drink the sap

[adrianl]

I was just up in shropshire doing some coppicing and took down some 15y old sycamore trees. I got about 3/4 of a mug full of sap out of each tree (from the felled tree rather that the root, the sap was already up) We all had a swig and no ill effects. Does anyone have any printed reference to this as to chemical composition or palletability? Is this a reliable thing to do with punters, and kids?

[Realgar]

It's perfectly safe, a very similar composition to maple syrup ( side from the dilution ) - and has been used to make syrup apparently. I've brewed with it before, and drunk it straight out of the tree
I must dig out my tapping kit.

Realgar

[Danceswithhelicopters]

I've read that birch sap is good and can be boiled down to a syrup. What is the favoured technique for getting at the sap? What does a tap kit look like?

[hootchi]

I think a tap kit is basicaly a hollow tube. A hole is made in the tree, slanting upwards, and the tube inserted. The sap then runs out.

That is what I can remember from 'Wild Food', but i don't have it now... :roll:

[shinobi]

Yup, that's more or less it. A hole is drilled into a large Birch about 1" slanting upwards.Place a tube the same diameter as the drill into the hole. Seal the tube and place a container underneath the tube.
don't forget to plug the hole afterwards to stop the tree "Bleeding." Don't take more than 1 gallon from each tree and don't take it when the tree is starting to leaf. The tree needs it most then.

Cheers,

Martin

[Realgar]

Yup, that's more or less it. A hole is drilled into a large Birch about 1" slanting upwards.Place a tube the same diameter as the drill into the hole. Seal the tube and place a container underneath the tube.
don't forget to plug the hole afterwards to stop the tree "Bleeding." Don't take more than 1 gallon from each tree and don't take it when the tree is starting to leaf. The tree needs it most then.

Cheers,

Martin

With permission I tried the slash method on a sycamore a while back - making a fairly deep long cut and pulling a strip of bark away. It doesn't give any more than a single tap.
the main skill these days in tapping seems to be making sure that none interferes with your kit, I always put a blob on the bottle top so I can at least tell if someones been *issing around with it - or indeed *issing in it.
Realgar

[bambodoggy]

I think you get them in most tent's nowadays but certainly in my triple hooped gortex bivvi I got a repair kit, in that kit was a few bits of the different material it was made of, a spare guyline and two 2" long aluminium 1/4" diametre hollow sleeves to slip over a broken pole and hold it back together...

So, if you use one of these by grinding one end down to form a point, a bit like sharpening bamboo you have a ready made tap....just use a lump of wood to knock it in with......

:biggthump