# Botany question: Is the sugar maple unique? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226 "2013-11-19T02:21:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/1 "2013-11-19T02:21:08Z")
Okay, I’m pretty sure the sugar maple is not unique in the volume of sap it produces. But are there any other trees, the sap of which can be boiled down to make a tasty foodstuff? ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/2 "2013-11-19T02:38:49Z")
How about Birch beer or Birch syrup? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/3 "2013-11-19T02:49:09Z")
I don’t know; how about them? I had always been under the impression that the flavor of birch beer was derived from the bark (probably because I had grown up reading about birchbark canoes). And I’ve never heard of birch syrup. Please, do tell me more. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/4 "2013-11-19T02:50:49Z")
I would presume most tree sap contains plenty of sugar. Energy rich nutrient, i.e. sugar, needs to be transported from the leaves, where it is made, to other parts of the tree. That is largely what the sap is for. Other saps, though, may contain other stuff that does not taste good, or even that is unhealthy for humans. Also, sap from other tress will not contain whatever it is that makes maple syrup taste mapley, which humans happen to like. When it is just sugar we want, we have better (more productive and more readily harvested and purified) sources than tree sap, such as sugar cane and sugar beets. You could probably extract an edible sugary syrup from a lot of types of tree, but it is not generally worth the bother. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/5 "2013-11-19T03:17:11Z")
sugar maple, black maple, red maple, silver maple are all tapable. Box elder, a weedy tree in the maples, also saps. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/6 "2013-11-19T03:26:14Z")
Chicozapote is a tree in tropical rain forests. The resin is harvested by incisions in the bark. The resin is used in making chewing gum. At one time all chewing gum had this as a primary ingredient. Presently, a synthetic has replaced it. But, it is still harvested to make natural chewing gum. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/7 "2013-11-19T03:31:00Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Box elder, a weedy tree in the maples, also saps. I’ve tasted syrup from the box elder and it had a stronger maple taste. As it was told to me, the early settlers in Quebec used the sugar maple because they wanted the sweetness but a less obtrusive flavour for their sugar substitute. I also tasted a gob of sap oozing from a poplar tree once. It was bitter and terrible. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/8 "2013-11-19T03:44:30Z")
[Birch syrup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_syrup). It’s similar, but pricier due to more labor/quantity required to make it. I’ve eaten dried sap off of a redwood or some conifer. It was explained as a kid that certain Native Americans would chew it but I don’t know if that’s true. I’d imagine someone found a way to eat sap and get high… ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/9 "2013-11-19T03:51:48Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I don’t know; how about them? I had always been under the impression that the flavor of birch beer was derived from the bark (probably because I had grown up reading about birchbark canoes). And I’ve never heard of birch syrup. > > Please, do tell me more. No firsthand knowledge although I remember my grandfather mentioning it, but he only made maple syrup as his winter “cash crop”. > **[Birch sap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_sap)** > > Birch sap, birch water or birch juice is the sap directly tapped from birch trees, Betula pubescens (white birch), Betula pendula (silver birch), Betula lenta, Betula papyrifera, and Betula fontinalis. > Birch sap may be consumed both fresh and naturally fermented. When fresh, it is a clear and colourless liquid, often slightly sweet with a slightly silky texture. After two to three days, the sap starts fermenting and the taste becomes more acidic. > Birch sap is a traditional beverage in boreal ... ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/10 "2013-11-19T03:52:36Z")
Retsina is wine made with pine resin that is typically local Greek wine. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retsina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retsina) Tasty? That depends if you like Greek wines. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/11 "2013-11-19T04:00:54Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I’ve eaten dried sap off of a redwood or some conifer. It was explained as a kid that certain Native Americans would chew it but I don’t know if that’s true. That was probably [sugar pine](http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/sugar_pine/). ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/12 "2013-11-19T04:04:28Z")
