Birch syrup
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[[Image:Birchsyrup.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Several bottles of birch syrup]]
'''Birch syrup''' is a sweetener made from the [[sap]] of [[birch]] [[tree]]s, and used in much the same way as [[maple syrup]]. It is used for [[pancake]] or [[waffle]] syrup, to make candies, as an ingredient in [[sauce]]s, glazes, and dressings, and as a flavoring in [[ice cream]], [[beer]], [[wine]], and [[soft drink]]s. It is condensed from the sap, which has about 0.5-2% percent sugar content, depending on the species of birch, location, weather, and season. The finished syrup is approximately 67% sugar. [[Birch sap]] sugar is about 42-54% [[fructose]] and 45% [[glucose]], with a small amount of [[sucrose]] and trace amounts of [[galactose]]. The flavor of birch syrup is distinctive--rich and caramel-like, with a hint of spiciness.
Making birch syrup is more difficult than making [[maple]] syrup, requiring about 80 to 110 [[liter]]s of sap to produce one liter of syrup (more than twice that needed for maple syrup). The tapping window for birch is generally shorter than for maple, primarily because birches live in more northerly climates. The trees are typically tapped and their sap collected in the spring (generally mid- to late April, about two to three weeks before the leaves appear on the trees). Birches have a lower trunk and [[root pressure]] than maples, so the pipeline or tubing method of sap collection used in large maple sugaring operations is not as useful in birch sap collection.
The sap is [[Reduction (cooking)|reduced]] in the same way as maple sap, using [[reverse osmosis]] machines and [[evaporator]]s in commercial production. While maple sap may be boiled down without the use of reverse osmosis, birch syrup is difficult to produce this way: the sap is more temperature sensitive than is maple sap because fructose burns at a lower temperature than sucrose, the primary sugar in maple sap. This means that boiling birch sap to produce syrup can much more easily result in a scorched taste. [[Image:Tappingbigbirch-LL.JPG|thumb|right|220px|A birch tree being tapped]]
Most birch syrup is produced in [[Alaska]] and [[Yukon]] from [[Paper Birch]] or [[Alaska Birch]] sap (''Betula papyrifera'' var. ''humilis'' and ''neoalaskana''). These trees are found primarily in interior and south central Alaska. The Kenai birch (''Betula papyrifera'' var. ''kenaica''), which is also used, grows most abundantly on the [[Kenai peninsula]], but is also found in the south central part of the state and hybridizes with ''humilis''. The southeast Alaska variety is the Western paper birch, (''Betula papyrifera'' var. ''commutata'') and has a lower sugar content. One gallon of syrup from these trees requires evaporation of approximately 130-150 gallons of sap.<ref>[http://alaskajournal.com/stories/052905/hom_20050529007.shtml "Haines birch syrups attract gourmet following"], Margaret Baumann, Alaska Journal of Commerce, May 29, 2005</ref>
[[Image:Sap-drip-LL.jpg|thumb|left|205px|Sap dripping from a tapped birch tree]]
Total production of birch syrup in Alaska is approximately 3,800 liters (1,000 U.S. gallons) per year, with smaller quantities made in [[Canada]] (also from Paper Birch), and [[Russia]] and [[Scandinavia]] (from other species of birch). Because of the higher sap-to-syrup ratio and difficulties in production, birch syrup is more expensive than maple syrup, up to five times the price.
==See also==
* [[Xylitol]], a [[sugar alcohol]] extracted from birch
* [[Birch beer]]
* [[Maple syrup]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/05p0295/05p-0295-cp00001-01-vol1.pdf Petition to US Food and Drug Administration] for establishment of Standard of Identity for birch syrup, including the Alaska Birch Syrupmakers' Association Best Practices. July 18, 2005.
* [http://www.alaskabirchsyrup.com/ Alaska Birch Syrup], Kahiltna Birchworks' official site
* [http://www.birchboy.com/articles.html Birch Boy] Gourmet Syrups' educational articles on birch and other syrups
* [http://www.uaf.edu/snras/afes/pubs/misc/MP_04_02.pdf Birch: white gold in the boreal forest.] (pdf download) 2004. Deirdre Helfferich. Agroborealis 35:2, pp. 4-12.
* [http://www.knikbirchsyrup.com/ Knik Birch Syrup] official site
* [http://www.birchsyrup.ca/ Boreal Birch Syrup] official site
* [http://www.yukonbirch.ca/ Uncle Berwyn's Yukon Birch Syrup] official site
===Listening===
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1123655 "Alaska Sap Suckers"] (A story from National Public Radio's ''[[All Things Considered]]'' program, May 29, 2001)
[[Category:Sweeteners]]
[[Category:Syrup]]