Shagbark Hickory Syrup

We all know well the process of making syrup from the sap of sugar maples. My favorite books for this are The Sugaring-Off Party by Jonathan London, Maple Syrup Season by Ann Purnell, and Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky.

The EE center where I'm working this summer taps their trees and makes their own maple syrup on site. They have an annual festival each February, so there are tons of handouts and worksheets already printed up about the maple syrup process. I'd really like to use these some way in camp during a Forest week... but I think it would be great if we could take it to the next level by comparing maple syrup to another tree syrup.

I looked into getting birch syrup from Alaska but I think it would be even better to teach the kids about shagbark hickory syrup. Shagbark hickory syrup is made locally, and we can even have a local syrup maker come in to tell them about the process. The steps are simple enough that we could do them with the children! And this is a syrup which can be made year-round because you use the bark of the tree and not the sap. Fascinating!

Of course, this could also go with grade 4 Local Geography & Industry, or grade 5/6 Botany. Or even grade 3 Measurement (as is true of all recipes).

I have a lot to learn about this process, but here are some of the links I've gathered so far:

Shagbark Hickory Syrup
The Spruce Eats

Hickory Bark Syrup
Learning and Yearning

Shagbark Hickory Syrup
Practical Self Reliance

It is a simple procedure. Just collect the bark, roast the bark, simmer it in water to make a tea, and then combine the tea with sugar to make a syrup.

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