# Survival > Foraging & Wild Edibles >  Wild Syrups.

## wildlearner

Ok so I have been looking at how to make syrups from wild edibles and found out about 2 types one is prickly pear syrup which is supposedly really good. And then the other which I can't find much about is hickory syrup and was wondering if any of you guys/girls know anything about it, or know how to make it. Or if you have another type of syrup that is really good.

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## randyt

There is also maple syrup and birch syrup, made from sap boiled down.

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## hunter63

Have made sorghum syrup.....crushing it up......Looks kinda like corn or maize
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum

Used an old wringer to press out the syrup, was really messy and sticky....but tasted pretty good, (was green and had "stuff" in it...LOL)

Maple syrup is made around here...I haven't made any my self.

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## crashdive123

Wild blueberries too.

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## crashdive123

One of our members does a lot with prickly pear fruit.  http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...kly+pear+syrup

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## wildlearner

sadly maple that is not poison does not grow around here so I cant make edible syrup from them.

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## Rick

If you do prickly pear beware the spines. I have called those tiny buggers just about every name imaginable. And seriously meant a good number of them.

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## aktrekker

Never heard of a poisonous maple. Some technically not edible, but not poisonous. I'll have to look into that.

You can make syrup from rose hips. Clean them well and be sure to remove the seeds.

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## mountainmark

I have made syrup from Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Striped Maple, Box Elder, Butternut, White Birch, Yellow Birch, and Black Birch. I have heard that a good syrup can be made from Black Walnut, Basswood and some Poplars. If any of these sound like trees you have, let me know and I'll provide some details.

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## hunter63

> I have made syrup from Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Striped Maple, Box Elder, Butternut, White Birch, Yellow Birch, and Black Birch. I have heard that a good syrup can be made from Black Walnut, Basswood and some Poplars. If any of these sound like trees you have, let me know and I'll provide some details.


How about aspens?

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## mountainmark

> How about aspens?


Poplars are an Aspen I believe, AKA Cottonwood (closely related to willows). I tried tapping one by my house last year and came up dry. I think it was Populus deltoids. But I'm wondering if I should have tapped it earlier. I tapped it late when I tapped the birch trees. I may have missed the run. It's a hard one to find info on though my googlefoo may be weak. I have heard it can be done. Wish I could provide more on that. I would be very interested in any info on tapping Salicaceae.

*edit: I have info on the trees I HAVE tapped, not the latter ones on the list  :Wink:

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## wildlearner

I think the only trees around that I know of around here are aspens, and every once and a while I see a yellow birch.

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## randyt

Something jarred a memory so I did a search and came up with this.

http://www.henriettes-herb.com/blog/...lag-syrup.html

not really a edible as much as a herbal remedy.

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## mountainmark

> I think the only trees around that I know of around here are aspens, and every once and a while I see a yellow birch.


Well, I'll tell you that yellow birch has about 1/2 of 1% Sugar content. As where maple contains about 2-3% sugar. This means a lot more evaporation has to occur. Furthermore, birches start their sap run about the time the maples stop, so it is warmer out. I usually don't have a fire going at that point in the spring, but in TEOTWAWKI I likely will. I prefer to use passive heat when evaporating, it is just more efficient (if you are small scale like myself). Most (if not all) Birch syrup producers use a reverse osmosis machine to speed up the process. Be sure to use plastic or stainless pails (for collecting) as the traditional galvanized buckets for maple will give an "off" flavor to your end product. When you reach a more concentrated form of the sap it would be a good idea to reduce your temp as  fructose burns at a lower temperature than sucrose (birch contains fructose, maple contains sucrose). The end product tastes a lot like molasses. Though Yellow Birch contains wintergreen oils that can be tasted by chewing on the twigs, this will not come through in you syrup. If you want that you will have to boil the fresh cut twigs in with the sap.

For a wealth of info check out http://mapletrader.com/community/ 

I hope it's ok to post a link to another forum that is not survival related. If not feel free to remove.

