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You know we get maple syrup from the sap of maple trees. Other trees have sugary sap that runs in the spring as well. Minnesotastan, who I believe lives in Minnesota, noticed his birch tree was dripping sap after being trimmed. So he did what you would expect: he collected it in a bag, researched it, gave it a taste test, and blogged about it.
There is an outstanding amount of information at that link on the science of birch sap and the techniques for its harvest and for protecting the trees, and the subtleties of rendering it down to a syrupy consistency.
I haven’t decided yet whether to undertake that aspect of the adventure. Everything I’ve read suggests the process is time-consuming and needs to be undertaken with some degree of care to avoid scorching the concentrate. I have about a half-liter of fluid now, because the trees are still dripping into this third day (memo to self: in the future don’t prune when the sap is running).
Read more about birch sap at TYWKIWDBI. Link
It looks like an ordinary baseball cap. But slip steel inserts into the Sap Cap, and you have a weapon. “Beat on muggers like you are The Skipper and they are Gilligan.”
