Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience served by this project is birch syrup producers throughout the U.S., including those who operate stand-alone birch syrup production operations, and those that produce birch syrup as part of diversified family farms and maple syrup operations. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This information has been communicated to the target audience in a variety of ways. A video, "Best Practices for Producing Birch Syrup with Optimum Flavor and Quality", which details best practices for producing birch syrup with optimum flavor and quality was created and posted on the Proctor Maple Research Center YouTube Channel. In addition, a presentation incorporating these practices and project information and data was created, and has and is being used to communicate this information to the members of the target audience throughout the U.S. through a series of live webinars. Numerous presentations have also been given to update the target audience on project results throughout the project period. A technical publication outlining the best practices is also in preparation. Presentations and Outreach Activities "Best Practices for Producing Birch Syrup with Optimum Flavor and Quality". Online tutorial. UVM Proctor Maple Research Center YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/KMorMEmnfk0 "Best Practices for Producing Birch Syrup with Optimum Flavor and Quality", UVM Maple Extension Webinar Series, August 11, 2021. "Best Practices for Producing Birch Syrup with Optimum Flavor and Quality", UVM Proctor Maple Research Center Online Seminar, January 7, 2021. "UVM PMRC Research Update (including birch syrup research)", Addison County Maple Seminar, Middlebury, VT, January 11, 2020. "UVM PMRC Research Update (including birch syrup research)", St-Hyacinthe Regional Maple Producers' Union, Ormford, Québec, December 11, 2019. "UVM PMRC Research Update (including birch syrup research)", St-Hyacinthe Regional Maple Producers' Union, Sutton, Québec, December 11, 2019. "Birch sap and syrup production research", UVM Extension Forestry Webinar, September 11, 2018. "Proctor Maple Research Center Research Update (including birch syrup production research)", Dominion and Grimm Open House, St. Albans, VT, April 27, 2019. "Proctor Maple Research Center Research Update (including birch syrup production research)", Lapierre Equipment Open House, Swanton, VT, April 27, 2019. "Proctor Maple Research Center Research Update (including birch syrup production research)", Dominion and Grimm Open House, St. Albans, VT, April 26, 2019. "Proctor Maple Research Center Research Update (including birch syrup production research)", Lapierre Equipment Open House, Swanton, VT, April 26, 2019. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impact statement We have gained new knowledge about birch syrup production practices that will enable birch syrup producers throughout the U.S. to produce birch syrup with optimal flavor and quality, and thus maximize the economic value of their crops. The following activities were completed to achieve these objectives and the overall project goal: Objective 1- Determine the processing practices which result in birch syrup with the most preferred flavor To meet this objective, two controlled experiments with commercial-scale production equipment were completed during the 2017 and 2018 production seasons to assess the impact of various processing practices on birch syrup flavor. In 2017, syrup was produced simultaneously using the same birch sap concentrate in identical evaporators with the following four treatments: Control (standard evaporation), Air Injection (lower-temperature), Control finished to 60 °Brix (lower than standard density), and Air Injection finished to 60 °Brix (lower than standard density). Briefly, color differed slightly between the syrups produced with each treatment, and some differences in the composition of volatile flavor compounds were observed. Multisample preference tests were conducted to assess overall liking and preference for syrup produced simultaneously with the four treatments from the same birch concentrate. The results of these sensory experiments indicated that panelists did not like the flavor of syrups with lower than standard density, suggesting that finishing birch syrup to a lower density is not a method for producing birch syrup with optimal flavor. In addition, results also indicated a slight preference for the flavor of syrup produced with standard evaporation (Control) over that produced with the same sap using a lower-temperature processing method (Air Injection). Building on these results, the treatments selected for the 2018 experiment were a very High Heat/Fast Processing treatment (with an evaporator set up to process sap as fast as possible with the highest possible manageable temperatures) and a very Low Heat/Slow Processing treatment (with an evaporator set up to process sap as slowly as possibly with the lowest possible manageable temperatures). During each trial of the experiment, birch syrup was produced simultaneously from the same birch sap in two identical, commercial maple evaporators that were configured with the two respective treatments. Paired preference tests with 61 adult panelists were conducted to assess overall liking and preference for pairs of syrup produced simultaneously from the same birch sap with the two treatments on two dates (4/29/18 and 4/30/18). There was no significant difference in the overall liking of the syrups produced with the two treatments on 4/30; however, syrup produced with the High Heat treatment on 4/29 was significantly more "liked" than that produced with the Low Heat treatment. This is consistent with results observed in the 2017 processing and sensory experiments, which showed a slight preference for syrup produced with the Standard (Control) evaporation treatment to that produced with a lower-temperature Air-injection treatment. Objective 2 - Generate standard practices