In the forests of the Odintsovo region, the time has come to collect birch sap. The correspondent of Odintsovo-INFO has already gone to “reconnaissance” and shares with readers tips on preparing a valuable natural drink.
I realized that the birch sap season had begun a couple of days ago, when on the edge of the city I broke a twig and saw moisture appearing on it. This means that the tree has “awakened” and spring sap flow has begun in it. But it is not recommended to harvest the gifts of nature near roads, industrial zones and other sources of pollution, and therefore it was decided to collect birch trees near Kubinka during a visit to the dacha.
There is still a lot of snow in the dense forest, but you can walk almost without falling through - the ice helps. Among the centuries-old spruce trees we are looking for rare white-trunked trees. It is desirable that the donor birch have a trunk with a diameter of 20 cm. If the forest beauty glorified by Yesenin has a trunk 27-34 cm thick, then two holes can be made, with a diameter of 35-40 cm - three. If the tree in front of you is more than 40 cm thick, four holes are allowed. The distance between the juice holes should be at least 20 cm. The holes can be made with a drill - always at an angle so that the juice flows freely. In this case, the optimal diameter is 1 cm and a depth of 2-3 cm. A path for the juice can also be cut with a hatchet (you should get a triangle about 2 cm deep). A tube or groove is inserted into the resulting hole, under which the dishes are placed. The simplest way to collect juice is to insert a broken branch with a thickness of 3 mm into the bottle and secure the resulting “structure”.
The speed at which birch liquid enters your container mainly depends on the weather (in warm weather, faster), the location of the tree, its condition and the time of collection. Since ancient times, people have noticed that sap flows fastest from the north side of the tree. From my own experience, in the second or third week of April in the Odintsovo region, birch trees growing in relatively flat and unthickened areas usually release sap the fastest. The liquid from old trees in wetlands often comes out cloudy.
From one hole per day you can usually get 2-3 liters of sap, and during the season the average birch tree produces up to 70 liters of a sweetish refreshing drink. The period of sap flow, or “tapping,” in our latitudes usually begins at the end of March - early April and lasts 20-25 days, until the buds swell. In 2009, the Odintsovo spring was slightly delayed, so the dates have been shifted.
To make “blood loss” painless for the birch tree, after collecting the sap, the holes made with a drill must be filled with sticks (so-called “chops”) to the desired diameter. It is advisable to cover windows cut out with an ax with clay, garden varnish, or plug them with moss.
This year's first trip for birch trees did not bring an impressive result - in five hours, your correspondent managed to collect no more than 0.5 liters of the drink from two birch trees. But this is just the beginning of the season. And don’t forget that a walk through the forest is in itself a great value for a city dweller.
HELP "ODINTSOVO-INFO": NATURAL MEDICINE
Birch sap is rich in vitamins C and B, contains fructose, various trace elements - calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, copper. In folk medicine, it is valued as a means of healing the blood and stimulating metabolism. Berezovik is useful for cancer, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract associated with low acidity. Useful in the treatment of gastric ulcers and duodenal diseases, indicated for people with chronic gastritis. Birch sap is also drunk for gout, arthritis, rheumatism, colds, and tuberculosis. It is also used for many skin diseases, for sick kidneys, if there is no indication of stones. You can wash your hair with birch sap - it perfectly strengthens your hair.
Birch sap tends to ferment and is usually stored fresh for no more than 2-3 days. There are ways to preserve this drink, however, many of its beneficial properties are lost. The juice can also be used to make refreshing kvass. For example, my grandmother used to prepare it according to this recipe: about 0.5 kg of pure roasted barley is poured into a 20-liter bottle of juice, and the bottle is placed in the cellar. In a week or a week and a half, excellent kvass is ready, which can be stored in a dark and cool place for up to six months.
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April is popularly considered the month of birch sap. The earth freezes, along with all of nature, the trees wake up from their winter sleep, their vital juices begin their new rapid run.
