What to add to birch sap for storage. What needs to be done to keep the juice for a long time. How to collect birch product

The beginning of spring for those who are fans of birch sap is associated with the collection of this product. You need to have time to collect the juice while the birch is still young and the first leaves have just blossomed on it. Birch gives a lot of juice, which can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 48 hours.

Possible home storage options

  • Storage in the freezer - this method can only be used if the freezer has the "quick freeze" function, since the usual freezing is too long and affects the composition of the product;
  • Canning is the most common method that can be used during other winter preparations;
  • Evaporation - gives a product at the output, which must be diluted with water, it is also worth considering that during evaporation, the volume of juice decreases by 25%;
  • Preparation of drinks - drinks based on birch water are subject to long-term storage, plus additional components in the composition enhance the usefulness of the main ingredient on the basis of which drinks are made.

Which of the ways to store birch sap at home is decided on an individual basis, depending on the possibilities, the availability of free time and personal taste preferences.

How to freeze juice

Raw materials should be poured into food containers (you need to use just such containers, it is not recommended to use bags for freezing) small portions up to 300 milliliters. The fact is that when defrosted, birch sap can also be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days, so it is not advisable to freeze raw materials in whole liters.

After spilling the juice, it must be put immediately in the freezer and turn on the quick freeze mode.

How to preserve juice for the winter

Preserving birch sap is very similar to the process of making compote for the winter. Raw materials need to be heated in an enamel bowl up to 85 degrees Celsius, then pour into sterilized jars and roll up with tin lids.

After the jars are clogged, they must be additionally sterilized for 20 minutes at a heating temperature of 90 degrees Celsius.

Before sending juice cans for storage in a dark, cool place, they must be left upside down to cool completely.

juice evaporation

Birch sap in an enamel bowl must be evaporated at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius until the total volume of liquid is reduced by 25% of the initial volume. During the evaporation process, the liquid will acquire a cloudy caramel color, as it should be.

After evaporation, the resulting product must be poured either by sterilized jars or sterilized bottles and roll up as usual blanks for the winter.

After the jars or bottles have completely cooled, they can be stored in the cellar or basement. It is important that you cannot drink such juice undiluted. Before drinking the drink dilute it with boiled water. You need to add quite a bit of water so that the liquid acquires a light brown tint.

Recipes for making drinks from birch sap

If there is no particular desire to make seamings, then you can prepare delicious drinks, these are kvass and fruit drinks. All drinks are kept useful composition birch sap, and even enhance its usefulness.

Cooking kvass

In two liters of juice, add four teaspoons of sugar, a handful of raisins. Mix everything, pour the drink into glass bottles (it is desirable that the bottles are made of dark glass), put away in a cool dark place for sourdough for 7 days. After this time, kvass should be filtered and drunk, the drink should be stored in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Preparation of fruit drink

To prepare this drink, you will need not only birch sap, but also berries. You can choose any berries that are available. The berries must be squeezed out, only the cake is required, and the berry juice itself will be required at the end of cooking.

Berry pulp should be poured with birch sap and put in a boiling water bath, heated for five minutes. After that, the contents that stood in a water bath should be mixed with berry juice. Cool the drink before drinking, also, sugar or honey can be added to it so that the fruit drink is sweeter.

Morse from birch sap perfectly quenches thirst and normalizes the balance of nutrients in the body and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

It is quite possible to store birch sap at home, because there are several options at once. But how nice it is to drink this drink in a hot summer, or replenish the supply of vitamins in a fierce winter!

In early March, when the sun gives the earth its first warmth, a precious liquid begins to flow through the trees, containing a lot of useful ones. Today we will tell you about how to collect and, most importantly, how to store birch sap so that it does not deteriorate for a long time and does not lose its properties. After all, the “tears” of this amazingly beautiful tree help with many diseases, are rich in vitamins and support the immune system.

How to store birch sap depends on the form in which you purchased it. If you buy a store product in a glass jar or bottle, then you just have to enjoy the benefits of this delicious drink Everything else the manufacturers have already done for you. If you decide to collect “birch tears” on your own, then you will have to work a little so that they retain their valuable qualities for a long time.

