The image, above, shows the full Silver Birch tree (Betulapendula), as a single tree, left, with a leaf inset and as a
birch forest, right..
|
Common Name: Birch |
| Scientific Name: Betula pendula |
| Other Names: Silver Birch, European white birch, Common Birch, Warty Birch and European White Birch |
| Family: Betulaceae |
| Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, south and east to Morocco, W. Siberia and central Asia. |
Physical Characteristics
Betula pendula is a hardy deciduous tree, growing to 20m (65 ft) by 10m (32 ft) in size. It is hardy to zone 2 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers in April and seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are monoecious (either male or female) and both sexes are found on the same plant. The tree is wind pollinated.
|
| Edible Parts: Leaf Stems (Petioles), Leaves |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
|
 Known Hazards: Birch tar contains aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons that can be skin irritants. Be careful when collecting birch sap or birch inner bark.
|
Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Birch along with all the Birch containing recipes presented on this site, with 2 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Birch as a major wild food ingredient.
The European silver birch, Betula pendula is a small fast-growing tree in the Betulaceae (birch) family and is indigenous to northern Europe. The name birch in English is derived from an old Germanic root similar to *birka. Which ultimately derives from the proto-Indo-European root *bherəg- ('to shine') probably because of the silver birch's white bark.
Birch trees bear both male and female flowers (catkins) and the ripened fruit is a samara (ie it bears wings though these can be truly tiny in silver birch fruit). Because the pollen is airborne birch is probably one of the most important allergens in northern Europe, accounting for between 15–20% of all hay-fever cases. Birch trees grow very rapidly and are mature at 40 years. As a result of it's fast growth and its tolerance for a very wide range of soil pH though it requires a lot of light. As a result birch is a pioneer species in that it's one of the first tree species to colonize cleared ground. This is why birch trees are often seen on the verges of mature forests as they cannot compete with trees that have denser canopies.
Birch wood is not strong, but it has a high calorific value and thus makes excellent firewood. Birch twigs also used to be tied together for use as brooms. In terms of food birch sap is probably the most important substance derived from birch. The sap is produced by mature trees in early spring when the trees are preparing to flower and bear leaves. To extract sap, chose a mature tree during the first two weeks of March. Take a plastic tube, a collecting bottle and a drill with a bit that's the same width as your tube. Bore a hole in the tree some 50cm from the ground which is angled gently upwards (a few centimetres is sufficient). Insert one end of your tube in this and place the other end in your collecting jar. You should get some 2l in a 24-hour period from a single tree. Never collect more than this from one tree and make sure that you stopper the hole you drilled very firmly when you're done otherwise the tree will die from loss of sap.
The raw sap makes a very refreshing drink in it's native form as it's not overly sweet. Traditionally, however, this sap has been made into 'birch sap wine' (really a mead) as well as birch beers and birch vinegar. In Belarus, Russia, the Baltic States, Finland, and parts of northern China, birch sap is drunk as a refreshing beverage, and is believed to have tonic qualities. It is watery and pale green in colour, with a slightly sweet flavour, and is bottled commercially.
As well as the sap, the flowers, inner bark and leaves are also edible. The inner bark, when dried and ground to a meal makes a thickener for soups and stews. During famine times, it has also been mixed with flour prior to baking. The young leaves can be eaten raw in salads or can be cooked as a leafy green. There are reports of the young catkins being edible, but I do not have reliable information on this.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Birch as a major wild food ingredient.
The European silver birch, Betula pendula is a small fast-growing tree in the Betulaceae (birch) family and is indigenous to northern Europe. The name birch in English is derived from an old Germanic root similar to *birka. Which ultimately derives from the proto-Indo-European root *bherəg- ('to shine') probably because of the silver birch's white bark.
Birch trees bear both male and female flowers (catkins) and the ripened fruit is a samara (ie it bears wings though these can be truly tiny in silver birch fruit). Because the pollen is airborne birch is probably one of the most important allergens in northern Europe, accounting for between 15–20% of all hay-fever cases. Birch trees grow very rapidly and are mature at 40 years. As a result of it's fast growth and its tolerance for a very wide range of soil pH though it requires a lot of light. As a result birch is a pioneer species in that it's one of the first tree species to colonize cleared ground. This is why birch trees are often seen on the verges of mature forests as they cannot compete with trees that have denser canopies.
Birch wood is not strong, but it has a high calorific value and thus makes excellent firewood. Birch twigs also used to be tied together for use as brooms. In terms of food birch sap is probably the most important substance derived from birch. The sap is produced by mature trees in early spring when the trees are preparing to flower and bear leaves. To extract sap, chose a mature tree during the first two weeks of March. Take a plastic tube, a collecting bottle and a drill with a bit that's the same width as your tube. Bore a hole in the tree some 50cm from the ground which is angled gently upwards (a few centimetres is sufficient). Insert one end of your tube in this and place the other end in your collecting jar. You should get some 2l in a 24-hour period from a single tree. Never collect more than this from one tree and make sure that you stopper the hole you drilled very firmly when you're done otherwise the tree will die from loss of sap.
The raw sap makes a very refreshing drink in it's native form as it's not overly sweet. Traditionally, however, this sap has been made into 'birch sap wine' (really a mead) as well as birch beers and birch vinegar. In Belarus, Russia, the Baltic States, Finland, and parts of northern China, birch sap is drunk as a refreshing beverage, and is believed to have tonic qualities. It is watery and pale green in colour, with a slightly sweet flavour, and is bottled commercially.
As well as the sap, the flowers, inner bark and leaves are also edible. The inner bark, when dried and ground to a meal makes a thickener for soups and stews. During famine times, it has also been mixed with flour prior to baking. The young leaves can be eaten raw in salads or can be cooked as a leafy green. There are reports of the young catkins being edible, but I do not have reliable information on this.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Birch recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 2 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| Birch Sap and Cleavers Risotto Origin: Britain | Pickled Bolete Mushrooms Origin: American |
Page 1 of 1