Birch sap is always collected at approximately the same period - small time differences depend only on weather conditions. Air temperature also affects how quickly the juice flows - the colder it is, the slower it happens. If the air temperature drops below zero, the juice will freeze and stop flowing. But as soon as it gets a little warmer, it will flow again.
In the first days of distillation, the juice will be completely clear - it contains less protein and such juice is better stored.
What kind of birch is suitable for distilling sap?
There is more sap in those birches that grow in sunny places. The amount of sap also depends on the age of the tree - one “adult” birch tree can give us up to 200 liters of sap in the spring (about 20-30 liters per day).
It is customary to extract sap from birch trees that grow outside the city, but it is not at all necessary to look for this only in those places that are untouched by civilization. Almost any birch tree will give us a pure and high-quality drink.
These trees have natural protective filters that allow only beneficial substances into their “bodies.”
If a birch tree grows next to a road or in an industrial area, it, of course, cannot naturally filter out chemicals that enter the soil. In other cases, there is no reason to worry about the quality of the sap of urban birches. True, it should be remembered that urban birches spend most of their energy cleaning their own “organism”. Also in the city, the birch tree receives less nutrients from the soil, and therefore produces less sap.
To extract sap, if possible, choose a birch tree that grows in a green area.
What does the birch tree itself “think” about the sap?
Forcing the sap will not harm the tree and it will not dry out if you follow simple rules. They mainly relate to the final stage of juice distillation. A hole drilled in wood must be sealed with a suitable size wooden plug. Ideally, such a plug should be coated with clean clay.
When to stop distilling juice?
The period of juice distillation is about a month. When the flow of juice slows down and it becomes cloudy, distillation must be stopped.
Often, during the flow process, birch sap becomes cloudy long before the end of the forcing period. In such cases, you should pay attention to the groove through which the juice flows. Birch, like any living organism, reacts to its “wound” by delivering more coagulating substances to this place. They clog the groove and, when they get into the juice, make it cloudy.
Birch sap and our health
Birch sap perfectly cleanses the body, improves metabolism and nourishes the cells of our body with organic acids. Mineral and other active substances of birch sap stimulate the elimination of salts and toxins from the body. The diuretic effect and cleansing effect of birch sap is higher than that of water.
Birch sap cleanses our kidneys and joints from salt deposits, and our blood from harmful substances. Organic acids of birch sap, entering the human body, react with harmful inorganic acids that are formed from excessive consumption of sugar, salt, meat and flour products, and also cleanse the walls of blood vessels from inorganic calcium.
It is recommended to drink birch sap to improve immunity, relieve pain from gout, rheumatism and radiculitis, and also speed up the healing of wounds. It also helps with arthritis, kidney and bladder diseases, strokes, and heart attacks.
We drink as much juice as we like!
Fresh birch sap contains more useful substances than canned one. Therefore, you need to drink as much of it as possible during the distillation period.
The main value of birch sap is minerals. It also contains vitamins and other biologically active substances: amino acids, enzymes, phytoncides, essential oils, phytohormones, malic acid, proteins, as well as sugars that are beneficial to the body - fructose and glucose. But since their concentration is low, birch sap alone is not enough to provide the body with nutrients. Therefore, drink birch sap as an addition to other means of strengthening the functions and protective properties of the body. During the forcing period, we recommend drinking at least two glasses of birch sap daily!
Rules for storing birch sap
It is difficult to preserve fresh birch sap for more than one day - bacteria can develop in it, which destroy amino acids, enzymes and other biologically active substances. Therefore, fresh juice should be prepared for longer storage.
One liter of natural birch sap contains approximately 5 grams of sugar. To obtain the required amount of carbon dioxide, about 5 more grams of sugar per liter should be dissolved in the juice. If the total amount of sugar in a liter of birch sap is 1%, then this is absolutely enough to form the optimal amount of carbon dioxide.
The fermentation process of birch sap can be stimulated by products containing yeast, for example: raisins, young shoots of black currants, black bread and rye flour. High-quality fermentation is also ensured by the addition of pure cultures of wine yeast to birch sap.
