The Feisty Forager: Sweet Birch
March Madness — Day 13
Sweet birch (Betula lenta), also known as black birch, cherry birch, mahogany birch, and spice birch, is a tree whose twigs can be broken — like spicebush — into inch-long segments and steeped into a delicate and evocative tea.
If you ever chewed Teaberry gum as a child, the flavor is reminiscent of this. Or if you’ve used wintergreen products to sooth aching muscles. The twigs can also serve as a substitute for a toothbrush, should you happen to find yourself in the woods without a toilet kit.
Birch sap can be distilled into a syrup reminiscent of maple syrup or molasses, but more subtle than either. Try using this in a Sazerac as a substitution for simple syrup. The melding with the bourbon, the lemon zest and Peychaud’s bitters will transport you to a better time than you have ever imagined.
This article is one of a month-long series of foraged treasures. For more recipes from the field and forest, check out Appalachian Appetite: Recipes from the Heart of America.
