Tap that!

               With sugar maple (acer saccharum) under increasing pressure from global warming (Jenkins 39), sugarers in the Adirondacks are under pressure to expand their production into novelty syrups from other tree sources.  The most promising candidate: the Birch.

               For centuries in Latvia, the birch sap has served as a celebrated culinary resource (Guttman 2012).  From birch sap syrup to sparkling wine, Latvians capitalize on the many applications of this otherwise undervalued resource, in some cases holding a goblet under the tap and drinking the sap straight out of the tree.  Aside from treasuring birch sap as a national resource, producers make a killing on selling the refined syrup: the going rate is over $10 for a small, 8 oz. bottle (Guttman 2012).

               On this side of the Atlantic, we are a little more hesitant to turn to this new sweetener.  For one, birch sap has a much lower sugar concentration than sugar maple sap and it can take as many as 100 gallons of the raw, sticky substance to yield one gallon of thickened birch syrup (Thill 2014).  This obviously drives the cost of production through the roof, requiring not only more trees tapped and gallons harvested, but also more intensive purification to attain comparably sweet syrup.  Further, the finished product is not necessarily a replacement for maple syrup (those tasting it expecting the sweet traditional maple flavor are in for an unexpected surprise).  Birch syrup resembles molasses more than maple syrup, with hints of balsam, raspberry and iron—an earthy sweetness that tastes better in combination with other flavors rather than overwhelming a pile of pancakes (Thill 2014).

               While Birch syrup is a different product than maple syrup, it does promise economic benefits, especially in the face of struggling sugar maples in the Adirondacks.  Sugar maple requires a succession of freezing nights and warm(er) days for its sap to flow, so sugarers are relying on an increasingly shorter harvesting season.  Birch trees, on the other hand, do not release their sap until the soil has warmed to around 50 degrees Fahrenheit as the tree begins to bud (Thill 2014).  Thus, as the maple sugaring season ends, birch sugaring would just be beginning, adding another dimension to the possibilities (and length) of the sugaring season in the Adirondacks.  Further, the novelty of birch syrup fetches a high price among chefs and tourists seeking out local souvenirs.  

               Maple sugaring in the Adirondacks is shrinking (sad as it is to admit).  Harvesting sap from native birch trees and other sap producing trees provides this important Adirondack industry with another dimension to help absorb the negative implications of climate change.  Let’s tap our Adirondack resources!

References:

Guttman, Amy.  21 May 2012.  “Move Over, Maple Syrup, Birch Syrup May Challenge Your Sweet Rule.”  From: NPR.  Url: <http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/05/21/153194426/move-over-maple-syrup-birch-syrup-may-challenge-your-sweet-rule>.

Jenkins, Jerry.  2004.  The Adirondack Atlas: A Geographic Portrait of the Adirondack Park.  Syracuse University Press: Syracuse, NY.

Thill, Mary.  2014.  “The Other Syrup.”  From Adirondack Life Magazine.  Url: <http://www.adirondacklifemag.com/blogs/2014/02/12/syrup/>.