Birch sap (birch)- liquid coming out of a birch in places of damage to its trunk or branches. Such damage can be cuts or fractures, and the outflow of fluid is due to the action of root pressure in the tree.

Birch sap is a very valuable product, enriched with many useful substances for the body, due to which this liquid has a complex beneficial effect on human health.

Composition of birch sap

• Juice density - 1.0007-1.0046 g / ml;
• Dry matter content - 0.7-4.6 g / l;
• Ash content - 0.3-0.7 mg / l;
• The total sugar content is 0.5-2.3%;
• Proteins - 0.1 g / 100 g;
• Fat - 0.0;
• Carbohydrates - 5.8 g / 100 g;
• Among organic substances, we note: essential oils, saponins, betulol, more than 10 organic acids.

The calorie content of birch sap is- 22-24 kcal per 100 g of fresh product.

Birch sap also contains the following macro- and microelements (minerals):

• sugars - 1-4%;
• — 273 mg/l;
• — 16 mg/l;
• — 13 mg/l;
• — 6 mg/l;
• aluminum (Al) - 1-2 mg/l;
• manganese (Mn) — 1 mg/l;
• iron (Fe) - 0.25 mg / l;
• silicon (Si) - 0.1 mg/l;
• titanium (Ti) - 0.08 mg/l;
• copper (Cu) - 0.02 mg/l;
• strontium (Sr) — 0.1 mg/l;
• barium (Ba) - 0.01 mg/l;
• nickel (Ni) - 0.01 mg/l;
• zirconium (Zr) - 0.01 mg/l;
• — 0.01 mg/l;
• traces of nitrogen (N).

The chemical composition may vary somewhat depending on the region where the donor birch grows and the composition of the soil on which the tree grows.

Medical studies have shown that taking at least one glass a day for 2-3 weeks (it is optimal to drink a glass three times a day half an hour before meals) will help the body cope with spring, or absent-mindedness, fatigue and.

From the point of view of herbal medicine, birch sap is one of the best natural remedies for improving metabolism. Despite the fact that birch sap differs little from water, it ferments well and has a positive effect on the functioning of the stomach.

Birch sap is rich in sugars, organic acids, enzymes, calcium, magnesium, iron and other salts necessary for the body, which we talked about a little earlier. Due to its rich composition, it is recommended for diseases of the blood, joints, skin, as well as for other respiratory diseases.

The use of birch sap helps to cleanse the blood, enhance metabolic processes, remove harmful substances from the body in case of infectious diseases. It is useful to drink juice for and, diseases of the liver, gallbladder, low acidity, scurvy, and venereal diseases.

Birch sap also contributes to the rapid cleansing of the body of harmful substances and the breakdown of urinary stones of phosphate and carbonate origin.

Birch increases the body's resistance to colds, infectious and allergic diseases, has an anthelmintic, diuretic, antitumor effect, it is useful to wipe the skin with birch sap to moisturize and cleanse dry skin.

And it’s also useful to wash your hair with birch sap, to enhance their growth and the appearance of shine and softness (an infusion of birch leaves has the same property). Birch sap is a good remedy for impotence. Birch "tears" have a very good effect on women during the period. If you drink at least a glass of juice a day, then drowsiness, fatigue, irritability and other accompanying menopause phenomena will disappear.

Birch sap is a very useful natural drink, which is endowed with a mass of healing properties and has an extremely beneficial effect on the human body. This is the so-called elixir of beauty, health, vitality and strength. This is because it contains many useful substances, organic acids and trace elements. Today we will learn everything about birch sap, talk about its benefits, how, where and when to collect, as well as how to store the drink.

All about the benefits of birch sap

Birch sap contains fructose, glucose, sucrose, organic acids, enzymes and substances that have great antimicrobial activity (phytoncides), as well as potassium, iron, manganese, calcium, sodium, magnesium, copper, which are required by the body weakened by spring beriberi.

Birch sap is endowed with a huge amount useful properties:

• Perfectly strengthens the immune system.
• Normalizes the work of the heart.
• It has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body.
• It improves metabolism and is very useful for brain function.
• Tones, invigorates and energizes the body.
• Just one glass of drink a day will relieve you of drowsiness, fatigue and depression.
• The drink is called one of the best dietary and restorative remedies.
• It is very useful for people with diseases of the urinary tract and kidneys - it stimulates kidney function, has a diuretic effect, promotes the release of uric acid and increases diuresis.
• Useful for lung diseases, bronchitis, tuberculosis, tonsillitis, cough.
• Relieves headaches and migraines.
• Useful for venereal diseases.
• It is recommended to take a drink for diseases of the liver, gallbladder, duodenum and with low acidity.
• Helps with high blood pressure and anemia.
• It has a therapeutic effect in arthritis, radiculitis and rheumatism.
• Able to purify the blood and remove toxic substances from the body.
• Taking birch sap, you can increase the body's resistance to allergic, infectious and colds.
• In chronic rhinitis, it is recommended to take one glass of fresh birch sap every morning.
• Endowed with anthelmintic, antitumor and diuretic action.
• It is useful to wipe the skin with acne, eczema, psoriasis, furunculosis, neurodermatitis, fungal diseases, poorly healing wounds,

Important!To preserve birch sap for a long time, it can be frozen in ice molds and used as cosmetic ice.

