Fresh birch sap is sweetish, with a characteristic aftertaste and delicate aroma of the spring forest. And how many recipes exist based on it - from all kinds of kvass to alcoholic homemade drinks.
In general, the value of this gift of nature is not only culinary - in medicinal purposes and cosmetic it is also very effective. And if you know how to properly harvest, store and use birch "tears", then you can fully enjoy all their unique properties.
Useful qualities of birch sap
Birch sap contains great amount vitamins, minerals, fruit sugars, organic acids and other useful substances. It is they who explain its many beneficial properties.
Chemical composition, benefits and harms
Outwardly, birch sap resembles plain water- clear colorless liquid. Very rarely it has a yellowish or even dark brown tint, which is due to the characteristics of the soil or the type of tree. Sometimes the liquid is cloudy - it's not scary, you can drink it.
Regular consumption of fresh birch sap makes it possible to help the body survive the spring lack of vitamins, improve immunity, normalize the functioning of all systems and organs, and cleanse it of slagging. Even children after a year, pregnant and lactating women, this drink is recommended for use. But there are also contraindications to the use of birch sap.
You can not drink it if:
- there is an allergic reaction to birch pollen;
- diagnosed with gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer;
- found stones in the bladder and kidneys;
- there is individual intolerance.
In all other cases, this is truly magical nectar! And even those who are losing weight should not refuse it, because the calorie content of the product is very low - a little more than 20 kcal per 100 g. That is, a glass a day will not hurt even with a strict diet.
Treatment and cosmetology
Let us dwell a little more on the treatment with the help of birch "tears". Of course it's not a cure pure form, but as an aid they are indispensable for such diseases:
- arthritis, gout, sciatica and other joint problems;
- vascular and heart diseases;
- oncological diseases;
- inflammatory processes of any nature;
- intoxication;
- depression, fatigue, chronic fatigue etc.
In diabetes, juice in moderation is also extremely useful. And here a completely logical question may arise about how much birch "nectar" you can and should drink, and most importantly - how and when. There is no universal answer here, it all depends on a lot of factors, so the recommendation of doctors will not be superfluous.
Important! The benefits of birch sap will be maximum only if it is fresh. natural product collected in an ecologically clean forest.
The female half of humanity will also need this drink for home care for the skin of the face and body, hair. There are, of course, foods richer in vitamins and minerals, but freshly harvested tree sap is a real living water because it is biologically active. Ordinary hair wraps or a simple facial massage with frozen juice cubes give incredible results!
When and how is birch sap collected
The harvesting period for birch sap is, unfortunately, very short. The first juice begins to flow in the spring from the moment the thaw begins and before the buds begin to bloom. It is clear that the further south the region, the earlier you can enjoy the "nectar". A lot depends on the specific weather conditions - if the spring is long, with a gradual increase in temperature, then the collection period can stretch for several weeks. A sharp warming, on the contrary, shortens this period. 
If you decide to collect juice with your own hands, then remember a few tricks, thanks to which you will get the most delicious and sweet drink:
- collect from those trees that grow on a hillock or just an area open to the sun - these birches wake up first;
- the higher the hole is made, the richer the taste;
- the optimal collection time is from 11 to 17 hours, since it is then that the sap flow is the strongest;
- take the juice on the south side of the trunk - and it flows better, and the taste is sweeter.
Collection rules
It is clear that the juice collected by oneself will be of the highest quality and freshest. You just need to remember that birch is a living organism, and sap intake is stressful for it. That's why try to follow the rules so as not to harm the tree.
The tools you will need are very simple: cocktail straws, a hand or electric drill with a drill of the right size, bottles or cans. 
It is better to extract juice from adult healthy trees, the trunk diameter of which is at least 20 cm.
Having selected a birch, we drill a hole. You don’t need to go too deep - sap flow takes place in the layers of wood directly under the bark. You will feel when the drill hits a dense layer of wood. We stop drilling, insert a straw and fasten the container. When 1-2 liters run up, the hole must be rubbed with earth or caulked with moss. You can drive a branch of a suitable diameter.