To improve the taste of the juice, you can add lemon, citric acid, cloves and other spices. However, excessive addition of spices overwhelms the natural natural flavor of the juice. According to observations, such juice is also stored worse.
Mammadaba offers recipes that will help you preserve the invigorating and nutrient-rich birch sap.
Recipe N1
You will need: 25 l of birch sap, 300 g of sugar, 1-2 lemons, 100 g of raisins
Cooking process:
Pour strained birch sap into a clean container, add washed raisins and lemon slices (without seeds). Mix everything well and pour into jars. Cover the jars with lids and leave at room temperature (18 degrees) for 3-5 days so that the juice ferments slightly. Then we put the jars in a cool place (temperature 5-10 degrees). The lower the storage temperature, the slower the fermentation and the better the juice. At a temperature of 5 degrees, the juice will become sparkling in about 14-20 days.
Recipe N2
You will need: 30 liters of birch sap, 100 rye flour, 150 g of sugar
Cooking process:
Add rye flour, diluted in a small amount of sap, and sugar to the birch sap and leave to ferment at a temperature of 18 degrees. Then put it in a cool place - 5-10 degrees.
Recipe N3
You will need: 10 liters of birch sap, 200 g of black bread, 4 young shoots of black currant, 100 g of sugar
Cooking process
To the birch sap add pieces of dried black bread (you can dry the bread in the oven), young blackcurrant shoots, and sugar. And we leave it to ferment for three days at a temperature of 15 degrees. Then pour the juice into jars or bottles, adding half a teaspoon of sugar to each container. We close the jars and bottles with juice with lids and place them in the refrigerator or cellar - it is important that the temperature is 4 degrees. You can take advantage of the experience of your ancestors and bury the bottles in the ground.
Recipe N4
Pour fresh birch sap into bottles, adding to each teaspoon of sugar, lemon slices, 5 washed raisins and citric acid on the tip of a knife. We cork the bottles and leave them for three to four days at room temperature (18 degrees). Then we put the bottles in a cooler place (4-10 degrees).
Recipe N5
Sparkling wine made from birch sap
You will need: 40 liters of birch sap, 20 g of sugar, 1 liter of starter culture from pure wine yeast cultures
Cooking process:
Add sugar and a starter culture of pure wine yeast to fresh birch sap. We prepare the starter in advance: pour the wine yeast fungus with 4 liters of birch sap, preheated to 90 degrees and cooled to 20 degrees. Cover the container with gauze and leave for 6-10 hours in a warm place (at a temperature of 20 degrees). After adding the starter to the birch sap, pour the sap into containers - glass jars and bottles, which we seal tightly. To prevent the corks from flying out during fermentation, they are tied with twine. The containers are left for 3-4 days at room temperature (18 degrees), then placed in a cellar or buried in the ground.
After 20 days, the juice will be ready for consumption. You will receive a sparkling drink with a refreshing, slightly sour taste.
Remember! The storage temperature of juice is very important. At temperatures of 16 degrees and above, birch sap quickly sours and acquires a pungent taste.
Birch sap is nothing more than a liquid that rises along a tree trunk under the influence of root pressure. When branches are broken or from a hole made in the birch trunk, the liquid is collected in a specially placed container. Externally, birch sap resembles water, but its chemical composition is different.
In the Soviet Union, its industrial collection and sales were developed. Such productions were opened in places where birches grow. This, first of all, was in the north of Ukraine, in Belarus and in Russia, located on the European part.
Its collection begins from April, during, until May at the moment when the first leaves appeared. Experienced sap collectors determine the right place to make the cut. A groove (metal or plastic) is inserted into the resulting hole through which the liquid flows.
To collect birch sap, you should not use trees located near highways with heavy vehicle traffic.
Keep this in mind! The tree to be used should be about 20–30 cm in diameter. For younger trees, this procedure can be disastrous, and older trees will not produce enough sap.