required to consistently produce pure birch syrup with the best possible flavor and quality, and communicate this information to producers throughout the U.S. Analyses of chemical composition and physical properties of birch sap material and syrup from the 2017 and 2018 experiments were performed to provide additional information, tools, and practices to maximize birch syrup quality. Sap and syrup were analyzed for mineral, carbohydrate, and volatile flavor and aroma composition, and the water activity and viscosity of syrup samples were also determined. Water activity data confirmed that birch syrup finished to similar solids content as standard density maple syrup (~67% solids) had a similar water activity as maple syrup, and was not inherently more robust to microbial contamination as had been posited by some within the birch syrup industry. Likewise, the data confirmed that birch syrups finished to a lower than standard solids content (~60% solids) had water activity greater than 0.80, and thus were not shelf-stable products. The pH of sap and syrup was found to be quite acidic, averaging between 4.5-5.0, indicating a critical need for attention to the prevention of contamination of sap and syrup from lead and other heavy metals that can be present in, and leached from, out-of-date equipment. Collection of birch sap and production of syrup must be done with lead-free, food grade materials, and producers are strongly recommended to have their syrup tested for lead regularly. Measurements made with maple and specific gravity hydrometers, and refractometers calibrated for both maple syrup and invert sugar, were used were used with established relationships between density, temperature, and invert sugar concentration to develop appropriate tools and correction equations to estimate the solids content of birch syrup (all tools currently used by producers are maple syrup tools calibrated for sucrose solutions, however birch syrup is predominantly invert sugar, which has different properties with respect to density, viscosity and temperature). Carbohydrate analyses confirmed that birch sap and syrup are comprised predominantly of invert sugar (glucose and fructose). However, these data also demonstrated that the total carbohydrate concentration of birch syrup was substantially lower than measurements of total solids content made with hydrometers, refractometers and elevation of boiling point calibrated for invert sugars. For maple syrup, estimates of total solids content made with these tools (calibrated for sucrose solutions) provide a close approximation of total sugar concentration, as the primary solid in maple syrup is sucrose. For birch syrup, these tools (calibrated for invert sugar) overestimated total sugar concentration by about 10 percentage points, indicating the presence of much greater quantities of non-carbohydrate solids in birch syrup (organic acids, minerals, etc.). This is an important finding for birch syrup producers, as it affects final product nutritional content and economic value. These data, together with the data on flavor and preference, were synthesized to develop a set of best practices to produce birch syrup with optimal flavor and quality. To communicate this information to the target audience, a video, "Best Practices for Producing Birch Syrup with Optimum Flavor and Quality", which details these practices was created and posted on the Proctor Maple Research Center YouTube Channel. In addition, a presentation incorporating these practices and project information and data was created, and has and is being used to communicate this information to the members of the target audience throughout the U.S. through a series of live webinars. A technical publication outlining the best practices is also in preparation.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Lloyd, S.W., Grimm, C.C., and van den Berg, A.K. 2018. Identification and quantification of flavor compounds in birch syrup using SPME-GC-MS. American Chemical Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience served by this project will be birch syrup producers throughout the U.S., including those who operate stand-alone birch syrup production operations, and those that produce birch syrup as part of diversified family farms and maple syrup operations. Changes/Problems:The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the extended closure of the University of Vermont, as well as outside academic laboratories performing chemical analyses on the study's samples. In addition, a significant injury was sustained by a project team member. These circumstances resulted in significant delays in project activities. Specific details of these circumstances and how they affected project activities were provided in a letter to the Program Leader on 8/4/20. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?"UVM PMRC Research Update (including birch syrup research)", Addison County Maple Seminar, Middlebury, VT, January 11, 2020. "UVM PMRC Research Update (including birch syrup research)", St-Hyacinthe Regional Maple Producers' Union, Ormford, Québec, December 11, 2019. "UVM PMRC Research Update (including birch syrup research)", St-Hyacinthe Regional Maple Producers' Union, Sutton, Québec, December 11, 2019. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Chemical analyses are ongoing of sap material and syrup from 2017 and 2018 experiments for mineral, carbohydrate, organic acid, phenolic, and volatile flavor and aroma composition. Density measurements made with maple and specific gravity hydrometers, and refractometers calibrated for both maple syrup and invert sugar, will be used with the carbohydrate composition data to develop appropriate tools to measure the solids content of birch syrup, as currently there is no instrument (or calibration equations) available to do this (all tools currently used by producers are maple syrup tools calibrated for sucrose solutions, however birch syrup is predominantly invert sugar, which has different properties with respect to density, viscosity and temperature). Work to synthesize results from the experiments and use them to develop a set of best processing practices to produce birch syrup with optimal flavor, and outreach materials to disseminate this information, is ongoing, and will be finalized after chemical composition analyses are completed. These best practices will then be communicated to the target audience through a variety of mechanisms, including technical articles and presentations to producers and industry stakeholders.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
