Last week I went over how to tap a birch tree. Today we’re going to go over what you can do with the birch sap, including freezing it, using it to make alcohol and making it into birch syrup. Birch sap has the consistency and look of water, so I usually call it birch water. While it looks like water, it is slightly sweeter than water from the tap.

Drinking it straight is very refreshing and it has a lot of different nutrients including 17 different amino acids, vitamins in the B and C group and a lot of beneficial minerals. These minerals (and sugars) are what make birch water taste so good.

Jason and I freeze it to use throughout the year, especially during the winter when getting nutrients is important. You can refrigerate it for about a week. Once the birch water starts getting cloudy, it’s no longer good to drink. That’s why we choose to freeze it. We freeze it in ice cube trays, then put it in bags to keep. I like to add it to teas to cool it down when too hot.

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How to make birch syrup

Warning: it takes 80-100 gallons of birch water to make 1 gallon of birch syrup.

1. If you didn’t set your collection up like we do, you’ll want to make sure you filter the sap.
2. Make sure the space you’re in is very well ventilated, or use a barbecue/outdoor stove. Put in a LARGE pot.
3. Bring it to a simmer and watch it carefully so as to not burn it.
4. Once it gets a darker color, take it inside.
5. Put on a low heat overnight (putting it on a wood stove would be great for this! Alternatively, you could use a slow cooker if your warm setting doesn’t get too hot.)
6. Once the sap is barely thick, remove from heat.
7. Bottle in clean jars and keep in cool areas.

Making Alcohol

When brewing alcohol, replace the regular water with the birch sap. Depending on when you collect the sap will affect how much sugar you need to add to your regular recipe as the birch syrup has more sugars towards the beginning of the tapping season.

That’s it for this week! I hope you found that interesting. Thanks for reading!

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