Walnut and Birch Syrup

I don't have any on my property, but there is actually a brief article in this months Acres USA about people tapping black walnut trees and ending up with syrup that taste tested as good as maple. I looked online and apparently you can also tap birch trees, but the syrup has more of a molasses tinge. Maybe this will be useful to those in the North East.

Here is a similar themed article about the research being done by Cornell. The Farrell guy has written book called 'The Sugarmaker's Companion' to anyone interested.



Farrell said that although maple syrup is the most popularly harvested variety of syrup, walnut and birch trees should also be viewed as valuable sources of sap and syrup. The Cornell researchers said they hope to show that walnut and birch trees are more valuable for syrup tapping than for use as lumber.

Farrell describes birch syrup as having an intense, fruity, molasses-like flavor, which can sell for $300 a gallon or more to chefs. Though walnut trees yield less sap than maples, according to Farrell, the syrup produced by walnut trees has a distinct, nutty taste.

"Walnut syrup has a delicious flavor that is similar to maple, and some people think it's even better. It's a unique product that's hard to find, but I've seen a surge in interest in producing [it]," Farrell said
http://cornellsun.com/blog/2013/03/14/researchers-to-tap-birch-walnut-trees-to-produce-syrup/

Time to go get a few other taps...

And box elder is tappable. Maybe even a premium product. I found this forum thread on mapletrader.com for anyone who wants to know more. Lawyer Nursery has Box Elder on its list of fast growing trees.

Does anyone know if you do anything different for tapping black walnut trees? I have at lease a dozen and if I could produce enough syrup for my family that would be awesome.

I don't know about the specifics. The article is pretty brief, but mentions that it's still being researched and is kinda new to most.

Maybe some extra research to see what out there on the net would provide more info on the specifics.

Hey all. Just wanted to throw my experience in the mix. I tapped just over 30 walnut trees at my place this year as an experiment. The comment above about not getting the sap volumes of maples is COMPLETELY correct. Now considering that we have had a crazy end of winter season here in central indiana, who knows if that had anything to do with sap volumes but I know for sure that the maple sap flowed really well. I Had somewhere around 75 gallons of sap which ended me up with almost 2 gallons of syrup. I was new to making syrup and it tasted different each time I cooked it. Each attempt came out very good except for when I overcooked it. Now that I have the cooking part down, next year will be more consistent I believe.

I would love to get more input from others on the walnut syrup!

Spencer Davis wrote:Hey all. Just wanted to throw my experience in the mix. I tapped just over 30 walnut trees at my place this year as an experiment. The comment above about not getting the sap volumes of maples is COMPLETELY correct. Now considering that we have had a crazy end of winter season here in central indiana, who knows if that had anything to do with sap volumes but I know for sure that the maple sap flowed really well. I Had somewhere around 75 gallons of sap which ended me up with almost 2 gallons of syrup. I was new to making syrup and it tasted different each time I cooked it. Each attempt came out very good except for when I overcooked it. Now that I have the cooking part down, next year will be more consistent I believe.

I would love to get more input from others on the walnut syrup!

Hi Spencer,

How many gallons of walnut did you get?

I tapped a sycamore for 1/3 a gallon - I got about an ounce or two of syrup - and it tasted almost like a cotton candy. Very interesting.

My red maple yielded maybe 3-4 oz off about 2 gallons. There was a lot of fire taste to it due to my completely messy set up.

I'm interested in the walnut syrup!

I couldn't get my birch to run.

I found tis site. I have a few blackwalnut trees and some huge sycamores...hmmm.

http://homestead-honey.com/2014/03/10/beyond-maple-syrup-tapping-black-walnut-trees/

George: like I mentioned above, I got about 75 gal of sap which boiled down to about 2gal of syrup. Is that what you were asking? Sorry I was confused...

Oh OK, I wasn't sure if you meant maple syrup by the way I read it.

A 30 or 40 to 1 ratio isn't too bad where sap is concerned, so your walnuts did well!

I tap a few of our birches every year. We just drink the water as a nice spring tonic; boiling it down is quite a process. It tastes great right out of the tree, sort of a slightly sweet mineral water. Delicious!

We make birch syrup some years...quite different from maple, and an acquired taste for most. I like it.

Where's my drill.......