Birch sap is widely used in cosmetology:

• Perfectly cleanses and refreshes the skin, and for this it is enough just to wash it in the morning.
• Used to moisturize and cleanse dry skin.

• Used for washing the head - to strengthen the hair, their rapid growth, giving softness and shine to the hair; used to fight dandruff.
• You can also do anti-cellulite wraps.

If we talk about harm, then birch sap can cause harm only if it was collected in contaminated places and if a person is allergic to birch pollen. Contraindicated in people suffering from stomach ulcers.

Did you know?The Soviet poet Stepan Shchipachev wrote the story "Birch sap" in 1956.

How to determine collection time

The collection begins in the spring during the first thaws, and ends after bud break. The beginning of the collection is dictated by weather conditions. But often the juice begins to flow somewhere in the middle of March, when the snow melts and the buds begin to swell, and continues to run until the middle - end of April.

You can check whether the time has come to collect and harvest, using a thin awl. It is necessary to go out into the forest and make a puncture in a birch as thick as a hand with this awl. If the juice has already gone, then a drop will immediately come out at the puncture site. This will mean that you can start collecting and harvesting.

Important! The most intensive sap flow through the tree occurs during daylight hours.

Is it possible to collect birch sap in urban areas

Answering the question whether it is possible to collect juice in the city, we immediately warn you: no, don’t even think about it. It is necessary to collect away from large cities, from highways, from large factories and polluted places, since the tree can absorb all harmful substances and vehicle exhaust gases from the environment. The juice that will be collected from such trees will not only not bring any benefit, but can also be harmful to health.

The best places to collect

To get really healthy juice, the place of collection must be chosen very carefully. It is best collected in ecologically clean forests away from urban areas, industrial areas and highways.

Features of the collection, how to properly collect a healthy drink

Before you take birch sap, you need to know some simple, but very important rules and terms of collection:

• Young trees cannot be used for collection, only mature trees that have a diameter of 20 cm.
• Use a drill with a 5-10 mm drill to collect. Such a hole overgrows in the trunk almost without a trace.

• It is not necessary to make a hole too deep in the tree trunk, because the juice mainly goes in the surface layer between the bark and the wood. It will be enough 2-3 cm deep.
• The best time for collection is between 10:00 and 18:00, when the juice flows most intensively.
• Do not try to drain all the juice from one tree, otherwise you can destroy it. It would be better to go around five to ten trees and drain a liter a day from each.
• At the end of the collection, be sure to help the tree heal its wounds. Cover the hole with wax, garden pitch, or seal or hammer a wooden plug to keep bacteria out of the barrel.

As regards, in fact, how get birch sap:

1. Choose a birch with a well-developed crown with a diameter of more than 20-30 cm.
2. Make a hole carefully in the trunk at a distance of 20 cm from the ground.
3. Attach a birch bark tray or some other semicircular device into the hole made or under it, along which the juice will flow.
4. Place a jar, bottle or bag under the groove where the juice will run.

The number of holes made in the barrel depends on its diameter. With a tree diameter of 20-25 cm, only one hole can be made, and then one more hole for every ten centimeters. But the main thing is not to overdo it with holes, because the more the tree is injured, the more difficult it will be for it to heal its wounds.

Storage methods, studying recipes

It is best to use the juice fresh, when boiling some of its properties are lost. But how long can it be stored? If we talk about how long it can be stored in the refrigerator - no more than two days, and for long-term storage it is necessary to do some manipulations with it.

Storage methods (recipes) are known to be different. From it you can make kvass, syrup, balm, various drinks, or canned.

Canning. For one liter of birch sap, you need to take 125 g of sugar, add 5 g of citric acid, pour into jars, pasteurize and roll up with lids.

Birch syrup. Evaporate the juice to a yellow-white color until it becomes viscous and resembles in consistency. The concentration of sugar in syrup is 60-70%.

Birch wine. For 10 liters of birch sap, you need to take 1 kg of sugar, two peels, two bottles of white grape wine, yeast. Boil the juice with sugar over high heat until about eight liters of liquid remain; then take it off the heat, add the rinds and white wine, mix everything well and let the mixture cool down. Add 0.5 tablespoon of yeast and leave for four days. After four days, bottle everything, cork the bottles and put in a dark, cold place for a month.

