ONE OF THE PREMIUM BIRCH SYRUPS IN ALL OF NORTH AMERICA

May 17, 2004

Joe Glaves of Cumberland House is not given to under-statement.

"I make one of the premium birch syrups in North America," he says. "It's the best quality. There's a place in British Columbia that makes good quality birch syrup, but I've matched it."

In recent years, he explains, birch syrup has become a well-known product of Alaska, much as maple syrup is a well-known product of Quebec. He hopes to bring birch syrup to that same level of recognition in Saskatchewan and beyond. It follows that his product, CJ's Pure and Natural Syrups, would be the place to start.

Glaves has been making syrup since 1998. Originally from Ontario, he had tapped trees and made syrup as a child so, come spring that year, he had the urge to play around with a few taps on the area's box elder trees, commonly known as Manitoba maples. The fact that he loves to cook and experiment with cooking, along with his ownership of and chef duties at CJ's Family Restaurant and Groceries played a part in the urge as well. A true chef takes pride in his or her use of local ingredients, and the more exotic, the better.

In 1999, he tapped 1,200 box elder trees, and replaced the open fire on which he boiled the sap with a small evaporator. He also tapped 10 white birch trees, and scorched the sap as he was boiling it to syrup.

By 2002, he had a bigger evaporator, and was tapping 4,200 box elder trees and 50 birch trees. A year later, he tapped 600 birch trees, but no box elder trees.

"I wanted to concentrate on the birch syrup because, unlike maple syrup, you can't buy it anywhere. And I wanted to make a very good quality syrup so I spent a lot of time experimenting. This spring, I tapped 2,500 birch trees and bought a reverse osmosis machine to concentrate the sap. It takes 40 litres of maple sap to make one litre of maple syrup, but it takes 100 litres of birch sap to make one litre of birch syrup. But, by removing 70 per cent of the water by reverse osmosis, there is less cooking and therefore less chance of scorching.

"The 2004 season is over now, and I have 150 litres of birch syrup. It's awesome this year. I have dark syrup, which indicates a greater degree of caramelization due to longer exposure to heat, and is fantastic for using as a barbecue sauce on meats. Once you've tried it, you'll never go back to ordinary barbecue sauces. I also have a lighter coloured syrup, which is not quite as sweet as maple syrup but is excellent on pancakes and ice cream."

Now that he has perfected the preparation of his syrup, he is concentrating on the preparation of unique syrups and sauces, as well as on the use of birch sap as a health food drink. He says birch sap possesses many healthful properties - "It's an antioxidant, reduces cholesterol and I've been told it even grows hair, which I take with a grain of salt." - and he is working with a University of Saskatchewan researcher to scientifically identify these properties in order to promote its use as a drink. He aims to have it certified organic as well.

Next year, he hopes to tap 5,000 to 6,000 box elder trees and 10,000 birch trees, which produce sap later than the box elder. To do this, he will rely on help from four men he has been training and working with, and he hopes these men and others will, some day, form a producer co-op for the large-scale production of birch syrup. He visualizes a central processing location in order to standardize the product and maintain quality control.

Although not ready for commercial sales yet, Glaves is selling 250-ml bottles of birch syrup for $12.99 and 50-ml bottles for $4.95, with shipping charges added to both. For more information and to order, e-mail him at cjglaves@sasktel.net.