Why is it not necessary to take more than 2 liters? If you take a lot of liquid from one tree at once, then, of course, it will not die, but it will take a long time to recover. Yes, and the taste of such juice will be too watery.
How to save for a long time
So, we have collected “living water”, but how to store it? It is believed that fresh birch sap can be kept in the refrigerator for about 2 days, retaining almost all of its usefulness. After this time, it can turn sour, ferment, or even become thick like jelly. It is better not to drink such a drink.
To avoid such damage valuable product, it is better to make the fermentation process controllable, or, in other words, to make kvass. Thus, not only will the main healing properties juice, but also a delicious refreshing drink will be prepared, in which, thanks to fermentation, additional benefits will appear. 
There are many recipes for kvass - with lemon, orange, dried fruits, bread, barley, etc. Choose what you like. I like the simplest kvass on a raisin.
Pouring Fresh Juice in plastic bottles, throw 5-10 berries, tightly twist and hide for 2.5-3 months in the cellar or just in the refrigerator.
This one quenches thirst and is suitable for making cold refreshing soups, for example, it turns out incredibly tasty.
canning
You can also preserve birch sap. Boiling, sterilizing and adding sugar will extend the shelf life. The easiest way is to bring the juice almost to a boil, pour into jars, roll up and wrap up overnight.
It is very tasty to put additives such as mint, citrus fruits, etc. at the same time. An unusual drink is obtained with duchess sweets (3-4 pieces per 3 l jar). I recommend using . 
An interesting way to prepare syrup concentrate. To make it, the juice must be boiled until its volume decreases by 7-8 times. The resulting liquid is rolled into jars, and then served with pancakes, pancakes.
Such blanks can be made even for the winter - they have a fairly long shelf life. Here are just the benefits canned juice will be small - all active substances under the influence of temperature, unfortunately, disappear.
Is it possible to freeze?
If possible, it is better to freeze fresh birch sap. So unique substances will not go anywhere, and you can store about 3 months.
Freezing is best plastic bottles. Just do not fill completely and squeeze the container a little before sending it to the freezer. The liquid expands when it freezes, and the plastic can simply burst. After that, it remains to defrost a portion and enjoy a tasty and healthy drink!
Finally, I suggest watching a video on how to easily and without harm to a birch tree to collect juice without even having a drill at hand:
It is difficult to establish the exact period for collecting birch sap. Usually, Birch juice starts to run when the snow melts, and swollen buds are the first sign that it is time to collect birch sap. The collection of birch sap stops when the leaves are already blooming. So how to collect birch sap correctly, and how to store birch sap. Birch sap, birch - a drink that has beneficial effect to the entire human body. The benefits of birch sap were noticed by our ancestors, and the secrets of birch sap treatment are passed down from generation to generation. birch sap has healing composition, because birch is one of the most medicinal trees in our country.
When to collect birch sap
The beginning of the collection of birch sap depends on weather conditions and in different regions of Russia begins 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 on a birch as thick as a hand with a thin awl. 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.
Choose birches with a diameter of 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, which 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.
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 to taste lemon peel. 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.
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 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, lime blossom, rose hips, cranberries.
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.
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 the fact that birch sap is a good tonic for the most various diseases. Among other things, it has a diuretic effect, stimulates kidney function. Birch juice contributes to the release uric acid, enhances 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, you should consult your doctor before expecting the benefits of drinking birch sap.
Birch sap is recommended to drink with skin problems - eczema, lichen, furunculosis. Rinse with birch sap throat with angina, proven benefits of 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, the benefits of birch sap are 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 does birch sap treat, how to be treated with birch sap, what diseases does birch sap treat... 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 starch.
