How to Make Your Own Birch Syrup
Daily Steps for Making Birch Syrup
Small Scale: 2-10 Spouts
1. Gather and boil the sap every day!
2. Strain the sap to eliminate any twigs, leaves, insects, etc. before you start boiling the sap.
3. As you boil, scum will form on the surface and stick to the sides of your pans. Skim off this scum and discard it. Also scrape the crust off the sides of the pan.
4. Try to keep the level of boiling sap between 1” to 3”, and where you have a sweet, light amber-colored liquid. Never let your boiling sap get below 1” deep.
5. Strain this hot (180-190º) concentrated sap with a paper filter as you move it to a clean jar or other sterile containers.
6. Place these containers in the refrigerator – or pack into the snow. (This will hold your sap until you are ready to finish the syrup.) Note – This concentrated sap is also delicious to drink hot or cold.
7. Wash the pan every day after use.
Haven't Tapped Yet?
This guide picks up once you've collected your sap. If you're starting from the tree, our tapping guide walks you through how to tap your own birch and gather sap at home.
EXPERT TIP:
It takes approximately 110 gallons of birch sap to make one gallon of birch syrup! Do not try to take this sap all the way to the syrup stage each day. There will not be enough sap left in the pan.
Birch Water
If you don’t want to take your sap all the way to syrup, you can make a delicious beverage by boiling it down to about 1/3 of it’s original volume. Follow the “Daily Steps” but stop when you get a gallon down to about 1/3 of a gallon.
At this point the sugar content will be about 3% and the sap will be slightly sweet and birchy with a beautiful light amber color. You can take it further if you want it sweeter! It is delicious cold and even carbonated – a natural birch soda! Drink it hot, or use it to brew your favorite tea. Steep it with chaga! It’s so versatile. You can also pour it hot into canning jars and seal. I have had it last over a year this way. Just be sure everything is sterile. Enjoy this gift from the birch trees!
We have four delicious flavors of fermented birch water produced by our sister company Hammers Family Birch available if you want to give this a taste. It is wild-harvested, high in minerals, and has no added sweetener.
End of Season: Making Birch Syrup
For these steps, you’ll need a candy thermometer, all your concentrated sap, and a pan or pot. Check out of the FAQ Section below for guidance on picking the right size pot.
1. At the end of the season, take all of your concentrated sap and put it into one pan or pot. Early season sap will have higher sugar content and produce a sweeter, lighter syrup with a little less fuel. You can separate it out to create different “grades” or “runs”. But it’s delicious at every stage!
2. Using your candy thermometer, start to boil your sap concentrate making sure to never let the liquid go below 2” deep. (Use a smaller pot if necessary).
3. When the thermometer reaches 220°, remove your pan from the heat. The boiling syrup will have very fine bubbles and may look like it wants to boil over. If it does start to boil up, add a small amount of butter or cooking oil to the pan to calm the boil. At this point, the syrup should be approximately 66% sugar. If it seems thin, boil a little further, but …
4. Boiling past this point should be done very carefully, as it can scorch easily. Do note, that hot syrup is very thin, so it will be hard to tell if it is the desired thickness until it cools.
5. You will need to filter your hot syrup before filling your final containers for storing. There is a natural build-up of bitter, gritty minerals in boiling sap. This grit is called niter sand. Use several layers of paper filters that are cut to the size of the strainer you use. A basket strainer (sieve) or even a wide mouth funnel will work.
6. When filling the containers with hot syrup make sure it’s at 180-190ºF. This will create a vacuum to seal and keep syrup for long-term storage.
And if you are curious to taste birch syrup before cooking your own, you can shop our organic Alaska pure birch syrup using the link below!
Birch Sap Boiling & Syrup Making FAQs
- From our experience, a large shallow pan or two is better than one big deep one. Although you can use a deep pan, it will take longer to evaporate the water off, which darkens the syrup.
- Do not use aluminum or cast iron pots or pans.
- Stainless steel or enamel pans are best.
When it comes time to take all your concentrated sap and turn it into syrup, you need to make sure you pick the right size pot. The size pot will all depend on how much-concentrated sap you have. You NEVER want the liquid to go below 2” deep. If you don’t have much-concentrated sap, you may need to use a smaller pot.
Hot syrup is very thin, so it will be hard to tell if it is the desired thickness until it cools. If you want the syrup thicker, you can heat it again to about 180° and stir constantly. Be aware that re-heating will darken your syrup. As long as steam is rising, you are eliminating more water. If available, you can use the Brix scale on a hydrometer or refractometer to check the density of the syrup.
If the sap has frozen in the pail, pour off what is still liquid and discard the ice. Nature has concentrated the sap for you! The sugars do not freeze and are suspended in the liquid. The ice is primarily water.
EXPERT'S TIP: If you have freezer space, you can partially freeze the sap on your own. It will save you fuel costs, time, and energy!
Delicious birch syrup can be made by setting the pan of sap on the wood stove and letting it slowly evaporate. It will certainly take longer, but you will not be consuming additional fuel, and your home will fill with the wonderfully sweet smell of birch syrup.
I don’t recommend doing this in large quantities indoors, and you might not want to do this if you have wallpaper.