To date, the following activities have been completed toward achieving these objectives and the overall project goal: Two controlled experiments with commercial-scale production equipment were completed during the 2017 and 2018 production seasons to assess the impact of various processing practices on birch syrup flavor. In 2017, syrup was produced simultaneously using the same birch sap concentrate in identical evaporators with the following four treatments: Control (standard evaporation), Air Injection (lower-temperature), Control finished to 60 °Brix (lower than standard density), and Air Injection finished to 60 °Brix (lower than standard density). Briefly, color differed slightly between the syrups produced with each treatment, and some differences in the composition of volatile flavor compounds were observed. Multisample preference tests were conducted to assess overall liking and preference for syrup produced simultaneously with the four treatments from the same birch concentrate. The results of these sensory experiments indicated that panelists did not like the flavor of syrups with lower than standard density, suggesting that finishing birch syrup to a lower density is not a method for producing birch syrup with optimal flavor. In addition, results also indicated a slight preference for the flavor of syrup produced with standard evaporation (Control) over that produced with the same sap using a lower-temperature processing method (Air Injection). Building on these results, the treatments selected for the 2018 experiment were a very High Heat/Fast Processing treatment (with an evaporator set up to process sap as fast as possible with the highest possible manageable temperatures) and a very Low Heat/Slow Processing treatment (with an evaporator set up to process sap as slowly as possibly with the lowest possible manageable temperatures). During each trial of the experiment, birch syrup was produced simultaneously from the same birch sap in two identical, commercial maple evaporators that were configured with the two respective treatments. Paired preference tests with 61 adult panelists were conducted to assess overall liking and preference for pairs of syrup produced simultaneously from the same birch sap with the two treatments on two dates (4/29/18 and 4/30/18). There was no significant difference in the overall liking of the syrups produced with the two treatments on 4/30; however, syrup produced with the High Heat treatment on 4/29 was significantly more "liked" than that produced with the Low Heat treatment. This is consistent with results observed in the 2017 processing and sensory experiments, which showed a slight preference for syrup produced with the Standard (Control) evaporation treatment to that produced with a lower-temperature Air-injection treatment.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience served by this project will be birch syrup producers throughout the U.S., including those who operate stand-alone birch syrup production operations, and those that produce birch syrup as part of diversified family farms and maple syrup operations. Changes/Problems:Two of the outside laboratories performing chemical analyses of the birch sap and syrup produced during the processing experiments experienced significant delays. The ICP at the UVM Agricultural Testing lab failed, and will not be replaced until Fall 2019. The mineral composition of the samples will not be analyzed until after that time. In addition, the carbohydrate and organic acid analyses being performed at the University of Maine were delayed due to a significant illness of the scientist performing the analyses. We have submitted a notification (7/17/19) that we are using our authority to extend the end date by 12 months (no-cost extension) to allow adequate time to complete the project in light of these delays. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Conference Poster: Lloyd, S.W., Grimm, C.C., and van den Berg, A.K. 2018. Identification and quantification of flavor compounds in birch syrup using SPME-GC-MS. American Chemical Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA. Presentations: "Birch sap and syrup production research", UVM Extension Forestry Webinar, September 11, 2018. "Proctor Maple Research Center Research Update (including birch syrup production research)", Dominion and Grimm Open House, St. Albans, VT, April 27, 2019. "Proctor Maple Research Center Research Update (including birch syrup production research)", Lapierre Equipment Open House, Swanton, VT, April 27, 2019. "Proctor Maple Research Center Research Update (including birch syrup production research)", Dominion and Grimm Open House, St. Albans, VT, April 26, 2019. "Proctor Maple Research Center Research Update (including birch syrup production research)", Lapierre Equipment Open House, Swanton, VT, April 26, 2019. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next project period, the composition analyses being performed at outside labs will be completed. Density measurements made with maple and specific gravity hydrometers, and refractometers calibrated for both maple syrup and invert sugar, will be used with the carbohydrate composition data to develop appropriate tools to measure the solids content of birch syrup, as currently there is no instrument (or calibration equations) available to do this (all tools currently used by producers are maple syrup tools calibrated for sucrose solutions, however birch syrup is predominantly invert sugar, which has different properties with respect to density, viscosity and temperature). Once completed, all data from the 2017 and 2018 processing experiments will be used to develop a set of best processing practices to produce birch syrup with optimal flavor. These best practices will then be communicated to the target audience through a variety of mechanisms, including technical articles and presentations to producers and industry stakeholders.