There are folks on there who tap birches professionally and know far more than me. And they are a generally friendly group  :Wink: 

*edit: Birch trees are not quick healers like maples. You should plug the hole with a short piece of dowel after removing the taps to reduce the risk of infection and stop further sap loss.

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## mountainmark

BTW- Birch syrup sells for about $400 per Gallon in some locations.....

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## wildlearner

thx for the info

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## sjj

Update - I'm not going to take any chances with mold.

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## crashdive123

> I know that honey will store for a very long time, and if it hardens, it can be slowly heated to again become a liquid.  Does anyone know for any certainty if syrups can be stored long term, and if so, which are best?


It is my understanding that sugary syrups will store indefinitely, but may develop (if opened) surface mold.  Like cheese, remove the mold and the rest is fine.

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## randyt

When I make maple syrup it is vacuum packed in jars.

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## sjj

Thanks folks.

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## hunter63

I can recall have jelly and jams that were made with paraffin seal tops on the jars...make the jelly, pour hot wax on it to seal.

...and of course some times you had a crack, and mold on it, and yeah, just scope it off and away ya go.....

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## towelie

you mentioned prickly pear; I happen to have recently had the opportunity (last fall) to taste a bit of their fruit near shenandoah NP in Virginia. I know it is a cactus and all, but the prickly pear actually grows a lot of different places, as far north as southern Michigan. I digress: The fruit is usually a purple-ish red-ish color and I have no clue what pattern of seasons or whatnot it blooms in, but it tastes amazing and is essentially a skin around a sticky, syrup-like mushy substance containing the cactus' seeds. It could be made into a syrup I would guess by simply removing any thorns (very important!), cutting them open, removing and collecting their guts in a small pot, removing the seeds, mashing whats left into a pulp and boiling it until enough water has evaporated that you can call it a syrup. Simple. I need to try that myself...

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## wildlearner

> you mentioned prickly pear; I happen to have recently had the opportunity (last fall) to taste a bit of their fruit near shenandoah NP in Virginia. I know it is a cactus and all, but the prickly pear actually grows a lot of different places, as far north as southern Michigan. I digress: The fruit is usually a purple-ish red-ish color and I have no clue what pattern of seasons or whatnot it blooms in, but it tastes amazing and is essentially a skin around a sticky, syrup-like mushy substance containing the cactus' seeds. It could be made into a syrup I would guess by simply removing any thorns (very important!), cutting them open, removing and collecting their guts in a small pot, removing the seeds, mashing whats left into a pulp and boiling it until enough water has evaporated that you can call it a syrup. Simple. I need to try that myself...


thanks I am going to try to do that this year when I finally get around to harvesting the fruit

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## Awanita

Wild syrup Hickory Bark syrup

Gather your bark, was and get all debris of your bark. (Shaggy bark Hickory)

Now there is two ways to do your bark. Some rinse the bark and then put in a flat pan and roast it just a little to get the hickory smoke flavor before boiling and some just boil it.

Take scrub brush and scrub debris and try to get as much of the lechins off

Cover with water bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes

strain off the hickory tea into heating pan

Add 1 1/2 amount of surgar more than tea. 1/2 gallon takes 12 cups of sugar

put syrup on to boil till the thickness you want. 

put into jars and seal, bath boil for 10 minutes.

That is the way we do it on the Equa Vdali. LOL

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## randyt

when I was a wee lad, we had dandelion honey made in the kitchen from dandelion flower. Not really a sirup per say but close.

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## wildlearner

> Wild syrup Hickory Bark syrup
> 
> Gather your bark, was and get all debris of your bark. (Shaggy bark Hickory)
> 
> Now there is two ways to do your bark. Some rinse the bark and then put in a flat pan and roast it just a little to get the hickory smoke flavor before boiling and some just boil it.
> 
> Take scrub brush and scrub debris and try to get as much of the lechins off
> 
> Cover with water bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes
> ...





> when I was a wee lad, we had dandelion honey made in the kitchen from dandelion flower. Not really a sirup per say but close.


Okay thanks to both of you.  :Smile:

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## Adventure Wolf

Down south in Mississippi and Louisiana, I've come across wild sugar cane.

