What species of trees product edible sap and syrup?

Maple trees aren’t the only tree that produces a delicious sap every spring! Birch, walnut, beech, sycamore and basswood are some of the other species that can also be tapped for their sap and syrup.

Whereas birch and walnut sap flows freely, extracting the delicious sap from beech, sycamore and basswood requires sophisticated technology and practices that make this syrup extremely rare.

What is forest farming?

Forest farming is the purposeful and sustainable cultivation and gathering of specialty crops within a protected forest canopy.

Though our primary crops are the sap and syrup of various tree species, we also cultivate and sustainably gather a variety of forest treasures including ginseng, gourmet mushrooms, wild leeks, fiddleheads, and wild berries.

Farming the forest allows us to retain all of the benefits provided by natural woodlands while also generating delicious and nutritious food and beverages from the land.

What is maple water and birch water?

The liquid that flows through maple, birch, and other tree species every spring is most commonly referred to as sap, though when bottled up and sold as a beverage it will often be described as ‘maple water’ or ‘birch water’.

Indeed, it is primarily water that is naturally fortified with a wide range of minerals, polyphenols, and antioxidants. It also contains a small amount of sugar (<1% in birch and 2-3% in maple) that gives it a subtly sweet flavor.

We are a leading supplier of maple and birch sap to many beverage companies in the U.S.

Can I eat walnut syrup if I am allergic to walnuts or other tree nuts?

Yes.

The walnut trees that we collect sap from to boil down in to syrup also produce nuts that some people with a tree nut allergy would have an allergic reaction to if they ate the nuts.

However, walnut syrup has been found to contain no detectable walnut allergen, and that a pilot study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital found that patients who tested positive for walnut allergy by skin test had no reaction to skin testing with walnut syrup, nor to an oral challenge with walnut syrup.