Kvass:

• For 10 liters of Syria you need 50 g of yeast. It must be boiled so that some water evaporates, cool, add yeast and let it ferment for several days, then pour kvass into bottles, close and put in a cold place for a couple of weeks.
• For 10 liters you will need the juice of four lemons, 50 g of yeast, 30 g of honey or sugar, raisins. Mix all this, pour into bottles and leave in a cold dark place.
• Pour birch sap into an oak barrel, lower a canvas bag with burnt crusts of rye bread on a rope, and two days later put oak bark in a barrel, you can also leave or stems. In two weeks, kvass will be ready.

The drink is very pleasant on its own, but you can add juice of various berries (lingonberries,

When daytime air temperatures in the forest begin to show positive values, it is time to collect birch sap. This is a unique product that we talked about in great detail in the article “. So many lovers and connoisseurs of juice these days go into the forest and chop trees with an ax, cut the bark with a knife, drill holes in the trunks, clog the grooves, put pipes, strings, grass and hoses into the tree, tie and substitute bottles and cans. When leaving, they close up the holes with earth, clay, moss, window putty, plasticine, and even fill them with vitriol. Many come to collect juice without knowing the elementary rules of this process at all and act by trial and error. Others in the question "how to get birch sap?" they rely on the experience of their friends, or, as it is now fashionable, on the knowledge of the Internet.

But from the side of true professionals, all this hectic activity looks like real vandalism and disgrace. And today I want to invite everyone who recognizes themselves, their friends and relatives in the above-mentioned "professionals" in the collection of birch sap to pay attention to the experience of specialists from Canada, where maple sap has been collected for several hundred years, but they do it carefully, even treating with some reverence for those trees that give them their magical nectar!

How to collect birch sap - Canadian experience in Russian forests!

Looking ahead, I want to say that Canadian farmers extracting juice in maple groves cherished for centuries, would be very dissatisfied with our Russian methods of extracting juice. But, unfortunately, even if you want to study their experience, then on the Internet you will not find a detailed and detailed experience of Canadians on the issue of how to get birch sap, although we have a lot to learn from them.

In order to introduce you to best practices, this article has collected the most important information on the most effective and long-term, non-damaging tree sap extraction methods. In fact, this is a translation and summary of several articles by Canadian experts, instructions and regulations of the Canadian and American timber industry. I hope that the Canadian experience on the topic “how to collect birch sap?” will be useful, and will be put into practice, and the old barbaric methods of mining will forever be a thing of the past.

A few words about tree sap.

As in Canada, maple trees are the first to wake up from hibernation in February-March in our Russian forests, although there are still snowdrifts in the forest and it is very cold at night.

The movement of juice in the trunk depends on the amount of moisture that has melted in the ground at the roots, as well as on the cycles of freezing and thawing water in the wood of the trunk itself, which work like a kind of pump. Juice is most abundant on a warm sunny day after a clear frosty night.

It is important to know that the juice moves along a relatively thin conductive layer under the bark. In the center of the trunk, the wood is dry.

The sap flow ends a few weeks after the last hard frost, along with the swelling of the buds and the appearance of the first foliage. The pressure inside the trunk subsides, and the juice stops dripping through holes and cracks in the bark.

By the way, besides people, birds also extract tree sap. Woodpeckers punch many small holes in the bark and drink the juice of maple, birch and other trees. Other birds also like to feast on the spring drink of a variety of trees. But people extract almost exclusively only maple and birch sap.

Why did you choose maple and birch for harvesting?

The fact is that the movement of juice from maple and birch is more abundant compared to other trees. Maple sap contains 2 to 4% sugar and has a mild "woody" flavor. Birch sap is less sweet, containing only about 1% sugar, and is almost tasteless. The juice of different trees of the same species can taste different. And even the juice of one tree at different times and at different points of the trunk is also different. One of the main characteristics of juice is its sweetness. The difference in sugar content between maple and birch sap is clearly visible when making a thick sweet syrup, a traditional Canadian treat.

To make 1 liter of maple syrup, you need to evaporate 40 liters of Canadian sugar maple sap. Our European Norway Maple produces less sweet juice. To obtain 1 liter of syrup, you need to evaporate about 50-60 liters (this produces a syrup that is in no way inferior in taste to Canadian). And to get 1 liter of birch syrup, it takes from 80 to 100 liters of birch sap.

For information, I’ll add that maple sap, in addition to Canada, is massively mined in the northern states of the United States, and birch sap is industrially harvested so far only in Alaska; in other regions, it is extracted only for domestic use or as a small addition to the maple crop. In Russia, the industrial collection of maple sap is impossible, and birch sap is not developed. And only in Belarus the extraction of birch sap reaches an industrial scale, and forestry in the spring is everywhere busy collecting it.

