Alaska birch begets cottage industry

By Margaret Bauman
Associated Press

PALMER, Alaska — Michael East rolls his slicing tool across a 50-pound slab of birch cream caramels, slowly cutting the rich candy into bite-size pieces.

Kahiltna Birchworks owners, from left, Dulce Ben-East, Michael East and their partner, Sally Freund, pose with some of their birch syrup products, which include all-day birch suckers and ice cream topping. Associated Press

The birch caramels, which bring $24 a pound, are just one of a growing number of products produced by Alaska's cottage birch syrup industry. The list ranges from pure birch syrup to birch dog biscuits, each with at least a hint of that spicy caramel flavor, and all free of preservatives.

At Kahiltna Birchworks in Palmer, north of Anchorage, owners East and his wife, Dulce Ben-East, also produce three varieties of birch syrups; a caramel ice cream topping and all-day birch suckers, plus gift baskets with hand-carved birch utensils, sourdough starter and coffee roasted in Alaska.

The company's pure birch syrup has inspired chefs at two posh Anchorage restaurants. The ritzy Marx Brothers Cafe uses birch syrup as a base ingredient in ice cream. At the Crows Nest in downtown Anchorage, employees use birch syrup in seafood glazes and vinaigrettes.

In nearby Wasilla, Marlene Cameron turns out syrups, spicy birch almonds, sauces, marinades, chocolate-covered birch logs, birch reindeer jerky, birch-glazed popcorn and a "birch dog goodie that is just fabulous."

That's not all. There's Charlene Montague of Knik Birch Syrup Co., just outside Wasilla, offering pure birch syrup, birch peanut brittle, birch sunflower seed brittle and Northern Nectar, a blend of birch syrup and Alaska wildflower honey.

Birch Boy Products in Haines, the only commercial producer in southeast Alaska, has attracted an international clientele.

"My first Web site order came from Jerusalem," said Susan Humphrey. "We've gotten orders from Canada, England, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany."

The Easts and Cameron, pioneers in the birch syrup industry in Alaska, started tapping birch trees more than a decade ago.

In 1992, they and a handful of other producers established the Alaska Birch Syrupmakers' Association to promote a standard for high-quality birch syrup.

Their decision to combine work with an independent, traditional Alaska lifestyle has not been easy.

The Easts spend about half the year on their homestead in the Upper Susitna Valley, about 100 miles north of Anchorage. The other six months are spent in Palmer.

"We wanted to do something so we could live out there and use the resources at hand," said Ben-East. "As a result, we have a fairly successful business, but we can't live out on the homestead as much as we'd like to."

"What's amazing about the business is we live in the bush and produce the syrup," her husband said. "Then we bring it to town and make all of our own products, and retail half of it ourselves. ... We do everything."

The Easts started tapping trees on their homestead in 1990, with 200 trees. This year they tapped 2,000. Using snowmobiles, they haul in 14,000 to 20,000 pounds of supplies, including about 3,000 pounds of sugar for syrup. They fell about 30 cords of wood to heat their house and production.

"We have people call all the time and ask about getting into the birch syrup business. A lot of people have tried. They thought it would be a lot easier than what it was," East said.

Montague, of Knik Birch Syrup Co., agrees. "I would say you could start with $10,000, but you would be better off starting with $20,000, and then you would realize you need more money," she said. "I have so much money invested, I cannot stop."

But the producers also enjoy their labors. "We really like what we are doing," said Humphrey, in Haines. "It's fun. Since we are also artists and writers, my husband does all the art work for our labels. It's fun to make a food product into a work of art."