# alder syrup?



## northmanlogging (Nov 29, 2012)

Got a crazy idea I've been thinking on for awhile now... tapping an alder tree and cooking it down to make syrup just like with maples but different. I have heard that alder is potentially a severe laxative, and possibly poisoness? but have no Ideer as to the truth of these claims...

I probably should have posted this on a different forum but I trust most of the regulars here... I don't know why... any way thanks for whatever info you've got.


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## H 2 H (Nov 30, 2012)

Are you thinking of a Cascara Tree ?

I know they use dried Cascara bark for a laxative my family use to collect Cascara bark and dry it all the time and sale it and get our school cloths with the money we made when I was a kid 

Here is the knife I used


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## OlympicYJ (Nov 30, 2012)

I never heard of a feller usin alder for syrup or it bein a laxative or poisenous. I'd figure out if it was poisenous or not before I'd eat any. I'd risk the runs lol

H2H a horse shoeing knife with a broke off tip works pretty well with some modification. I should find some pics of a big one I peeled over th summer. had bark about 3/8" thick!


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## Humptulips (Nov 30, 2012)

Ever tasted alder sap? It is loaded with tannic acid, very bitter and not good! Not much sugar either.
Even the soft maples we have in the NW have so little sugar in the sap it would take an insane amout of sap boiled down to get syrup.


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## russhd1997 (Nov 30, 2012)

Humptulips said:


> Ever tasted alder sap? It is loaded with tannic acid, very bitter and not good! Not much sugar either.
> Even the soft maples we have in the NW have so little sugar in the sap it would take an insane amout of sap boiled down to get syrup.



The same is true here. Red maple sap has about 1/2% to 1% less sugar than a sugar maple. Red maples don't produce as much sap as a sugar maple either. Some of them won't run at all! That being said I have about 800 taps here and about 700 of those are red maples. I cheat though. I use vacuum to get the sap out of the trees and a reverse osmosis machine to get the water out of the sap. The end result is some great tasting but darker syrup.


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## Cedarkerf (Nov 30, 2012)

I agree with previous posts alwful bitter. Ive eaten plenty of chips and never thought of eatin it on purpose


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## slowp (Nov 30, 2012)

Darn! I was envisioning another Old Riggin' Pants product.

The Ojibway (sorry if I trashed the spelling) People said that it was bad to boil syrup at night. Bad spirits would ruin it. My former boss was doing just that, had a bit too much good spirits to drink, fell asleep and burned and warped the pan. He said the Ojibway knew what they were talking about. :msp_smile:

Dat was in Wisconsin, ver some people make syrup.


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## northmanlogging (Nov 30, 2012)

didn't count on the tannins, guess the only way to find out is to tap one and see, I just kinda like the smell while cutting it.

As far as old riggin pants... dirty spenders ale, a drop of bar oil in every glass


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## J.Walker (Nov 30, 2012)

Black Walnut works good for syrup.
Is there Walnut in the PNW?


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## Joe46 (Nov 30, 2012)

J.Walker said:


> Black Walnut works good for syrup.
> Is there Walnut in the PNW?



Nope. No Walnut, Black or otherwise. People have planted it however. Black Locust has become naturalized, more so on the east side of the state.


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## RandyMac (Nov 30, 2012)

Condensed Alder sap would make a good rust colored dye.


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## slowp (Nov 30, 2012)

Alder will dye clothing uncondensed. I debarked a few little trees in May for trellis building. It washed off my hands, eventually.


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## H 2 H (Nov 30, 2012)

Joe46 said:


> Nope. No Walnut, Black or otherwise. People have planted it however. Black Locust has become naturalized, more so on the east side of the state.



I don't know what type of Locust it is but northeast of Mt Vernon there is plenty of it in the Clear Lake area


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