Simple way of explaining syrup from sugar cane: Cut the cane into chunks, and boil it for about an hour and half until the sugar cane turns completely brown. Strain out the sugar cane chunks, and boil it down until the liquid thickens. This process takes some time, but it's usually worth it.

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## wildlearner

> Down south in Mississippi and Louisiana, I've come across wild sugar cane.
> 
> Simple way of explaining syrup from sugar cane: Cut the cane into chunks, and boil it for about an hour and half until the sugar cane turns completely brown. Strain out the sugar cane chunks, and boil it down until the liquid thickens. This process takes some time, but it's usually worth it.


Sounds like the same process used in maple. It also sounds delicious! XD

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## TXyakr

As a child in Brazil I occasionally purchased cups of cane juice freshly squeezed by vendors with hand crank machines for this purpose at vacation areas (swimming pools and beach etc). It was less fibrous than just chewing a cut piece of sugar cane. I also grew sugar cane in my yard but it quickly became infested with stinging ants, not worth the trouble. Buying dry molasses blocks from street vendors and sucking it like candy was another way of eating it.
Theoretically you can make sugar syrup from sugar beets but from what I read the extra salts and minerals make it taste bad and are difficult to separate out.
I would really like to be able to make Agave syrup, Aloe Vera blooms may also work. Probably some YT video showing how.

Edit: OMG searched YT all this Agave and raw sugar makes you fat! No kidding! Common Sense, small amounts of sugar in foods, not by the cup full on a regular, daily routine. I.e. hike 10-30 miles a day, a teaspoon on your breakfast cereal might be OK.

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## hunter63

....So there I was....watching the Legend of Mick Dodge.....
http://channel.nationalgeographic.co...of-mick-dodge/

In this episode he decides to tap a sugar maple for syrup.........

So first goes to a friend to make him a rope ladder to go up a high cliff......then reach into stump and pick out maple syrup tools, (in new burlap).......then taps a tree.....and fills his syrup jug......suck the tap spout a bit.....has a pan full of fiddle heads w/syrup.......

I'm thinking that maybe they kinda skipped a couple of steps........WHOLE LOT more to it than that.

Oh yeah, a TV crew guy turns his ankle so the go a different way down....no rope ladder....

Nothing to it....just head out in the forest and find a tree, and stump full of tools and go for it.

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## Zack

A relative of mine works at a nature center where they have an enormous maple syrup collection every year.  I'll try to get up to the 2015 one.  I don't know if you want to count it or not, but there is honey.

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## TXyakr

Yes Zack I consider honey to be a syrup processed by bees that originates from plant blooms. It has many other useful properties besides just tasting good. My kids prefer corn syrup artificially flavored to taste vaguely like maple syrup over the real thing, OMG!! I have been a very bad parent allowing my wife to save a few buck on the grocery bill all these years.

Hunter, I also found that "Legend of Mick Dodge" episode funny. First season it seemed that cameras were observing his somewhat normal everyday behavior. But then the TV producers always figure out that wilderness living/survival is very boring so they try to spice it up. It becomes less real. I heard Cody Lundin or someone else once say that 99% of wilderness survival is very boring. It is also a lot of hard work. Go video record some construction workers building a house, after a few days they will start doing all sorts of silly things just to entertain your "film crew". Human nature.

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## wildlearner

> Yes Zack I consider honey to be a syrup processed by bees that originates from plant blooms. It has many other useful properties besides just tasting good. My kids prefer corn syrup artificially flavored to taste vaguely like maple syrup over the real thing, OMG!! I have been a very bad parent allowing my wife to save a few buck on the grocery bill all these years.
> 
> Hunter, I also found that "Legend of Mick Dodge" episode funny. First season it seemed that cameras were observing his somewhat normal everyday behavior. But then the TV producers always figure out that wilderness living/survival is very boring so they try to spice it up. It becomes less real. I heard Cody Lundin or someone else once say that 99% of wilderness survival is very boring. It is also a lot of hard work. Go video record some construction workers building a house, after a few days they will start doing all sorts of silly things just to entertain your "film crew". Human nature.