Tumors - treatment with birch sap
In the presence of various tumors ethnoscience recommends mixing 2 parts birch sap with 2 parts yarrow grass juice, 2 parts 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 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 per 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 sore throat with birch sap, in pure or diluted warm water form, it is useful on an empty stomach and after each meal, gargle. 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 remedy, 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 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.
When to harvest birch buds
Birch buds also have medicinal properties. This is a kind of concentrate of useful substances, loved by the people and often used in traditional medicine.
The greatest amount of useful substances in birch buds is contained in the period of active sap flow in the tree. That is, around the same period when you can collect birch sap, or rather a little later. Don't miss the moment when the buds swell but haven't opened yet. It is necessary to collect birch buds for further use for medicinal purposes when they are very swollen, but the scales have not yet dispersed. Of course, it is worth remembering the elementary rules: to collect birch buds, like birch sap, is far from highways, landfills, and industrial enterprises. Only the collection of birch buds in ecologically clean places will provide you with useful raw materials.
mine delicious drink You can not only with tropical fruits. Every spring, the beautiful birch pleases lovers of healthy liquids with its healthy liquid. The season starts in April, this is the most successful month in order to collect enough a large number of liquids. It is necessary to be able to properly extract birch sap, since a person harms the life of a tree with inability.
It should be noted that the procedure should be carried out in environmentally friendly places. This is the most correct solution. Pure drink will surprise you with magical taste, useful properties, and saturate you with cheerfulness and energy for the whole day. Often, drinking is taken as a basis during the preparation of kvass, it turns out to be carbonated and incredibly tasty.
The housewives have learned how to combine birch sap with other fruits well. Often birch sap is mixed with apple, cherry and other types of drinking. Mistresses roll up cooking masterpiece in jars and put in the cellar. You can enjoy a delicious and fortified drink all year long without leaving your home.
Our ancestors have long noticed that drinking carries a lot of useful properties. Modern doctors also recommend the drink as a preventive goal in the presence of certain diseases. Before use, consult your doctor and find out about possible negative consequences.
Useful properties donated by nature:
- Fights with low immunity.
- Actively removes excess fluid from the body.
- Drink number one for the prevention of urolithiasis.
- Fights low hemoglobin.
- Eliminates fatigue, gives cheerfulness and energy.
- It is recommended to use to improve the functioning of the central nervous system.
- Eliminates unpleasant syndromes after alcohol hangover.
In the case when you have a tree growing and you want it to bring a drink every year, you need to perform the right actions that do not harm the tree. Ecologists signal that every fifth tree perishes every year from pumping out drinking water. Protecting nature is the main task of every person. Let's move on to the next block and find out how to start collecting tasty and healthy liquid in the right way.
We carry out the procedure without harm to the birch
The right technology will allow you to collect at least 15 liters of drink and not harm the birch itself. This collection, which is gentle for the tree, excludes the death or infection of the tree with some kind of infection.
After the last snow has come down from the ground, there is not a layer of white veil left on the ground, it is necessary to start collecting healing drink. Take with you the necessary auxiliary tools:
- Take a small but sharp axe.
- Hand drill with a drill.
- Children's plasticine.
- Capacity. You can cut a plastic bottle.
- Funnel for direct collection of drinking.
Choose the desired birch. The tree must have a width of more than 40 centimeters. Take an ax and carefully remove the top ball of bark. Be careful, because your goal is not to damage the integral structure of the tree.
Roll out the plasticine and attach below the intended hole. Plasticine must be pressed well so that it evens out and penetrates the bark. The procedure is done in order to create good contact, and you can attach the container.
Let's move on to one of the most important points. Attach the tray to plasticine. Note that the plasticine should not be wet, otherwise the structure will simply fall down and will not bring a positive result. It is necessary to install a bottle in the ground to collect our liquid. To do this, you can dig a small hole and dig the selected container. The juice will flow first into the tray and then into the selected bowl, keeping it clean and hygienic.