How to choose a tree for collecting juice?

Healthy mature trees give sweet juice more abundantly. A thick, straight trunk, dense crown, many living branches and the absence of dry, free arrangement in a group of other trees indicate that the tree will give a lot of juice and withstand human intervention without harm to itself. With proper collection of juice, such a tree will remain healthy, and its productivity will only increase from year to year.

A good tree on a warm sunny day can produce up to 8-9 liters of juice. And on a cloudy cold day from the same tree you can not get even 2 liters. On average, for a season lasting about 3-4 weeks, about 50 liters of juice is collected from one tree, birch or maple. Usually the maple season in central Russia begins at the end of February, the birch season at the end of March.

When and how to start collecting?

On the southern slopes, well warmed by the sun, the movement of juice begins earlier than in the depths of the forest, and here you can start tapping earlier.

Juice at the beginning of the season is the sweetest, although it comes in small volumes. But you can only do a tap at this time if you are going to complete the collection within a few days. Firstly, there is a danger of the return of permanent frosts, and in this case, the flow of juice from the hole you made may stop completely, which is why you will have to make an additional hole in the trunk with the return of warm days (and this is highly undesirable). Secondly, early and prolonged collection of juice leads to a deterioration in the quality of the bulk of the liquid, the amount of sugar in it decreases and pollution increases. Therefore, if you plan to collect juice for a week or more, then you should start work only at the beginning of an abundant current, determining it by one control tap.

Abundant flow is the collection of 4-5 liters of juice per day from one tree.

First of all, the juice will go on the south side of the trunk facing the sun. But do not rush and make a hole here. The high temperature will promote the growth of bacteria and yeast on the spout and juice container. It is better to wait until the juice is actively flowing along the north side of the trunk, and make a hole there.

How to collect birch sap without harming trees?! The main rules of correct tapping.

Tapping is a way of extracting tree sap. Traditionally in Russia, the question of how to collect birch sap is solved by making cuts and incisions on the bark.

In Canada, stripping trees with piercing objects is not practiced. Extraction of tree sap there is carried out by drilling a hole and installing special equipment to collect the sap. All this has been practiced in Canada by thousands of farms over several centuries, and by now the most optimal tapping system has developed, which is equally suitable for maple and birch.

Proper tapping maximizes sap and minimizes both damage to the tree and microbial and fungal contamination of the hole and sap being harvested. You need to be able to bleed suitable trees at the right time in the right place on the trunk. At the same time, using the correct equipment and monitoring the sterility of the drill, spout and hole in the tree. You should also observe the holes for the appearance of contamination and infection, and do not leave the holes flowing with juice open, clog them with a cork to prevent fungi, bacteria and insects from entering the tree.

The main tapping method is drilling. It must be understood that around the drilled hole (and any other damage to the trunk) under the bark of the tree, a non-conductive sap area always forms. So the tree reacts to the wound, fencing it off from the sap-carrying tissues with a scar of dry wood, which will never again be able to give juice. This area has the shape of an ellipse, elongated vertically.

The loss of this area is gradually compensated by the growth of the tree and the increase in the diameter of its trunk. The sap-carrying tissue grows in the area unaffected by tapping, and thanks to this, it becomes possible to collect sap for many years without significant harm to the tree. But for this, taking care that the formation of scars does not overtake the growth of healthy wood, it is necessary to observe the correct mode of tapping. And then, as the observations of scientists show, the tree will continue to grow and remain healthy.

To maintain the health of the tree, tapping should be carried out in moderation. In Russia, many people think that small trees, due to their youth, will give a lot of juice. But it's not. Small trees with a trunk diameter of less than 30 cm should not be dried at all, as well as larger but unhealthy, depressed trees. The collection of juice from them is scanty, and at the same time it kills the tree. Only mature healthy trees can be drained. In trunks with a diameter of 30 to 45 cm, it is permissible to make only one hole per harvest season. For large maples over 45 cm in diameter, in good health, two holes can be made. Three tappings of one tree cannot be done, both because too much area of ​​the wood is damaged, and because the crown will not take up a significant amount of juice necessary for foliage. The latest regulation from the Forest Department of Canada forbids making a third tap, regardless of the health and size of the tree.

In the question of how to collect birch sap, even more stringent rules apply. Because birch trees have a shorter lifespan than maples, thinner bark, and less developed root systems, it is reasonable to assume that they are more susceptible to water damage. Therefore, more than one hole should never be made on a birch, and large trees with a diameter of more than 20 cm should be chosen.