Lol ya survival isn't enough for TV. :P

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## Batch

> As a child in Brazil I occasionally purchased cups of cane juice freshly squeezed by vendors with hand crank machines for this purpose at vacation areas (swimming pools and beach etc). It was less fibrous than just chewing a cut piece of sugar cane. I also grew sugar cane in my yard but it quickly became infested with stinging ants, not worth the trouble. Buying dry molasses blocks from street vendors and sucking it like candy was another way of eating it.
> Theoretically you can make sugar syrup from sugar beets but from what I read the extra salts and minerals make it taste bad and are difficult to separate out.
> I would really like to be able to make Agave syrup, Aloe Vera blooms may also work. Probably some YT video showing how.
> 
> Edit: OMG searched YT all this Agave and raw sugar makes you fat! No kidding! Common Sense, small amounts of sugar in foods, not by the cup full on a regular, daily routine. I.e. hike 10-30 miles a day, a teaspoon on your breakfast cereal might be OK.


I have had the cane juice fresh squeezed also. Tasted very grassy to me. Lots of islanders swear by it as a healthy drink. I can't remember what they said it was good for exactly. We gnawed on sugar cane when we were kids also.

We have a lot of sugar cane in South Florida.

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## wildlearner

> I have had the cane juice fresh squeezed also. Tasted very grassy to me. Lots of islanders swear by it as a healthy drink. I can't remember what they said it was good for exactly. We gnawed on sugar cane when we were kids also.
> 
> We have a lot of sugar cane in South Florida.


 Sadly it's to dry in Colorado for those. But we do have sugar beats.

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## TXyakr

> Sadly it's to dry in Colorado for those. But we do have sugar beats.


Unfortunately sugar beats are an overlooked food but like many root crops they are great for camping and can be kept for several days with no refrigeration thus a good one for backpacking, canoe, horseback, ATV etc camping.

Sugar beats can be eaten raw, roasted, boiled, steamed, sautéed, dehydrated and even made into chips.

Or you could just squeeze them use the syrup on your flapjacks and feed the pulp to your horse.

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## Rick

Great. Now I have to buy a horse. It never ends I tell ya......Hey, honey...........

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## TXyakr

> Great. Now I have to buy a horse. It never ends I tell ya......Hey, honey...........


Funny. At one time and probably still there were more horses and horse owners in California than in Texas. I spent my Kindergarten year in Norco, CA which was a real "horse town" impossible to ride a bike or walk a straight line due to all the "road biscuits". Then many years later, lived a few months in another horse town: Yorba Linda (birth place of Pres. Nixon, God bless his disturbed soul). My butt has been bruised by many an hour on a horse and even water buffalo, not my preferred mode of transportation, but similar beasts can pack a lot of stuff especially for hunting trips in difficult terrain. Or if your maple groves are in remote areas, just day dreaming a bit. I have never tapped maple.

It is just too hot in TX for horses much of the year and most species of maple trees. But I do have a Caddo Maple tree in my backyard, and there are some Big Tooth Maple trees at Lost Maples State Natural Area, I have hiked there but none of these are good for syrup as far as I know.

Edit: horse hooves may be good for glue but not syrup… OH I shouldn't have gone there!
I hear the French are no longer receiving shipments of their favorite protein from CA. OH NO!!!
Je ne suis plus affamé

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## Enigma

AUSTRAILIAN GUM, imported from South Australia, is in elongated or globular pieces, rough and even wrinkled on the surface and of a violet tint, which distinguishes it from other varieties. It is not entirely soluble in water, to which it imparts less viscidity than ordinary Gum Acacia. It frequently contains tannin.

