Native American Herbal, Plant Knowledge

Maple sugar

Only satisfies me

In the spring!

Anishnaabe song

The sweet birch called black birch or cherry birch and as shown

here, in Canada, the white birch (wigwasatig) can be tapped for

sap also. These trees run about a month later than maples. They

flow much more copiously, a gallon an hour is usual, but the sap

is only about half as sweet -- takes twice as much to boil down to

syrup and suger, and the run doesn't last as long.

The photo, taken sometime in the 1860's in Canada, shows a

woman collecting birch sap and a child drinking it. Fresh birch

sap tastes almost like cold water, just a hint of sweetness, with a

slightly minty, wintergreen taste (birch twigs are used to make non-synthetic wintergreen

flavoring). In late spring, birch sap could be a useful drink for a traveler in marshy areas,

where there was no pure water at hand. To make sugar of it, though, took twice as much

sap and twice as long to boil it down. Birch syrup (which is rather like molasses) and

sugar have no hint of the wintergreen flavor; it is volatile and is driven off by boiling.

Wintergreen-flavored tea is made from fresh spring twigs steeped (but not boiled) or from

under-bark scraped and carefully dried in the shade.

Birch bark comes in many different thicknesses, depending on the age of the tree, which

Winabozho gave to be a protection and benefit to the people, after it had saved him from

the thunderbirds (whose child the birch tree is). Thick bark for making canoes may be 6 -

9 layers thick. Thinner bark may be almost like tissue, but is very tough, and usable for

wrapping small packets. Birch bark lasts a very long time (especially if buried in earth).

Trays and oontainers in heavy use might last for 10 years or more, especially if repaired

with balsam gum (coatings of which reinforced twine sewings).

Birch bark has some unidentified biological property that lets it preserve foods stored in it,

for example gummy sugar in birch would keep for 2 years or more. Partially dried

vegetables, fruits, pressed cakes of berries, though not sterilized by boiling (as in

preserving or canning) all could be stored tightly wrapped in it for years. Though birch

bark is highly inflammable, freshly cut with its wet inner surface turned outward, it can be

made into a cookpot, where stews or soups are boiled without burning up the wet bark.

Winabozho made all the little short marks on the outside of birch bark, while hiding in the

"king log" from thunderbirds whose feathers he had stolen. But birch bark also contains

little pictures of these amiinkiig that can be seen very well on some special white birch

trees. Birches are always thanked with tobacco whnever any of their gifts are used.

All stages of maple sugaring were painted by Minnesota Red Lake Ojibwe

Patrick DesJarlait. See his and his son Robert's pictures, and read a little more

about sugaring; then return here with your GO-history button or BACK button

to read about wild rice.

Traditional Native Maple Sugar

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