It should be noted that the maple in the southern Canadian provinces is in the center of its range, and most of the trees are quite strong, healthy, and suitable for intensive sap collection. In Russia, in many areas, maple grows on the outskirts of its range, and therefore many trees are oppressed and will not be able to give a large amount of juice without harm to themselves. This should be taken into account when tapping. In this sense, birch has a much more favorable position in Russia. It occupies vast areas, grows almost everywhere, many trees are large and have excellent health. It is quite possible to collect birch sap from us intensively and at the same time it is safe for the trees themselves.

Another consideration in favor of moderate tapping of Russian maples and more active extraction of birch sap is the difference in the rate of regeneration of the forest stand. Maple forests, like oak and lime trees, are ancient forests. Once they stretched in a wide strip across the southern regions of central Russia. But all these thickets were brought down and plowed up a long time ago, and there are very few areas of the original broad-leaved forest left.

In place of the fields, the first thing to do is to renew the birch forest. And if you suddenly cut it down, then young birch trees will appear in its place again. If the maples are cut down, then a young maple forest will not grow in their place. At first, the same birch will occupy a dominant position, since it is our pioneer species.

And dozens and even hundreds of years will pass before the natural process of changing forest stands returns oaks and maples to their original predominance in the forest. That is why maple groves are so valuable and need to be treated with care. Indeed, many years are required for their restoration, unlike birch forests, which are quickly renewed.

When tapping birch and maple in Canada, holes with a diameter of 11 and 8 mm are used. The diameter of the drill depends on the chosen tactic. A deep hole of large diameter leads to the formation of a large area of ​​damage. The whole question is in the ratio of the volume of juice production and the degree of damage. The traditional 11mm tree hole allows you to extract 20% more juice from large trees compared to the new 8mm hole type. But when extracting juice from medium-sized trunks, an 8 mm hole, being half the size, gives almost the same volume of juice as 11 mm. At the same time, it tightens faster, and the area of ​​​​damage in the trunk is almost half as much.

It is interesting to note that when maple is tapped with two 8 mm holes, the sap collection increases by 50%, which is more than from one 11 mm hole. At the same time, due to the small diameter and small drilling depth, damage to the trunk with a double tapping of 8 mm turns out to be similar to drilling a single hole of 11 mm. In Canada, many farmers are switching to using 8 mm holes, abandoning the traditional 11 mm, despite the fact that the latter also allowed long-term sap collection without much harm to large healthy trees.

For "home" collection of juice for one family, a tapping with a small diameter of 8 mm is certainly more suitable.

Following these principles - the minimum number of holes of minimum diameter and minimum depth while maintaining sufficient production volumes, allows the tree to build up the sap-conducting area faster than it is lost during tapping, which allows for a sustainable long-term collection of juice.

As mentioned in one of the articles useful trees) birch is a very valuable tree. From birch, you can not only get tar, birch bark for kindling, twigs for brewing tea, but also birch sap.

Birch sap, also called birch tree, is a healthy, natural, natural product.
Birch has a beneficial effect on the entire human body. Our ancestors knew about the benefits of birch sap, and the secrets of treatment with birch sap are passed down from generation to generation. For the widespread use of birch in medicine and not only folk, birch can be called a medicinal tree and the main merit in this is precisely because of the benefits of birch sap.

But everything needs to be approached wisely, you always need to know the measure and the rules. The tree is able to absorb harmful substances, toxins, exhaust gases and other chemical muck. Therefore, it is possible to collect birch sap only in ecologically clean forests, far from large cities, highways, factories, power plants, garbage dumps and etc. It is not recommended to collect birch sap closer than three hundred meters from asphalt roads. Otherwise, instead of a healing drink, you will get a cocktail that not only does not add health, but can also reduce it.

When can birch sap be collected?

It is impossible and simply impossible to collect birch sap all year round. It is rather difficult to establish the exact period for collecting birch sap, as it depends on the weather. The surest sign to start collecting juice is heavy melting of snow and buds swollen on the branches. As a rule, this is mid-March, early April. In order to determine whether sap flow has begun, you need to go out into the forest and do
a small prick with a thin awl, 3 cm deep. If drops of juice immediately appear at the puncture point after pulling out the awl, then sap flow has begun, you can collect birch sap. When the leaves begin to bloom on the birch, the collection of birch sap stops. The period of possible collection of juice is
about three weeks.

Harvesting birch sap, get birch sap

You should not collect juice from a young tree, there is little juice in such trees, and besides, after taking the juice from a young tree, it may die, not to mention the fact that in a mature birch the juice is richer and sweeter.
When harvesting birch, you should not use a saw or an ax, we are not vandals, let's save nature for future generations. Easiest to assemble and safest for wood when using a 5-8mm drill bit for drilling. such a hole will grow on a tree quickly and almost without a trace. It is important to know that, basically, the juice goes in the surface layer between the bark and the wood, so there is no need to make a deep hole at all. The best time to collect birch sap is between 12:00 and 18:00. Do not collect too much juice from one tree, so as not to destroy it. It is permissible to collect 1.5 - 2 liters per day from an adult birch. If you stock up on juice, then it’s better to take 2 liters from five birches than 10 liters from 1 birch at once. Know that birch, as soon as you drill a hole in it, will immediately begin to overgrow the wound inflicted on it. Therefore, the amount of birch sap will constantly decrease. Don't try to kill the tree by deepening or widening the hole. Just change the birch.

