One of the first ‘fruits’ of Spring is tree sap. In this part of the world it is mainly birch that can be tapped for it’s nutritious sap. It is slightly sweet due to the levels of natural zylitol in it. There is a noticeable amount of vitamins and mineral in the sap. So you can see why many cultures including, in the past, Scotland folk tapped trees for the sap at the start of Spring. A sweet and nutritious food source when there wasn’t much else around. This year I collected birch sap to put into a cocktail for Elsa’s bar at the Fife Arms, Braemar. You can easily ferment the sap to make a delicious wine or reduce it down for an amazing syrup. It takes a long time to reduce as and you need a 100 litres of sap to make 1 litre of syrup.
