Savoury sap Saturday December 15, 2007 Home Return to       In the News Savoury sap Maple rules, but birch is rarer Jennifer Campbell, Citizen Special Published: Saturday, December 15, 2007 Canada's maple syrup -- so ubiquitous it's practically a national symbol -- is getting a run for its money by a more savoury, and considerably more rare, cousin. Birch syrup, lauded by gastronomes across the Yukon, Alaska and parts of northern Quebec and Ontario, has finally made it to Ottawa. Boreal Birch Syrup, a Thunder Bay company, is now selling its dark brown nectar at La Bottega Nicastro in the ByWard Market. Dave Challen, who makes the syrup with his partner Beth Kuiper, says it is well received by food snobs because it's, well, different. It's also more savoury than maple syrup and has a bolder flavour. The husband-wife team learned how to make birch syrup when they spent six weeks visiting a friend in Dawson City, Yukon. "He was the only one in the Yukon at the time" making the syrup, Challen says. "We thought it was fun and thought we'd like to start doing it back at home." Challen and Kuiper secured a land-use permit from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to use 65 acres of crown land north of Thunder Bay. They started tapping trees in spring 2006. They follow guidelines from the Alaska Birch Syrup Makers Association, thereby ensuring the sustainability of their birch stand. Birch syrup's exclusivity comes from the sheer volume of raw material required to produce it. Producers need between 80 and 100 litres of sap to make one litre of syrup. By comparison, to make a litre of maple syrup, you need between 20 and 40 litres of sap. "So that translates to more work in every way," Challen says. It also differs from maple syrup in that it contains fructose, not sucrose. The fructose, combined with the longer cooking time, explains birch syrup's savoury flavour. There is only a handful of birch syrup producers in Canada, and that's why one cup retails for $25 at La Bottega -- and there's not much of a markup on that. One litre at wholesale prices will set you back $80. "It's pricey, but it's incredible," says Pat Nicastro, owner of La Bottega, who started carrying the syrup in November. While some aficionados like to use it on pancakes and ice cream, it's also perfect for restaurants that want something a little different on the menu. Wilfrid's restaurant in the Fairmont Château Laurier tries to use as many local -- or Canadian -- ingredients as possible, and birch syrup fits that bill. Chef Mark Steele uses it to caramelize squash, which he roasts and then purées into a soup. "It gives the soup a deep, rich flavour," says Steele. "We incorporate it in different dishes." Recently, he used it to glaze steelhead trout for the catch-of-the-day special. "It's very nice, very Canadian and it works well with what we try to do," says the native Newfoundlander, who grew up in Prince Edward Island and moved to Ottawa last year. Steve Mitton, the chef at Social restaurant + lounge on Sussex Drive, orders birch syrup from a Quebec company called Gourmet Sauvages, which also sells such wonders as balsam fir jellies and pickled milkweed pods. He has used birch syrup to "sweeten up" just about any dish. "I've glazed salmon, cod and Cornish hen with it." What Mitton likes most about birch syrup is the dark colour it imparts. He's used it to "stain" tuna, for example, in place of soy sauce. "It's more like a molasses (than maple syrup). It's slightly more bitter. I like the flavour, but mostly it's the colour that attracts me." Birch bark has known medicinal benefits (it contains an acid used to fight melanoma, for example), but Serge Lavoie, a research assistant who analyses essential oils at the Université du Québec's Lasève laboratory in Chicoutimi, says the sap doesn't appear to contain the same acid. But birch sap still has some special qualities: It can be used to make beer and wine. The jury's out on the taste; the LCBO doesn't carry either product, although the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission got on board two years ago with birch wine. It's been described as a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.