So:
1) find a suitable tree
the number of holes that can be made depends on the diameter of the birch, but remember it is better to limit yourself to one
- if 20-25 cm - only one
- with a volume of 25-35 cm two
- with a larger volume - three

2) carefully make a hole in the birch trunk at a distance of 20-40 cm from the ground and 4-5 cm deep. Attach a straw, tube, birch bark tray or other semicircular device through which the juice will flow. The groove should be directed into a well-fixed bottle, jar or bag.

3) After collecting the birch sap, help the birch heal the wound. Coat the place where birch sap is collected with garden pitch (a special fusible putty that does not dissolve in water, used to treat tree wounds) or hammer a wooden cork into the hole so that bacteria do not get into the trunk,
which can pose a serious threat to the life of the tree.

In extreme cases, when juice is needed, but there is no way to drill a hole in a birch, you can make a small incision as shown in the photo below

birch sap storage

You can store fresh birch sap in the refrigerator for about 3 days. To keep birch sap longer, it is canned, kvass, syrup are prepared.

Recipes for kvass from birch sap:
- Juice is heated up to +35°С, yeast is put into it at the rate of 15-20 g per 1 liter of juice. The leaven is placed for 3-4 days in a cold place, then poured into containers and preserved.
- Kvass can be prepared in a slightly different way. To 10 liters of birch sap, add the juice of 4 lemons, 50 g of yeast, 30 g of honey or sugar, raisins at the rate of 2-3 pieces per bottle. Bottled and kept for 1-2 weeks in a dark, cool place.
Kvass can be ready in 5 days, but the fact that it stays longer will not spoil the drink: it can be stored for the whole summer.

Canning:
- For 1 liter of birch sap - 125 g of sugar and 5 g of citric acid. Filter, pour into jars, pasteurize and screw on the lids. It is useful to insist the juice on the leaves of mint, lemon balm, thyme, St. John's wort, linden blossom, rose hips, cranberries.

Birch Syrup:
- After evaporating the juice to a lemon-white color and the density of honey, the concentration of sugar in the syrup reaches 60-70%. Such syrup can be stored in a tightly closed container for a long time. But when evaporated, a lot of vitamins are lost.

In ancient times, they drank birch fermented in barrels without adding sugar, it was a traditional low-alcohol drink at Russian feasts.

Composition of birch sap

Birch sap contains sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose), organic acids, enzymes and substances with high antimicrobial activity (phytoncides). There is also a lot in birch sap and mineral elements that the body weakened by spring hypovitaminosis needs. After drinking birch sap, we replenish the body with potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper. Birch sap also contains vitamins B6 and B12.

Properties of birch sap

Since birch sap contains enzymes and biological stimulants, it strengthens the immune system.
- Potassium, calcium, magnesium, contained in birch sap - are necessary for the normal functioning of the heart.
- Tannins of birch sap - have an anti-inflammatory effect.
- Easily digestible sugars - good for brain function.
Birch sap can be considered one of the best dietary remedies. Systematic

The beginning of the collection of birch sap depends on weather conditions and in different regions of Russia it starts at the right time. Somewhere in the middle of March, and somewhere at the end of April... Buds swollen on birch trees can serve as a reference point for collecting birch sap. To determine the beginning of sap flow, it is enough to go out into the forest after March 20-25 and make an injection with a thin awl on a birch as thick as your arm. If the juice has gone, a drop of juice will immediately come out at the puncture point. So it's time to collect the gray juice.

The main thing to remember if you decide to get healthy birch sap: collect birch sap only in ecologically clean forests, because the tree is able to absorb harmful substances and exhaust gases.

How to collect birch sap

Rules for collecting birch sap:

• You can not use a young tree to collect birch sap!
• Collecting birch sap - do not use an axe. It is better to use a drill with a 5-10 mm drill. Such a hole in a birch trunk overgrows almost without a trace.
• When collecting birch sap, it is important to know that, basically, the sap goes in the surface layer between the bark and the wood, so there is no need to make a deep hole at all.
• The best time to collect birch sap is between 12:00 and 18:00.
• Do not drain all the birch sap from one birch. It is better to go around 5-10 trees and take a liter of juice per day from each of them than to collect the whole from one birch, destroying it.
• After collecting the birch sap, help the birch heal the wound. Coat the place where birch sap is collected with garden pitch or hammer a wooden cork into the hole.

