiler or on a very low heat to avoid scorching. Otherwise you will end up with a very unpalatable end product.
    Ted T
    BC, Canada
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    planning for 250 Birch Trees
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    www.moosemeadowsfarm.ca
    Follow Moose Meadows Farm or Canadian Birch Syrup Producers on Facebook

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Hop Bottom, PA
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    Thanks for the reply.Sounds like my plan then. Even if it cuts my maple season a week or so short Birch syrup sells for a bundle more...

  6. #16
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    Apr 2019
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    Northeast section of Northwest kingdom Vermont
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    I cooked down a pint or so of syrup made from a combo of maple and birch last year on a turkey fryer while the trees are running at the same time. Tomorrow I'm going to boil down 40 gallons or so of maple and birch together and see how it comes out. The Maple should be mostly done and I'll clean the pans and just boil some birch and finish on a heat controlled electric cooker.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    corry pa
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    I do birch syrup here in northwestern pa and usually tap a couple towards the end of maple season and watch to see when they start to run and so far they have always started on the last run of maple so I have always boiled the last maple then started the birch tapping the maple is typically poor quality sap so the mixing I don't think would make a good product?

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
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    Northeast section of Northwest kingdom Vermont
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    Yea my maple today Is done, yellow and yeasty. So I pulled buckets and will be cleaning pan and maybe boiling birch tomorrow.

  9. #19
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    Mar 2018
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    Two Harbors, Minnesota
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    Did you ever try and make birch syrup? The very important part is not letting the sap temperature go over 200F. I run mine between 180-190F.
    2016- 32 taps, 3 1/2 gallons
    2017- 150 taps, 13 gallons after building an evaporator
    2018- goal is 240+ taps. 20+ gallons.
    2018 Reality- 235 taps, 5 gallons of syrup. Average 50 birch taps and 3 gallons of syrup.
    2019- 180 maple taps, 20 gallons of finished syrup.
    ~ 160 birch taps, 13 finished gallons of syrup.

    Latitude 47.278150

    www.facebook.com/livingoffmyland2015

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