- Abundant throughout Alaska is the Alaska paper birch, which has a sap that's high in sugars. Sap from Kenai birches produces flavorful syrup. Western paper birches make a dark, deeply flavored syrup.
- Tapping begins in early April, lasting two to three weeks. Once trees begin to bud the sap sours.
- On average, 100 gallons of sap are needed for every gallon of birch syrup produced, compared to 40 gallons of maple sap needed per gallon of syrup.
- The sugar in birches is fructose, thus birch is about half as sweet as maple syrup, because maple sap contains more sucrose.
- Special equipment evaporates the sap's high water content and concentrates the sugar. When boiling sap, syrup producers must be vigilant to prevent scorching.
- Birch sap is water-like with a slightly sweet wintergreen taste. Syrup is spicy-sweet with flavors of honey, horehound candy, wintergreen, licorice and molasses.
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