How to collect birch sap

Choose birches with a diameter more than 20-30 cm with a well-developed crown. In addition, as experts say, the juice from mature birches is sweeter. In the trunk of a birch, carefully make a hole at a distance of 20 cm from the ground. A birch bark tray or other semicircular device is attached to the hole made or under it, along which the juice will flow. The groove should be directed into the bottle, jar or bag.

The number of holes depends on the diameter of the birch. that can be done:

• if 20-25 cm - then only one,
• with a volume of 25-35 cm - two, with 35-40 - three,
• and if the diameter is more than 40 cm, it is permissible to make four holes.

After collecting birch sap, do not forget to help the tree recover: you need to tightly close the hole with pitch, wax, cork or moss so that bacteria do not get into the trunk, which can seriously threaten the life of the tree.

Keep in mind that birch, as soon as you drill it, it will immediately begin to overgrow the wound inflicted on it. Therefore, the amount of birch sap will constantly fall. This is fine! Don't try to kill the tree by digging a hole or drilling a new one. Just change the birch tree when birch sap collection is no longer suitable for you.

How to store birch sap

You can store fresh birch sap in the refrigerator for a little over 2 days. To keep birch sap longer, kvass is made from it.

Recipes for kvass from birch sap:

• Heat up to 35 degrees, add 15-20 g of yeast and 3 raisins per 1 liter, you can add lemon zest to taste. After that, the jar or bottle is tightly closed and left for 1-2 weeks. It will turn out a very tasty, carbonated, invigorating drink!
• Kvass can be prepared in a slightly different way: juice of 4 lemons, 50 g of yeast, 30 g of honey or sugar, raisins at the rate of 2-3 pieces per bottle are added to 10 liters of birch sap. Pour into bottles and keep 1-2 weeks in a dark cool place.

In the cases described above, kvass can be ready after 5 days, but the fact that it stays longer will not spoil the drink: it can be stored for the whole summer.

Our ancestors drank birch and fermented in barrels without adding sugar - this was a traditional low-alcohol drink at Russian feasts.

You can insist birch sap on dried fruits, in a jar covered with gauze, also for about 2 weeks. And you can also add berry juice to “birch tears”, insist them on herbs.

Recipes for harvesting birch sap for future use:

Canning. For 1 liter of birch sap - 125 g of sugar and 5 g of citric acid. Filter, pour into jars, pasteurize and screw on the lids. It is useful to insist the juice on the leaves of mint, lemon balm, thyme, St. John's wort, linden blossom, rose hips, lingonberries.

Birch kvass. The juice is heated to + 35 ° C, yeast is added to it at the rate of 15-20 g per 1 liter. The leaven is placed for 3-4 days in a cold place, then poured into containers and preserved.

Birch syrup. After evaporating the juice to a lemon-white color and the density of honey, the sugar concentration in the syrup reaches 60-70%.

The benefits of birch sap, treatment with birch sap

In the spring, for about three weeks, the birch shares its “tears” with us and helps a person heal the body. The secret and popularity of birch sap is that the forces accumulated during the winter in the birch trunk are given to humans with birch sap.

Composition of birch sap

Birch sap contains sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose), organic acids, enzymes and substances with high antimicrobial activity (phytoncides). There is also a lot in birch sap and mineral elements that the body weakened by spring hypovitaminosis needs. Having drunk birch sap, we replenish the body with a supply of potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper.

Properties of birch sap

• Since birch sap contains enzymes and biological stimulants, it strengthens the immune system.
• Potassium, calcium, magnesium, contained in birch sap - are necessary for the normal functioning of the heart.
• Tannins of birch sap - have an anti-inflammatory effect.
• Easily digestible sugars are good for brain function.

The properties of birch sap make it an indispensable tool for healing the human body and strengthening the immune system.

What are the benefits of birch sap

Spring birch sap can be considered one of the best dietary remedies. Systematic taking birch sap has a tonic effect. If you drink at least a glass of birch sap a day, you will feel more cheerful and energetic. Drowsiness, depression, fatigue will disappear.

The benefits of birch sap and that birch sap is a good tonic for a variety of diseases. Among other things, it has a diuretic effect, stimulates kidney function. Birch juice promotes the release of uric acid, increases diuresis. It is useful for people with kidney and urinary tract diseases. Birch juice strengthens the strength of those who have lung disease, arthritis or bronchitis. However, people with urolithiasis and stomach ulcers should consult a doctor before expecting benefits from drinking birch sap.