Gum Acacia for medicinal purposes should be in roundish 'tears' of various sizes, colourless or pale yellow, or broken into angular fragments with a glass-like, sometimes iridescent fracture, often opaque from numerous fissures, but transparent and nearly colourless in thin pieces; taste insipid, mucilaginous; nearly inodorous. It should be almost entirely soluble in water, forming a viscid neutral solution, or mucilage, which, when evaporated, yields the gum unchanged. It is insoluble in alcohol and ether, but soluble in diluted alcohol in proportion to the amount of water present. It should be slowly but completely soluble in two parts of water: this solution shows an acid reaction with litmuspaper. The powdered gum is not coloured blue (indicating absence of starch) or red (indicating absence of dextrin) by the iodine test solution. It should not yield more than 4 per cent of ash.

---Adulteration---Adulteration in the crude state is confined almost wholly to the addition of similar and inferior gums, the detection of which requires only familiarity with the genuine article.

In the ground condition it is adulterated oftenest with starch and dextrins, tests for which are given in the official description. Tannin is present in inferior gums and can be detected by the bluish-black coloration produced on adding ferric chloride. Gums of a yellow or brown colour usually contain tannin, and these, together with such as are incompletely soluble in water and which yield ropy or glairy solutions, should not be used for medicinal purposes.

---Chemical Constituents---Gum Acacia consists principally of Arabin, a compound of Arabic acid with calcium, varying amounts of the magnesium and potassium salts of the same acid being present. It is believed, also, that small amounts of other salts of these bases occur. (Arabic acid can be obtained by precipitating with alcohol from a solution of Acacia acidulated with hydrochloric acid.) The gum also contains 12 to 17 per cent of moisture and a trace of sugar, and yields 2.7 to 4 per cent of ash, consisting almost entirely of calcium, magnesium and potassium carbonates.

---Medicinal Action and Uses---Gum Acacia is a demulcent and serves by the viscidity of its solution to cover and sheathe inflamed surfaces.

It is usually administered in the form of a mucilage - Mucilago Acaciae, British Pharmacopoeia and United States Pharmacopoeia made from small pieces of Gum Acacia dissolved in water and strained (1 in 8.75).

---Dose---in syrup, 1 to 4 drachms of the gum. Mucilage of Acacia is a nearly transparent, colourless or scarcely yellowish, viscid liquid, having a faint, rather agreeable odour and an insipid taste. It is employed as a soothing agent in inflammatory conditions of the respiratory, digestive and urinary tract, and is useful in diarrhoea and dysentery. It exerts a soothing influence upon all the surfaces with which it comes in contact. It may be diluted and flavoured to suit the taste. In low stages of typhoid fever, this mucilage, sweetened, is greatly recommended. The ordinary dose of the mucilage is from 1 to 4 fluid drachms.

In dispensing, Mucilage of Acacia is used for suspending insoluble powders in mixtures, for emulsifying oils and other liquids which are not miscible with water, and as an ingredient of many cough linctures. The British Pharmacopoeia directs it to be used as an excipient in the preparation of troches. Compound Mucilage of Acacia - Pill-coating Acacia - is made from Gum Acacia, 1 in 10, with tragacanth, chloroform and water, and is used for moistening pills previous to coating.

Gum Acacia is an ingredient of the official Pilula Ferri, Pulvis Amygdalae compositus, Pulvis Tragacanthae compositus, all the official Trochisci, and various syrups, pastes and pastilles or jujubes.

Acacia Mixture, Mistura Acaciae of the British Pharmacopoeia Codex, is made from Gum Acacia (6 in 100) with syrup and diluted orange-flower water, employed as a demulcent in cough syrups and linctures.

---Dose---1 to 4 fluid drachms. Syrup of Acacia, British Pharmacopoeia Codex, used chiefly as a demulcent in cough mixtures, is freshly prepared as required, from 1 part of Gum Acacia Mucilage and 3 of syrup, the dose, 1 to 4 fluid drachms.

The United States Pharmacopoeia Syrup of Acacia, though regarded as a useful demulcent, is chiefly employed as an agent for suspending powders in mixtures.

The French Pharmacopoeia has a Syrup of Acacia and a potion gommeuse made from powdered Acacia, syrup and orange-flower water.