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Sensory experiments were completed for the syrup produced in the 2018 processing experiments. In these experiments, syrup had been produced simultaneously using the same birch sap in identical evaporators with the High Heat and Low Heat treatments. Paired preference tests with 61 adult panelists who like the flavor of pure birch syrup were conducted to assess overall liking and preference for pairs of syrup produced simultaneously from the same birch sap with the two treatments on two dates (4/29/18 and 4/30/18). There was no significant difference in the overall liking of the syrups produced with the two treatments on 4/30; however, syrup produced with the High Heat treatment on 4/19 was significantly more "liked" than that produced with the Low Heat treatment. This is consistent with results observed in the 2017 processing and sensory experiments, which showed a slight preference for syrup produced with the Standard (Control) evaporation treatment to that produced with a lower-temperature Air-injection treatment. Some chemical composition analyses of the syrups produced in the 2018 experiments were completed. Analyses of the volatile flavor and aroma composition of the syrups were completed, and analyses to link these results with those of the sensory experiments are ongoing. Average pH of all syrups was slightly acidic, 4.5, and there was no significant difference in the color of syrup produced with the two treatments. Additional composition analyses are ongoing at 2 outside labs, which were delayed due to equipment failure (mineral analyses by ICP-AES at the UVM Agriculture Testing Laboratory) and illness (carbohydrates and organic acids at the University of Maine food lab).
Publications
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience served by this project will be birch syrup producers throughout the U.S., including those who operate stand-alone birch syrup production operations, and those that produce birch syrup as part of diversified family farms and maple syrup operations. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next project period, we will complete the chemical and sensory analyses of the birch syrup produced during the 2018 processing experiments. These data will be used with the data from the 2017 processing experiments to develop a set of best processing practices to produce birch syrup with optimal flavor. These best practices will then be communicated to the target audience through a variety of mechanisms, including technical articles and presentations to producers and industry stakeholders.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Sensory experiments and chemical composition analyses were completed for the syrup produced in the 2017 processing experiments. In these experiments, syrup had been produced simultaneously using the same birch sap concentrate in identical evaporators with the following four treatments: Control (standard evaporation), Air Injection, Control finished to 60 °Brix (lower than standard density), and Air Injection finished to 60 °Brix (lower than standard density). Briefly, color differed slightly between the syrups produced with each treatment, and some differences in the composition of volatile flavor compounds were observed. The results of sensory experiments indicated that panelists did not like the flavor of syrups with lower than standard density, suggesting that finishing birch syrup to a lower density is not a method for producing birch syrup with optimal flavor. In addition, results also indicated a slight preference for the flavor of syrup produced with standard evaporation (Control) over that produced with the same sap using a lower-temperature processing method (Air Injection). These results helped guide the selection of treatments for the subsequent processing experiments conducted in 2018. A second year of processing experiments was completed in order to achieve the project objectives and goal. Briefly, experiments were conducted in with the same birch sap was processed simultaneously with two different treatments. Building on the results of 2017 experiments, which showed the flavor of syrup produced with the control (higher temperature) treatment was preferred to that of syrup produced with a lower-temperature treatment, the treatments selected were a very high temperature/fast processing treatment (with an evaporator set up to process sap as fast as possible with the highest possible manageable temperatures) and a very low temperature/slow processing treatment (with an evaporator set up to process sap as slowly as possibly with the lowest possible manageable temperatures). Two identical, commercial maple evaporators were set up (using burner and draft settings) with the two respective treatments. During each trial of the experiment, a single load of birch sap was obtained and processed simultaneously in the two evaporators until the supply was exhausted. All syrup produced by each evaporator was collected separately and frozen for subsequent analyses. The experiment was repeated 11 times during the production season. Sap material and the pairs of syrup produced are currently being analyzed for color, pH, conductivity, mineral, carbohydrate, organic acid, phenolic, and volatile flavor and aroma composition. Sensory experiments to determine which treatment produced syrup with the most preferred flavor are currently ongoing.
Publications
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