Silver Birch Sap

[SoloBoy]

How can I put this...erm...Does size really count, Please see link and look at the size of mine
http://img492.imageshack.us/my.php?image=silverbirch6qf.jpg
Is there a different taste to the size tree or is it just the amount you get

 

[Laurence Dell]

Could be just the quality of the photo but judging by the bark it doesen't look like the healthiest birch tree I ever saw.

 

[pierre girard]

How can I put this...erm...Does size really count, Please see link and look at the size of mine
http://img492.imageshack.us/my.php?image=silverbirch6qf.jpg
Is there a different taste to the size tree or is it just the amount you get

I can only speak knowledgeably of maples, but I don't tap anything under ten inches.

The tree matters as far as taste - some treees are sweeter than others. It does not depend on size and there is no way of knowing beforehand (that I know of) which trees are best.

PG

 

[SoloBoy]

Thanksfor the help guys

 

[Laurence Dell]

I would imagine that factors like soil type, and air quality would play a bigger part in affecting the flavour. The size of the tree would affect the quantity of sap collected and whether the tree was big enough to sustain the loss of the sap. So you are ideally looking for a large healthy tree in a remote/rural location.

 

[pierre girard]

I would imagine that factors like soil type, and air quality would play a bigger part in affecting the flavour. The size of the tree would affect the quantity of sap collected and whether the tree was big enough to sustain the loss of the sap. So you are ideally looking for a large healthy tree in a remote/rural location.

Large healthy trees that are growing far enough from other trees to develop a large crown. Rural or urban is not an issue - if you are allowed to tap them.

Another issue, as to taste, is the season. Last year, the quality was incredible - quantity was negligiable. I'm kicking myself for not dating last year's bottles. The syrup was delectable.

PG

 

[Toddy]

Ideally 20cm + diameter. I found last year that the trees with one side in sunshine came through fastest. Aim for a warm morning after a *cold* night for a good run of sap. One of the trees I tapped was decidedly not in good condition...the top had been broken off at some point and some yob had torn off branches too....but it produced excellent quantities of sap.
Once the tree is growing you can usually get water from a birch, sometimes even in Winter if it's growing wet, but the Spring rise is the only time when there's any sweetness in the liquid and it's not *very* sweet. It's much less sugar rich than maple for instance.
http://193.62.154.38/cgi-bin/nph-re...als=10/firstval=1?SPECIES_XREF=Betula+pendula

Have a look at the sixth post on the site, this is the commercial use in Scotland.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Ed W]

What do you use to drill the hole in the tree, do you use a hand drill and if so where do you get them?

 

[Toddy]

Bit and brace usually.....my Dad gave me a full toolbox as a wedding present so I haven't a clue where to get hold of one; DIY store maybe? In Glasgow I'd try Bill's Tools Store.
I've also got a hand turned hole making conical shaped tool.....don't know what it's called shaped like a sharp edged ropeworkers fid, but it's awfully useful too.

Sorry, I don't think I've been much help.
Just had a thought, how about those hole cutting drill bits, like bent hacksaw blades on a mandrell, they ought to work.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[pierre girard]

Bit and brace usually.....my Dad gave me a full toolbox as a wedding present so I haven't a clue where to get hold of one; DIY store maybe? In Glasgow I'd try Bill's Tools Store.
I've also got a hand turned hole making conical shaped tool.....don't know what it's called shaped like a sharp edged ropeworkers fid, but it's awfully useful too.

Sorry, I don't think I've been much help.
Just had a thought, how about those hole cutting drill bits, like bent hacksaw blades on a mandrell, they ought to work.

Cheers,
Toddy

I use a bit and brace. Professional operations use gas powered drills. I'd imagine a cordless electric drill would work. 5/16 bit is favoured, though I've been using 3/8 the last couple years - since one of my kids broke the tip of my only 5/16 bit.

PG

 

[match]

I've tried both bit and brace, and electric drill - the bit and brace was good to start with as you don't drill too far by mistake, but the electric drill is easier - just don't drill too fast or you run the risk of scorching the wood and sealing the hole you've drilled

As to drill bits - the ones like these are what you want - available form any bit DIY/hardware shop:

 

[SoloBoy]

Exellent,tis what I have been using match nice one.Not too fast,got ya.Just been looking on bbc weather http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=2388 not getting the best weather up here but can any body tell me what time frame we have when the weather is ideal,think someone posted it had to be below -0 degrees.What is the ideal day temp and ideal nite temp,and most importantly how long do we have to go and get the good stuff?.overnite or a few days?

 

[Ed W]

Thanks match I've been using bit and brace before but might go and get some new drill bits and go electric.