As a dry excipient, powdered Acacia is employed, mixed in small proportion with powdered Marsh Mallow root, or powdered Liquorice root. A variation of this is a mixture of Acacia, 50 parts; Liquorice root, 34 parts; Sugar, 16 parts, all in fine powder. Another compound Acacia Powder used sparingly as an absorbent pill excipient, is made of equal parts of Gum Acacia and Tragacanth.

Gum Acacia is highly nutritious. During the time of the gum harvest, the Moors of the desert are said to live almost entirely on it, and it has been proved that 6 oz. is sufficient to support an adult for twenty-four hours. It is related that the Bushman Hottentots have been known in times of scarcity to support themselves on it for days together. In many cases of disease, it is considered that a solution of Gum Arabic may for a time constitute the exclusive drink and food of the patient.

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## hunter63

If you are gonna cut and paste, at least give credit to the original writer.

http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/acaci006.html

Quote>
AUSTRAILIAN GUM, imported from South Australia, is in elongated or globular pieces, rough and even wrinkled on the surface and of a violet tint, which distinguishes it from other varieties. It is not entirely soluble in water, to which it imparts less viscidity than ordinary Gum Acacia. It frequently contains tannin. 

Gum Acacia for medicinal purposes should be in roundish 'tears' of various sizes, colourless or pale yellow, or broken into angular fragments with a glass-like, sometimes iridescent fracture, often opaque from numerous fissures, but transparent and nearly colourless in thin pieces; taste insipid, mucilaginous; nearly inodorous. It should be almost entirely soluble in water, forming a viscid neutral solution, or mucilage, which, when evaporated, yields the gum unchanged. It is insoluble in alcohol and ether, but soluble in diluted alcohol in proportion to the amount of water present. It should be slowly but completely soluble in two parts of water: this solution shows an acid reaction with litmuspaper. The powdered gum is not coloured blue (indicating absence of starch) or red (indicating absence of dextrin) by the iodine test solution. It should not yield more than 4 per cent of ash. 

---Adulteration---Adulteration in the crude state is confined almost wholly to the addition of similar and inferior gums, the detection of which requires only familiarity with the genuine article.......................
<Quote

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## Auban

as a kid, i used to make a syrup out of something we called "hog plums".  if memory serves me correctly, they were american plum trees(or something like that).

i used to crush the fruit, soak them in water for a day or so, then boil them.  then i would strain them and boil the liquid until it could be called a syrup.  i also added some sour tasting weed.  we called it sour weed, dont know the real name.  

the syrup was quit tart and went better on steak and chicken than it did pancakes, but i guess you could always add sugar to make it more sweet.

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## crashdive123

....or leave out the sour weed.

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## Auban

even without it, those hog plums are pretty sour.  

we used it kinda like lemon.  worked well for a marinade for meats.  it would probably work well for making wine as well if you mixed it in with something else...  like pear juice.

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## Batch

We get a tree we call Hog Plum or Tallow Plum. Fruit is kinda bitter and sweet.

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## Auban

i just googled tallow plum.  i dont think i have ever seen one.  apparently there are a few types of wild plums...
http://www.eattheweeds.com/chickasaw-plum-yum/

and then there is tallow plum:  
http://www.eattheweeds.com/ximenia-a...-many-names-2/

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## hunter63

Wild plum's....ah yes....A friend......Older guy, (then), from the Old Country made home made plum....ah... liquor ?

50 gal wood barrel/w lid.....fill up with plums that were getting ...ah..... mushy?........add 10# sugar, couple of cakes of yeast,...fill with water.....put on lid, hose to bucket of water....and let it bubble......about 4 -5 weeks it would quit.

Take off cover, add #5 more pounds of sugar...stir, and repeat the hose in bucket....till it quits bubbling again.

Now it getting cold out, winter, ....dolly barrel to back porch,.... let freeze......when frozen for a while....thump the barrel, find the liquid, drill in a bung spicket.....drain out about 9 gal of..... ah....juice(?)....

Mix 50/50 with Welsh's grape juice......in a water glass....and away ya go.....

Yeah, plums....hummmmm

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