Let's start drilling holes. Take a drill and make a hole up to 6 centimeters deep. If you overdo it and make the hole bigger, you will hurt the tree a lot. Correctly collect birch sap and then the annual collection is guaranteed to you.
The action plan is ready. As it was written above, the tree will bring about 15 liters of drink. Remember that the collection vessel must be at least three liters. Remember to harvest every eight hours.
Is the procedure completed? Help the tree, do not leave it in trouble. The affected area must be securely closed. It can be a cork drilled on its own or other types of improvised means. You will save the tree from possible infections infections, often they lead to the death of the tree.
Every year my family and I collect birch sap. The tradition passed from generation to generation. We collect the juice correctly, then we preserve it in jars. He makes us happy all year round. pleasant taste and useful features. Having completely abandoned store analogues, we maintain our health and support immune system. Olesya, 45 years old.
Rules everyone should know:
- Choose old birches. By choosing a young tree, you will destroy it.
- Do not use an ax to drill a hole. This will damage the entire structure of the tree.
- Give preference to a hand drill.
- There is also a time for a good harvest. Give preference to 12-18 hours.
- Collect no more than 15 liters of liquid from one birch, otherwise this will lead to the death of the beauty.
- After the end of the procedure, close the affected area with a stopper.
Nature gives us healing properties. We need to learn how to properly harvest the fruits. Analyzing the text written above, I would like to appeal to all lovers of collecting birch sap in the spring, and say that the correct consequence of the procedures will provide a good “harvest” not only for you, but also give life to the tree. There is no need to harm nature, because jokes with her are always bad. Good health and excellent health.
When collecting birch sap, they are guided, first of all, by the season - it is better to do it at the moment when the buds swell on the trees, but a lot depends on the region in which the collection takes place - in the Moscow region, the Leningrad region, in Siberia or in the Urals, in Ukraine, in addition, you should know whether it is possible to collect in May and summer, as well as other secrets of this process ...
In what month is birch sap collected - how to determine the timing
For those who love birch sap and harvest it every year for winter storage V large quantities, it is imperative to know the timing when birch sap is collected so as not to miss the most favorable time for the process. For experienced harvesters, it will not be difficult to establish this time interval, regardless of weather and climatic conditions, but beginners should study the issue more carefully.
Which has long been known, the drink is tasty and contains a sufficient amount of vitamins and trace elements, and in order to preserve its beneficial properties, the collection dates should be strictly observed. In addition, it is important to know how to do it correctly so as not to damage the tree, because, with proper handling, it will delight with juice in future years.
Collection of birch sapEven the most experienced birch sap harvester will not name the exact assembly time - everything will depend on weather conditions, climatic zone and region, but first of all, you should observe changes in weather conditions, air heating temperature and humidity index.
If we take the average figures for Russia, then the optimal time for collecting birch sap falls on the period from the last days of March to the end of the first half of April.
To finally make sure that the birch is ready to give up the juice, it is worth taking a walk into the grove and making a test. First of all, attention should be paid to the buds of the tree - they should be swollen, but not blooming. A test puncture is made on the selected tree - if a drop of sap appears, you can be sure that the time to collect birch sap is the most suitable.
When birch sap is collected in different regions of Russia
As mentioned above, the time when birch sap is harvested largely depends on the region, and sometimes varies significantly.
The dates when birch sap is collected in the Moscow region and other central regions of Russia are not constant, but more often fall at the end of April (of course, everything will depend on when the spring heat comes to these regions). However, do not forget to focus on the factors described above in the article - swollen kidneys, the appearance of a drop of juice on a puncture.
Regardless of the region birch sap can only be collected in spring, - the sap flow process begins in the second half of March, sometimes even in early April, and the main factor for this is the average daily temperature indicator - it should be consistently above zero, and the snow cover should actively subside.
In the Chernozem region, this period, as a rule, falls on the first days of March, sometimes in its middle, as for non-chernozem regions, here one should be guided by the third decade of March.
