Birches

The inner bark of the birch can be cooked or dried and then ground into flour. It can serve as a thickening agent for soups and can be mixed with regular flour for baking bread and cookies. Usually, the bark is only used when other starch sources are not available. The sap of the wild birch, harvested before the leaves unfold in early spring by tapping the trunk, has a sweet taste. It can be drunk fresh or boiled down to syrup by allowing the water to evaporate. The sap can also be fermented into beer. An old English recipe suggests mixing each liter of birch sap with a quarter jar of honey and then boiling it with cloves and lime peels. After cooling, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of beer. The young leaves of the birch can be eaten raw or cooked. Tea can be made from both the leaves and the essential oils from the birch bark.