I'd like to know

notjvb 79 points 3 years ago

Other hardwoods can be tapped and their sap made into syrup, it’s just that maple is the tastiest, with the Sugar Maple being what we think of when it comes to making syrup. Birch and Walnut are probably the most common alternatives.

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messem10 31 points 3 years ago

Just be careful with birch sap. You might find that you’re allergic to it and it’s pollen. The hives from the pollen is no joke.

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NotAGuyInAHat 18 points 3 years ago

Some thrillseeker just read "Watch out the syrup might be SPICY" lol

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casino 16 points 3 years ago

Funny thing, in my family we're all allergic to birch pollen. So before the pollen season we often tap some birch sap and drink to bolster our immune system in advance. Dunno if there's any science behind it, but in my experience it's done wonders.

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Ferris 12 points 3 years ago

I think in context, I think you are desensitizing rather than bolstering. 👆 You may have meant that, 👈 but in case you didn't.

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casino 4 points 3 years ago

Yes! That's exactly what I meant 😁, thank you.

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null 5 points 3 years ago

I've heard that eating local honey similarly lowers your allergy response to local pollen, and I believed that, so I'll believe this too.

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charlytune 8 points 3 years ago

It's a myth. For a start most people's hayfever isn't anything to do with flower pollen, it's grass and tree pollen and fungal spores. Pollen and spores can be carried by air currents and travel long distances. The flowers your local honey comes from are unlikely to be causing your hayfever. You should buy local honey over commercial honey though because it supports small producers.

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abbadon420 1 point 3 years ago

Yes, there is scientific basis for that. It's immunotherapy

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neontetra 3 points 3 years ago

Interesting — is the birch sap/syrup more allergenic than maple? I’m allergic to birch to some extent maybe more than other trees. But also I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to maple also (and many other trees) but eat maple syrup no problem.

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somethingsnappy 2 points 3 years ago

Hard to say and there probably isn't much research on it. Just stick to maple syrup or the fake stuff.

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AapoL 50 points 3 years ago

I don't know about other countries but in Finland people sometimes extract and drink birch sap. We call it mahla.

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Andrej-Zulanov139 16 points 3 years ago

In Russia as well. And it's called simply "birch juice"

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Chadus_Maximus 15 points 3 years ago

We call it trussy juice.

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felixwhynot 7 points 3 years ago

Interesting! TIL. I have only tried “birch beer” — birch flavored root beer

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Indi 3 points 3 years ago

My aunt used to live in Pennsylvania and when I'd visit her, she'd buy me this birch beer that was to die for. It was clear and I think local to the area. I've never been able to remember the brand. I should ask her!

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dingus182 4 points 3 years ago

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Knusper 24 points 3 years ago

You wouldn't think of it as traditionally delicious, but gum arabic is in lots of foods as a stabilizer.

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felixwhynot 4 points 3 years ago

I think that’s one of the main ingredients in Cola flavoring

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AstralWeekends 15 points 3 years ago

Birch sap is also tasty!

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yo_carny_bob_eye 15 points 3 years ago

In Russia we used to drink the blood of birches. It’s pretty good actually.

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phar 4 points 3 years ago

In the US they turn it into soda called Birch Beer. It's delicious

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menemen 14 points 3 years ago

Mastic resin is very popular in Turkey and (I think) also Greece. Used as a natural additive in stuff like ice cream or puddings, but also as a natural bubble gum.

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0101010001110100 7 points 3 years ago

To add to this, it's a coniferous tree so mastic resin tastes delicious if you also enjoy coniferous flavours like juniper, rosemary, pine nuts, etc. They also put it in wine and you can get mastic honey. Tastes like a pine forest, in a good way.

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CulturedLout 4 points 3 years ago

We used to grab globs of spruce gum off the trees to chew. Pain in the ass to get off your fingers though.

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MyDogLovesMe 12 points 3 years ago

It’s the best of the best!

So, …it’s what the Canadian Tree Vampires crave!

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MaxHardwood 4 points 3 years ago

Its got electrolytes!

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peanut_boy 3 points 3 years ago

But what are electrolytes?

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No_Eponym 4 points 3 years ago

What plants crave!

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squidman64 10 points 3 years ago

Sugar cane juice is delicious but I don’t think it’s a tree

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bamboo 5 points 3 years ago

It's a grass technically

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Thteven 8 points 3 years ago

Try it with some bark

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sepiroth154 8 points 3 years ago

You can also get pine sap.

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SmilingSkeleton 3 points 3 years ago

The pine needles make an excellent tea.

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tal 6 points 3 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicle

Chicle (/ˈtʃɪkəl/) is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus Manilkara, including M. zapota, M. chicle, M. staminodella, and M. bidentata.

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BananaPeal 2 points 3 years ago

Like the gum Chiclets?

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BartsBigBugBag 3 points 3 years ago

Exactly like that. Idk if it’s still the same, but a couple decades ago I went to a chiclet farm kinda deal in Mexico, and got to try the (cleaned) raw tree gum. Its pretty much a chiclet straight out of the tree, it just doesn’t have much flavor until after processing.

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BartsBigBugBag 1 point 3 years ago

I didn’t realize Guatemala was such an integral part of Chiclet originally. I wonder if William Wrigley Corp lobbied the government for what became the 1954 coup like United Fruit did.

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AverageJoe42 6 points 3 years ago

Black Walnut and Hickory are both fantastic!

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lemonadebunny 4 points 3 years ago