Beyond maple syrup: Interest grows in tapping other trees
CONCORD, N.H. — Birch syrup? Beech? Walnut? Sycamore?
Maple trees — and the sap that flows through them — reign supreme for syrup-making in New England.
But with a record-warm winter, some maple syrup producers have seen a decline in their production this year. The season got underway earlier than usual in the southern part of the state, and there were several stretches when the temperature did not go below freezing, which maples need in order for their sap to flow.
So David Moore, a researcher and Ph.D. student at the University of New Hampshire, is drilling down to find what it takes to make syrup from sap from other trees.
Moore believes tapping other types of trees holds both economic and environmental promise for the region as it grapples with climate change.
“A bad maple year may not be a bad birch year,” he said. “From a farmer’s perspective, it’s kind of like diversifying your portfolio.”
And there’s an economic incentive: Birch syrup, for example, can sell for four to 10 times the price of maple syrup.
While scientists have a good understanding of sap flow in maples, Moore said little is known what causes it to flow in other types of trees. His work is focused on both the physiology of the trees and practical applications like best management practices, how to harvest the sap, and how to to boil sap down to syrup.
To create maple syrup, producers first need to harvest a lot of sap. They will often concentrate the sap through a process called reverse osmosis, which uses high pressure to reduce the sap’s water content. Then it’s boiled for several hours to evaporate more water, until the sugar content reaches the right level.
As he looks for maple alternatives, Moore weighs different factors like how much sap a tree produces and the sugar concentration in the sap. Plus, he has to consider taste, and whether there will be demand for a new product. Many maple alternatives yield less sap and have lower sugar content than maple, Moore said, which means there’s less supply, and raw syrup has to be boiled longer to make syrup. It takes about 35 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of syrup, but one needs about 130 gallons of sycamore sap to make the same amount, for example.
Steven Roberge, a forest specialist with the University of New Hampshire and a maple expert, called Moore’s work foundational. “He’s really looking at, like, which trees can you tap? Which trees can you extract syrup from? How do you boil that syrup?” Roberge said. “Because that’s all really unknown.”
While a few producers have been able to make alternative syrups, Roberge said, there’s been little research about sap flow, work he believes can help farmers decide whether to adapt new practices.
Before Moore started studying alternative syrups, he was farming them: he spent more than five years making and selling birch syrup on a farm in Durham. One year, he also made sycamore syrup.
He said people’s reactions varied wildly from those who were exclusively committed to maple, to those eager and excited about something different.
“One of our goals is to develop all these new flavors that consumers can be excited about,” Moore said.
That can benefit the environment by providing an economic incentive to protect forests.
Michael Farrell, who led Cornell University’s maple syrup research station for 13 years, is one maple farmer who saw an appealing business prospect in alternative syrups. In 2016, he founded New Leaf Tree Syrups, which he said is currently the only commercial producer of beech syrup in North America. The operation also produces maple syrup, in addition to birch and walnut.
“It was a great way to fully utilize the forest,” Farrell said, about working with four types of trees instead of just one.
He said he can use the same land and equipment he uses for maple to tap birch and beech. “It provides the incentive to keep a healthy, diverse forest,” he said.
When it comes to flavor, Farrell said birch syrup is the most distinct from maple: it’s more fruity, like molasses, and it’s more often used for cooking or to create a dressing or marinade.
Beech and walnut have a similar sugar profile to maple, said Farrell, noting that beech is carmelly, with notes of raisin or fig. Walnut, he said, is more nutty, with a butterscotch or honey flavor.
Farrell said while people look to maple syrup as a part of their typical grocery list, alternative syrups with a higher price tag are a more niche market, reserved for special gifts or a serious curiosity. Still, he said there’s been consistent demand for his products.
In northern Vermont and New York, Farrell said he’s had a good year for maple and alternative syrups. And he believes tapping diverse trees sets his operation up to be resilient in the face of climate change and other challenges. By tapping more trees, there’s less risk to producers if one species gets hit by pathogens or pests.
Farmers with smaller maple operations that are farther south have noted that their production is down this year.
Roberge, the forest resources specialist, noted that the warm weather brought on by El Nino and climate change pushed the season early in the southern part of the state, with sap starting to flow as early as December. He said climate change may shorten and shift when sugaring season occurs, but as long as there’s a winter, he believes the tradition will go on.
“I don’t think we will ever replace maple syrup,” he said.