The dates when birch sap is collected in Siberia often fall in April - it is at this time that snow begins to melt in this area, but swollen buds should also be focused on.
You should start collecting sap from the extreme birches growing on the edge, where the sun's rays fall well, and later, when the sun warms up more, you need to move deep into the forest - there the trees come out of sleep later.
When collecting birch sap, preference is usually given to birches of medium diameter with a strong healthy trunk - a young tree should not be used for sap intake, it may lose the necessary rate for its normal growth and development and die.
Until what date you can collect birch sap, no one can say for sure, but you can do it in any region until the buds on the birch trees open and the first green leaves appear.
The beneficial properties of birch sap depend not only on compliance with the terms of its collection, but also on many other factors.
Having chosen the right tree, it is important to make the right hole for the fence. healing drink, - it should be located at a height of no more than 25 cm from the ground and should not be deep (the optimal depth is 6 cm), because the juice moves in the upper layers of the trunk, between the body of the tree and its bark.
Fresh juice is stored for no more than two days if kept in the refrigerator. Do not trust the opinion that birch sap can stand for a month and not lose useful qualities, - the composition of the drink contains a serious amount of microorganisms and bacteria that begin to cause mold already on the third day.
The bark and the tree layer should be cut as carefully as possible, but it is better to make a hole with a thin drill - roughly opened trees can catch the infection and die.
If every year the tree brings everything less juice, this indicates his poor health, which means that the collection of juice should be stopped.
Prepared for storage with heat treatment. So the drink can be stored for a long time and delight with useful properties both in hot summer and in cold winter. Some prefer to prepare natural juice without any additives, others like to mix flavor and aroma, most popular recipe drink with additives is or lemon.
As for the benefits of birch sap for human health, one can talk about it endlessly. The juice of this tree has a truly miraculous effect, helping with diseases of the digestive system, liver diseases, stimulating the metabolic process in the body, toning, relieving allergic reactions and much more.
Nature is rich in various gifts. With autumn comes the berry season, mushroom pickers also go “hunting”. In the spring, you can please yourself with others, the main thing is to figure out how to collect birch sap correctly, how to guess the right time.
Collection time
Birch sap is really collected from a birch, but exact time quite difficult to determine. Nature is changeable, you cannot just set yourself an exact date for collection and follow it every year. It is better to observe what is happening around. Usually, birch sap runs out with the beginning of snow melting, and when the buds swell, this is a sure sign of the beginning of the collection.
It is necessary to stop collecting from the moment of appearance, active growth of leaves.
Birch is a beautiful, peculiar tree, it is difficult to confuse it with something else. Birch is sung by poets, described by artists, it is sung about in some songs. Indeed, beautiful and as it turned out, useful tree. After all, you can collect a little juice from birches every year. The main thing here is not only to collect it, but also to store it correctly.
Look at the diameter of the tree, how many holes can be made in total:
When the diameter is 20-25 cm - 1;
25-35 cm - two, if 35-40 - 3;
When the birch is large, the diameter is above 40 cm - up to 4.
After collecting, be sure to help the tree heal the wound faster. Close the hole tightly with a cork, or var, you can wax, moss. Otherwise, bacteria and bugs will quickly get into the barrel from there, which will then become a serious threat. It is better to take care of the surrounding birch trees, then for many years you can safely collect the juice, especially since it is defenseless.
Birch almost immediately after drilling will begin to overgrow the resulting wound and the amount of juice will drop. This is fine! You can not drill a hole, deepening it. Better to wait patiently the right amount juice or change the tree when the rate of collection drops more.
Juice storage
Fresh juice should not be stored for more than 2 days, even in the cool of the refrigerator. Those who wish to stock up on juice make kvass later from it.
Recipe for kvass
Harm juice
Yes, it also causes harm, especially when juice is collected near highways or in general in a city where the environment is unfavorable. It is also worth paying attention to allergy sufferers. When there is an allergy even to birch pollen, there is no need to risk juice.