The other factor, besides taste, is that the sap from sugar maples has a much greater concentration of sugar to water (1-40) than others trees, such as birch (1-100). Some other possible trees are even lower. What people don’t realize is the volume required. The desired ratio fro syrup is approx. 67% or 2-1. That’s alot of sap to collect, not to mention the time, and energy it would take to boil off all that water. Could you do it? Sure but it is a long and difficult process even with maple sap, ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/13 "2013-11-19T05:01:21Z")
My father tapped maples and we had fresh maple syrup every year. My cousins decided they wanted to try it so they tapped some trees on their property and collected the sap and started boiling it. But the sap just kept boiling away and they never got any syrup. So they asked my father to come check on what they were doing. So my father went and looked all over their operation and then told them, _“There’s a lot of things that can cause problems when you’re making maple syrup. You could tap too high or too low on the tree. You could tap too early or too late in the season. You could be boiling too much or too little sap. You could be cooking at too high or too low a temperature. But in your case, the problem is you’re using oak trees.”_ ---
**Author:** ![kezami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb8c5e/32.png) [@kezami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kezami)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/14 "2013-11-19T05:37:31Z")
When I was in Thailand last February I was taken to a demonstration of the making of coconut sugar which is made from the sap of the cut flower bud. They boiled it down and poured it into a mold, the shape of a small cookie. It was quite flavorful and reminded me of brown sugar. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/15 "2013-11-19T09:41:52Z")
There’s [palm sugar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_sugar) as well (different from coconut sugar). ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/16 "2013-11-19T10:49:28Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I had always been under the impression that the flavor of birch beer was derived from the bark (probably because I had grown up reading about birchbark canoes). And I’ve never heard of birch syrup. > Please, do tell me more. Most nations around the Baltic (Russia, Finland, the Baltic countries, Sweden etc.) share an ancient tradition of using birch sap. Birch sap is anatomically and chemically similar to maple sap, ie. mostly water, with tasty sugars and some trace nutrients and enzymes thrown in, and has nothing to do with birch bark. Birch sap was traditionally consumed fresh as a springtime beverage (a single birch tree in season can yield several liters of sap per day), but also fermented and used as an ingredient in mild alcoholic drinks, as well as turned into syrup. It is still collected and sold at a high price, with health claims central in the marketing. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/17 "2013-11-19T14:59:49Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Most nations around the Baltic (Russia, Finland, the Baltic countries, Sweden etc.) share an ancient tradition of using birch sap. Birch sap is anatomically and chemically similar to maple sap, ie. mostly water, with tasty sugars and some trace nutrients and enzymes thrown in, and has nothing to do with birch bark. I think it contains a different sugar to maple sap - making it harder to boil down to syrup without burning it. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/18 "2013-11-19T16:12:00Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I would presume most tree sap contains plenty of sugar. Energy rich nutrient, i.e. sugar, needs to be transported from the leaves, where it is made, to other parts of the tree. That is largely what the sap is for. The sap used to make maple syrup rises from the roots up to the leaves. It’s a part of how the tree becomes leafy again after winter. This sap has extra sugar and only runs for a short time. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/19 "2013-11-19T16:24:04Z")
The [Butternut](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butternut_tree) tree, or _Juglans cinerea_ can apparently be tapped for sap, although most references I’ve found are for using it as a tonic, not boiling down for syrup or sugar. I have a couple on my property, maybe I’ll try it this spring. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226/20 "2013-11-19T16:53:36Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > The sap used to make maple syrup rises from the roots up to the leaves. It’s a part of how the tree becomes leafy again after winter. This sap has extra sugar and only runs for a short time. Does the tapping of this surge of sap, which deprives the leaves of the nutrients, have a noticeable effect on the number or quality of leaves produced during the subsequent season? Also, aren’t the leaves instrumental in the creation of the following spring’s sap supply? Is there a best-practice among maple-sugar-ranchers to give some of their trees a year off to prevent deterioration of the grove’s ability to produce a quality yield? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botany-question-is-the-sugar-maple-unique/674226.md?page=2)