Experienced people advise drilling a small hole with a drill and using a needle from a medical system for intravenous injections to build such a device. The end of the tube from the system is lowered into a container to collect juice. You can use a regular glass jar.
Not all birch trees can produce the same amount of sap. On average, an ordinary birch tree can produce about two liters per day. But some large trees produce up to 7 liters. The hole is closed with moss, a twig or wax after the end of sap flow. Significant damage to a tree can be the onset of a disease and even lead to its death.
The collected juice is drunk fresh, as well as packaged in tetrapacks or glass jars. When packaged, it can be transported over a greater distance. Since the juice contains about 2% sugar, it is subject to fermentation and therefore cannot be stored in unsealed containers for a long time.
Residents of areas where the extraction of this juice is common prepare kvass based on it. The resulting kvass is light in color, but its taste is similar to bread kvass.
The chemical composition of birch sap:
Women try to follow a proper diet, which would have a beneficial effect on the course of pregnancy and future childbirth. Some go to the extreme, limiting seemingly harmful foods. But doctors recommend eating the right food, which is also recommended for others. It is not at all advisable to eat “for two”. This method can “feed” the baby and unforeseen complications may arise during childbirth.
Important! The composition of the juice has a beneficial effect on the body of the mother and fetus (saccharides, vitamins, tannins and minerals). Birch sap is recommended for pregnant women with the same restrictions as for others. The main limitations are personal intolerance to birch pollen.
Also, if you have urolithiasis, heavy consumption of juice can cause increased rejection and excretion of larger ones. In this case, it should be drunk in limited doses. It is not recommended for pregnant women to consume canned birch sap. To reliably preserve the juice, sugar, citric acid, and citrus fruits are added to it. These products may cause an allergic reaction.
Birch sap should be consumed taking into account your health condition. Undoubtedly, birch sap has a beneficial effect on the body. For a healthy body, to maintain it in satisfactory condition, it is enough to drink 2–2.5 liters of juice per day every day.
Consumption should be limited to people who have large kidney stones. The juice has a diuretic effect and can dislodge stones, which can cause complications. People with diabetes should not drink a lot of birch sap, as the sap contains glucose. Whether the birch sap you drink is beneficial or harmful to your body, decide with your doctor.
To keep birch sap longer, it is frozen, canned, or made into kvass and even wine. When canning juice at home, sugar, citric acid and other ingredients – flavorings – are added.
The liquid, boiled with the addition of ingredients, is poured into a glass container and sterilized for half an hour. Once sealed, it is suitable for long-term storage.
You can use the following recipes based on 3 liters:
Birch sap poured into jars must immediately be sealed. After this, the jars are covered with a warm blanket until they cool completely. After this, they can be lowered into the cellar or stored at room temperature.
Fresh juice should not be stored for more than one day, as amino acids, enzymes and other substances may disappear under the influence of bacteria. If the birch sap becomes cloudy, it means that fermentation has begun.
Storage is extended by preparing kvass based on it. Recipes for making birch kvass differ in the ingredients used. The container with kvass is placed in a cool place. After the fermentation process is complete, the kvass is ready for use. On hot days, this kvass helps quench your thirst. But the drink prepared in this way loses the healing properties of the juice.
There are many recipes for making kvass. Each locality uses its own original recipe.
Kvass does not tolerate long-term storage at temperatures higher than 16 degrees. It acquires a too pungent aftertaste that is unpleasant to eat.Pay attention!
These are the miraculous properties of birch sap. Drink to your health!
The benefits and harms of birch sap were well known to our ancestors. More precisely, they knew more about its beneficial, medicinal properties. They also knew when and how to collect this medicine, how to prepare it correctly in order to preserve the healing substances as much as possible. This forest drink has few contraindications, but they still exist, and they were established by traditional medicine after a series of observations of patients suffering from urolithiasis and stomach ulcers.
