Do you really adore 100% real maple syrup and maple sugar? If so, maybe you would enjoy making your own maple syrup. But you say you don’t have sugar maple trees! There is good news, though. There are other trees whose sap can be used to produce sweet syrup for your morning pancakes or French toast. Have you ever heard of boxelder syrup?
Confusing Boxelder Trees with Poison Ivy
It is not rare for a person to identify a boxelder tree as poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). You can see why this is the case if you compare the images provided with this article. Because I am aware of the similarity between the two plants and the tendency of others to make a mistake, I take great delight in revealing any boxelder trees people have on their land.
A Friend Enlightens Me
A math and computer professor of a local university who is also a great outdoorsman informed me that the boxelder tree is a source of sweet syrup, much like a sugar maple tree. In fact, the boxelder is a kind of maple (Acer negundo).
Boxelder Syrup Making
I won’t pretend to tell you how to make boxelder syrup, since I myself have never done so! But there is a great video I found that I choose to embed in this article. It gives the viewer quick insight into the process. I hope you will enjoy it, and if you have boxelder trees, I hope you will give syrup making a shot.
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References:
- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: How to Tap and Make Maple Syrup
- Provident Living Today: Tapping your Box Elder Tree
I have tried maple syrup and enjoyed it very much. Too much I am afraid, so I try to avoid it now. It’s very tasty, especially on pancakes. Apparently we can grow sugar maples in the UK but they don’t produce very much.
I like maple syrup on pancakes but have never heard of boxelder. i wouldn’t make my own but if it were available to buy I would try it.
[…] Have BoxElder Maple Trees? Make BoxElder Syrup! Quirky Science, https://www.quirkyscience.com/make-boxelder-syrup/ […]
A neighbor gave me some box elder syrup and I cannot taste the difference between that and sugar maple syrup. Our state is full of box elder trees and people call them weeds as they attract the box elder bug, which is quite nasty.