anyone ever test sugar content in birch in the northeast?

[Snowy Pass Maple]

Thanks BC, I think you are right in saying that I need to establish a stable consistent product before I worry about selling it. That will be step 1. From everything I can read it is similar in property to very dark maple syrup in terms of the type of sugar. I suspect it boils similar to dark syrup and have to be very careful when getting close to 60-65 brix. My cousin is coming in a few weeks from AK and I have instructed him to bring me a sample so I know what it is supposed to taste like. I'll send you a sample for critique if I successfully produce a product I think is worthy.

One of the most important differences is that birch is fructose - so actually a completely different sugar, which is why it burns so easily. To me, it has a fruity taste - sort of like a raisin liqueur if you could imagine such a thing. A lot of people use things like double boilers well before reaching 60 brix just to avoid burning it. It has a really cool red color when it's thin but it can get really dark and molasses like if heated too much.

I think the black birch makes a more intense flavor than the paper birch syrup from Alaska, and that has been the reaction from just about anyone who has compared ours to the Alaskan syrup - if you like the taste, the black birch is just more intense. I suspect this is because you end up concentrating a lot more sap, intensifying other flavor compounds to get to the necessary brix. Just my guess though... haven't seen any scientific analysis of this yet.

One of the biggest obstacles in NY at the moment is that you can't package and sell birch syrup under the exemptions that apply to honey/maple unless you either rent a commercial kitchen or have your own with the $400 license fee on top of it. You may want to check VT on this as well. With no standard for birch syrup, many states may be difficult about this for a while.

It's also really easy to make bad birch syrup. Both burnt or spoiled - the time of year makes it a lot harder. We went on a schedule of washing buckets every 3 days with a powerwasher after we lost hundreds of gallons of sap/concentrate to spoilage. (the same warm weather last year MillbrookMaple refers to...) That led to great results after that point.

A chef we know really likes it and has used it in some pretty interesting stuff - smoked mussels with ramps and birch syrup at last year's ramp festival; also in a dish with sweetbreads.

Anyway, enough about birch - it's still maple season after all :-)

[KenWP]

I have 4 different kinds of birch on my place and have tapped them all. Never seen better then .5% sugar so far. Usually takes about 200 gallons to get a gallon or so of dark syrup my wife makes cookies and such out of. It stores well also. Found I can't store it more then a day at most and that it is best to at least get it hot and started in the evaporator before shutting down for the day.
I made birch maple syrup the one year and it did really well. Takes more to get a gallon but the maple protects the birch from burning and gives me a nice dark syrup.

[BC Birch Tapper]

Birch contians fructose & glucose along with some other micronutrinets. At the 1st of the season it actually contains a small bit of sucrose. ( maple is primarily sucrose) fructose has a lower boiling temp than sucrose which explains why Ken had a good experience with the birch maple blend. Maple is more forgiving. Fructose will scorch at temps > 100 deg C & the longer you heat it the darker & more carmelized it becomes. As the sugars concentrate you need to reduce the heat to avoid scorching. You're not a true syup maker until you burned a batch or 2, & I'm a syrup maker. As long as it is not burnt too much you can still use it in marinades etc, but I wouldn't sell it.
As there are no standards there are people selling all sorts of things. We find it best to be open with your customers & have full disclosure. Is it pure or a blend & what sugar concentration is it finished to. If you're going to make a blend make it the same way every time. Some folks add fructose or organic cane sugar to make a finished product. We find anything < 60 deg brix is not likley shelf stable. You might be able to go a bit lower but that would involve more lab work.

[Mean_Oscar]

Realize your post was 12 years ago. In NE TN, we have made black birch syrup a couple of years. Brix ranging from .5 to 1.0. Second year with RO assist, I simmered at or below 200F and you could actually see through a 4 oz jar finished to 66 Brix. New quest is beech. on 2-15, got 1.2 Brix from a 12" tree where birches are. On 2-19 a 30" dia ran 1.4 Brix. All excited, on 2-25, went to a beech grove in SW VA and got 0.3: huge shock and disappointment! With -23" Hg capable 36W vac pump, I got 1 gallon an hour from 3 taps on same tree. Who knows what beech sap schedule is? I got 1.9 Brix without vacuum from a maple 20 feet away for a benchmark.
Any info on sweetgums appreciated too. Same day as 30" dia beech, got 0.3 Brix from one.