[Sca-cooks] Birch Tree recipes was Tree Saps: Was New World Food (wines)

[Johnna Holloway]

Here's another recipe. This one is from the early 18th century.
No. 2.
OLD SUSSEX USE OF THE BIRCH.
Gerardo, in 1597, says: "Concerning the medicinable use of the
Birch tree or his parts, there is nothing extant either in the old or new •
writers," but goes on to speak of it as " terribilis magistratum virgis,"
both in the time of Pliny and his own. AVhile this salutary but
disagreeable use of the tree continues in the prisons of the county to
the present day, another more pleasant mode of turning it to account
seems worth record.
In a curious work entitled "A collection of above Three hundred
Receipts in Cookery &c. for the use of Good wives, Tender Mothers &
Careful Nurses—by several Hands. Printed for Mary Kettleby 1728,"
is given the following receipt: " Birch-Wine, as made in Sussex.
Take the sap of Birch fresh drawn, boil it as long as any scum arises ;
to every Gallon of Liquor put two Pounds of good Sugar ; boil it hall
an Hour, & scum it very clean ; when tis almost cold, set it with a
little Yeast spread on a Toast ; let it stand five or six days in an open
Vessel, stirring it often ; then take such a Cask as the Liquor will be
sure to fill ; & fire a large Match dipt in Brimstone, & put it into the
Cask, & stop in the Smoak, till the Match is extinguish'd, always
keeping it shook, then shake out the Ashes, and, as quick as possible,
pour in a pint of Sack or Rhenish, which taste you like best, for the
Liquor retains it ; rince the Cask well with this, & pour it out ; Pour
in your Wine, and stop it close for six Months, then, if 'tis perfectly
fine, you mny Bottle it."
In the Highlands, as at Balmoral, birch wine is said to be still
made and held in estimation, but I am not aware of any recent production
of it in Sussex.
You can find this in Google Books Sussex Archaeological Collections 
Relating to the History and Antiquities of ... - Page 237 
<http://books.google.com/books?id=F20JAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA28-PA237&dq=%22birch+wine%22&ei=2hwVSIqKOKiSjgHNg-XZBQ>

I suspect that Birch wine was considered medicinal enough in nature that 
it was
created for health reasons. One laid in and made a supply to treat 
illnesses over the course of a year.
One source I came across said it was excellent for the stone and to cure 
sore mouths.

Johnnae


Nick Sasso wrote:
> Anyone look at the amount of just the fuel required to boil down huge vats
> of Birch sap in period?  Would that even have been financially feasible to
> do for whatever use it would have been needed for?
>
>