Birch sap is recommended to drink with skin problems - eczema, lichen, furunculosis. Rinse with birch sap throat with angina, proven benefits birch sap in the complex treatment of headache, cough, joint diseases. birch sap the ability to purify the blood and remove toxic substances is inherent, therefore it is real benefits of birch sap with intoxication of the body. Also Birch juice alleviates the condition of infectious diseases.

Undoubtedly, benefits of birch sap is obvious, but it is worth understanding: this juice is not a medicine, but a good supporting agent donated by nature, which should be used in complex treatment.

Harm of birch sap

Birch sap can be harmful if: collected near highways, collected in the city, in a place with unfavorable ecology. Also, birch sap can be harmful to those who are allergic to birch pollen!

The benefits of birch sap - folk recipes

What birch sap cures, how to be treated with birch sap, what diseases birch sap treats... Recipes for treatment with birch sap were collected and preserved by our ancestors. The people were often treated with birch sap.

Anemia - treatment with birch sap
Birch sap contains a large amount of vitamins, microelements, including iron and natural sugar, so it is indicated for low hemoglobin levels.
Mix fresh birch sap in equal proportions with apple, carrot or beetroot and you will get a remedy that effectively increases hemoglobin. Take 50 ml (this is about 1 stack) 15 minutes before meals 3 times a day, during the entire time of birch sap flow.

Reduced immunity - treatment with birch sap
A drink consisting of birch sap, milk (in equal proportions) and with the addition of a small amount of starch perfectly helps to raise immunity.

Tumors - treatment with birch sap
In the presence of various tumors, traditional medicine recommends mixing 2 parts of birch sap with 2 parts of yarrow grass juice, 2 parts of carrot juice, 1 part of hemlock grass juice, 1 part of St. John's battle grass juice and 1 part of meadowsweet grass juice. Take 1 tablespoon in the morning on an empty stomach with milk, and 1 tablespoon at night with milk.

Diseases of the digestive system - treatment with birch sap
With heartburn and gastritis with low acidity, biliary dyskinesia, exacerbation of peptic ulcer, with flatulence and chronic inflammation of the pancreas, birch sap is taken as follows: 50 ml in pure form or diluted with warm boiled water in a ratio of 2: 1 - drink in a day.

High blood pressure - treatment with birch sap
For hypertension with high blood pressure, accompanied by swelling, pain in the heart, headache and dizziness, drink 1/2 cup of birch sap 2 times a day. The juice acts as a mild diuretic, removing excess moisture from the body.

Diseases of blood vessels and joints - treatment with birch sap
The diuretic function of birch sap, coupled with an anti-inflammatory effect, makes it possible to consider it as a good remedy for arthritis, arthrosis, gout, rheumatism, varicose veins of the legs, and trophic ulcers. In this case, the juice should be drunk 50 ml in pure form or diluted with water in a ratio of 2:1 3 times a day, half an hour before meals. The effect of therapy will be enhanced if you drink a glass of warm milk on an empty stomach and before going to bed.

Pulmonary diseases - treatment with birch sap
For bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, birch sap is drunk as follows: 75-100 ml 2 times a day. For colds (pharyngitis, laryngitis) and tonsillitis, birch sap, in pure form or diluted with warm water, is useful on an empty stomach and gargle after each meal. At high temperatures, birch sap can also be used as a local antipyretic - in pure form or with cold water (2: 1). Gauze or cotton rags are moistened in juice, slightly squeezed and applied to the elbows, armpits and in the groin, under the knees, wrapped around the ankles and wrists and changed as they dry until the patient's temperature subsides.

Skin diseases - treatment with birch sap
As an external agent, birch sap is used for eczema, neurodermatitis, psoriasis, furunculosis, acne, fungal diseases and poorly healing wounds. In these cases, birch sap is used in the form of washings, rubbing, lotions, compresses on problem areas and places. The external action of the juice can be duplicated by ingestion in its pure form, 75-100 ml before meals and at night.

Diseases of the genitourinary system - treatment with birch sap
In diseases of the kidneys - chronic pyelonephritis, the presence of sand or small pebbles - birch sap should be drunk daily on an empty stomach, 1 cup undiluted.
With urolithiasis and cholelithiasis, birch sap should be taken with caution, first finding out the composition and size of the stones. Otherwise, being a strong "stone-cutting" agent, birch sap can drive a large stone into a narrow duct and provoke colic. However, this applies only to stones of oxalate and uric acid origin. But birch sap, on the contrary, dissolves phosphate and carbonate stones, only for this you need to drink it for at least 3 months, 1 glass on an empty stomach and an hour before bedtime.

Hair loss - treatment with birch sap
If you began to notice that your hair was weakened and began to fall out, then rubbing a mixture of birch sap with vodka and a decoction of burdock root in equal parts into the scalp will help stop this process. Birch sap also helps to fight dandruff, for this you need to wash your hair with birch sap.