Have you ever tapped a birch tree? Photo: NORDIK Institute, 2015

Birch wood and bark can be used to make many different products, but did you know some of these products are edible?

Like maple syrup, birch sap can be boiled down into birch syrup. With a tangy, semi-sweet taste, birch syrup isn’t used for pancakes and waffles. Instead it is often used as a glaze for seafood or pork or in salad dressings. A little bit of birch syrup goes a long way.

Birch syrup is harvested later in the year than maple syrup, and it’s more difficult to make. It requires much more sap to create birch syrup than maple syrup. Have you ever tasted birch syrup? What was it like?