What kind of tree was it?

[BostonBull]

In the Dunkin Donuts commercial about the Maple Sausage breakfast sandwich it showed a guy getting syrup from a tree. It didnt look like a Sugar Maple (Acer Sachrum sp?) to me.....maybe Norway (Acer Platanoides sp?)?

 

[Chucky]

Well, I know it WASN'T a White Birch! (Which you can tap for syrup, btw.)

 

[GlennG]

I only saw the commercial once. I spent most of my viewing time thinking how dumb a commercial it was. In the last few seconds I tried to id it. Norway Maple is the first thing that popped in my mind but I really didn`t take a good enough look.
Glenn

 

[BostonBull]

Well, I know it WASN'T a White Birch! (Which you can tap for syrup, btw.)

I didnt know this. When the Syrup is collected and cooked down what is the primary use for it?

 

[OTG BOSTON]

Its nice to know there are people out there as sick as I am.

I do believe it is a Norway maple.

 

[alanarbor]

I do belive you are correct......In which case we are talking about some nasty syrup.

 

[JEff B]

I do belive you are correct......In which case we are talking about some nasty syrup.

make that three for Norway Maple

the nasty syrup would reflect their nasty products

 

[Booshcat]

Oh...tapping white BIRCHES

nevermind..........

 

[ATH]

I only saw it once. I though it was an ash. So, maybe Norway maple? But that would be giving them the benefit of the doubt that they actually tried to use a maple tree.

 

[kevinj]

Many maple trees can be tapped for syrup.
It's just that the sugar maple,
produces the most sap.

 

[beowulf343]

Well that's what threw me off. It looked like there was a steady stream of sap coming out of that tree. It's usually more of a dripping action.

 

[Chucky]

I didnt know this. When the Syrup is collected and cooked down what is the primary use for it?

You had to ask, because now I can't find my old Bradford Angier books or my precious Euell Gibbons's "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" book!

But somewhere in one or more of the above books is mention made of tapping White Birch trees to be boiled into syrup.

So unfortunately I now have to turn to the lazy and too-easy modern method of unturning useful (but not always believable) information by resorting to Goobling the danged topic, yielding this:

http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/LifeInNewEngland-Birch-Trees-Tapping.html

 

[ATH]

Many maple trees can be tapped for syrup.
It's just that the sugar maple,
produces the most sap.

really any tree can be tapped for the sap. Some (sugar maple) have higher sugar content - even some sugar maple yield higher. "Normally" it takes 40 gal of sap per gal of syrup. Some of the high yield trees will only take 25-30 gal.

Back to other trees though...sugar content is one thing, taste is entirely another. Oak has a lot of tanic acid, so would probably be pretty nasty...but you would have syrup. I think it would be fun (if I had too much spare time) to tap several species and have some taste tests of my own.

 

[Dave]

Birch syrup is similar to molasses, almost a bitterness to it. Although having gone through only one bottle of it, operator error can't be ruled out. Perfect syrup doesn't come out of the evaporator without help. As far as reality in commercials, how about the Hood ice cream ad where they are tapping trees in full leaf? Just so everybody could they were maples?

 

[Thillmaine]

Norway

I was wondering if I wias the only one who recognized that, yes either a norway or maybe and ash with weird branch configurtaion. Anyay you woudl think with all the dinero duckin donuts has, they might be able to hire a tree ID guy to get it right.

 

[adam]

Trunk looks fake, its shiny with "weird branch configuration" and small twig in a stupid place. If it's not fake I'd say it's norway (not much of a difference anyway).