Birch sap

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Birch sap is the sap extracted from a birch tree, for example a Sweet Birch or a Silver Birch. The sap is often a slightly sweet, watery liquid.

Depending on the type of birch, the sap must be collected during a specific time in the summer. The collected sap can be drunk as a tonic, or can be combined with something to make food or drinks (birch beer).

Concentrated birch sap is used to make birch syrup, a very expensive type of syrup mainly made from Paper Birch in Alaska, and from several species in Russia. In Russia this tonic is used as a traditional herbal medicine functioning as anticeptic, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-itching treatment.

Other uses for the sap include the creation of vinegar.

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