For representatives of the current generation, birch sap is a kind of antiquity, a true story, a natural product from the times of the USSR, which has become a thing of the past along with the realities of life. There is some truth in this, because the value of this drink, the methods of its collection and preparation are gradually forgotten. And the volumes of its industrial procurement have decreased significantly. However, there are keepers of traditions, there are many recipes left in folk herbalists and plenty of evidence that this drink is not just a symbol of Russia. It is also a valuable medicine that can be prepared at home.
Birch sap is pleasant, sweetish, with a specific subtle aroma. For what diagnoses is it recommended? Does it have any contraindications? When to start collecting, in what ways to prepare juice yourself?
Industrial collection and canning of birch sap is carried out mostly in Belarus, less so in Russia and Ukraine. This drink was especially popular during the Soviet era. The older generation remembers very well how, in an era of shortages, three-liter cans of this drink filled empty shelves. It can also be seen on modern shelves (in three-liter, one-and-a-half-liter jars and tetrapacks), but its production has noticeably decreased.
One large tree can provide up to 7 liters of valuable liquid per day, small ones - up to 3 liters. On a tree with a diameter of up to 20 cm, only one hole is allowed, with a diameter of up to 25 cm, two holes can be made, up to 35 cm - three, and over 40 cm - no more than four. Despite the fact that birch roots go deep into the ground and take nutrients from clean soil, it is better to choose birch trees in groves rather than in plantings along roads. Wood also has the ability to absorb harmful substances from the air.
The chemical composition of birch sap includes:
Pharmacological action:
People are increasingly talking about the antitumor properties of raw birch, although there is no scientific evidence for this. It can be prescribed for rehabilitation and restoration of the body after difficult procedures for oncology.
This healing drink has few contraindications: individual intolerance and allergic reaction. It is important to remember that in case of exacerbation of stomach and duodenal ulcers, as well as in the acute form of urolithiasis, self-treatment with juice can lead to an even greater exacerbation. This is why medical supervision and supervision is so important. Due to the high glucose content, birch sap can harm the body if dosed and diluted incorrectly.
Despite all the harmlessness and undoubted usefulness of this forest drink, it is recommended to consult a doctor before taking it. If any side effects occur (primarily from the digestive system - diarrhea), you should stop treatment and consult a doctor.
How much juice can you drink per day?
Recipes for collecting birch sap are impressive in their variety. You can prepare pure raw material, or you can prepare from it soothing infusions with the addition of mint, fortified with black currants and rose hips. Raw birch also produces delicious kvass, wine, low-alcohol drinks, and syrup.
Carbonated drink recipe
The result is a pleasant carbonated drink with sourness (essentially kvass). If the fermentation process is active, you need to open the lid slightly or use a lid with a hole. To reduce fermentation processes, the drink is stored in the refrigerator.
Recipe for birch kvass with yeast
Kvass perfectly quenches thirst and normalizes digestion.
Recipe for birch kvass without yeast
Malt kvass recipe
Previously, in Rus', kvass was prepared in large barrels. It was one of the most popular drinks at holiday feasts. To keep kvass for a long time, honey and oak bark were placed in barrels. Herbs were also added - thyme, caraway, linden, chamomile, lemon balm, St. John's wort. Blended low-alcohol drinks were made with the addition of rowan juice, rose hips, cherries, blueberries, and apples.
Recipe for canned birch sap
You can use orange instead of lemon. A sprig of mint or lemon balm will add a pleasant taste to the juice. Previously, there was an opinion that industrial birch sap was diluted with citric acid and water. Too much of it was produced in the USSR. In fact, you can add a little lemon to the drink recipe as a preservative.
Birch sap is widely used in cosmetology due to its tonic, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory effects. How is it used?
What are the main medicinal properties of birch sap? First of all, it is a mild diuretic and choleretic agent. The drink also has restorative, blood purifying, tonic, and antiseptic properties. It is used to treat skin diseases, metabolic disorders, anemia, vitamin deficiency, intoxication, and is actively used in cosmetology.