What are the benefits of this drink?

  • Birch sap has an excellent tonic effect - a glass of this wonderful "elixir" will supply you with energy for the whole day.
  • It has a good diuretic effect and stimulates the kidneys.
  • Strengthens the respiratory system, improves the functioning of the bronchi and lungs.
  • This clear liquid is rich in potassium, calcium, sodium, fluorine and other beneficial substances.

But, in fact, birch sap can be found not only on the store shelf, but also received completely free of charge as a gift from the “queen of trees”. Well, let's go to the field work, shall we?

We take the best from nature!

You need to know not only how to save birch sap, but you also need to collect it correctly, otherwise you can cause irreparable harm to a tree and not collect the right amount of raw materials. Often in birch groves one can see withered trees with barbaric traces of an ax on their trunks. To prevent this from happening, remember a few simple rules and follow them when collecting birch.

  • Never use an ax! It is much easier and more convenient to use a drill by drilling a hole 2-3 centimeters deep. This hole will be overgrown next year without a trace, and you will again be able to take juice from the tree.
  • Do not strive to take as much liquid as possible from one source - otherwise the birch tree simply does not have enough strength to continue to exist and grow. Want to get more raw materials? Activate large quantity trees!
  • Before leaving, take care of the health of the trees - close the hole so that the birch does not leak juices further.

Treat nature with gratitude and attention, and it will continue to delight you with its gifts! We have collected "tears", now we will be engaged in conservation of birch sap.

The classic way to preserve

Ingredients

  • — 10 l + -
  • - 400 g + -
  • - 1 tsp + -

Cooking

This is the easiest and most common way to make a “birch elixir” - everything you need is in the bins of even the most unthrifty hostess! Yes, and the canning technology itself is extremely understandable and will perfectly work for any keeper of the hearth. Juice will turn out to be an extremely tasty and pleasant drink that perfectly removes thirst and invigorates.

1. Natural birch contains quite a lot of extraneous and clearly unnecessary impurities and additives. To get rid of them, we will strain our liquid through a fine sieve, which, for greater fidelity, can be laid with two layers of clean gauze.

2. We add sugar to the “birch elixir” and citric acid and place the containers on a small light. During the cooking process, a reddish foam will accumulate on the surface, which must be removed with a spoon or slotted spoon. We will not boil our composition, but simply wait until bubbles begin to appear at the very bottom.

3. While the birch sap is languishing on the stove, we will take care of the sterilization of the container into which we will pour the juice. To do this, wash the jars and lids with water and put them in an oven preheated to one hundred and fifty degrees. At the same time, keep in mind that the covers must be without rubber inserts - otherwise they will melt and “leak”.

4. Well, now we just have to pour the elixir into jars, roll them up tightly and leave them upside down for a day. After this period, we move the container to a cool dark place.

Birch sap, the preservation of which is an extremely easy task, will certainly help you get rid of thirst on a hot summer day and saturate your body with many useful substances!

Dessert drink “Birch in oranges”

Ingredients

  • - 3 liters + -
  • Orange - a quarter of the fruit + -
  • - 100 g + -
  • Citric acid- at the tip of a knife + -
  • Raisins - 10 pcs. + -

Cooking

Does a child or someone at home not like birch sap in its pure form? Go for a little trick - offer to try healthy nectar according to this recipe. We are sure that not everyone, even an adult, will smell the notes of the liquid presented by the birch behind the aroma of citrus fruits!

1. We carefully clean the juice from dirt and the smallest particles of debris - we filter it through gauze folded in several layers. We put the pan with liquid on a small flame, add sugar, mix and bring almost to a boil, but do not let bubbles appear on the surface.

2. Banks are sterilized according to the above scheme - it is the simplest of all possible, but reliable. The main thing to remember is that both jars and lids taken out of the oven will be very hot, so be careful not to burn yourself.

3. Inside each jar we place raisins, orange and citric acid, washed and aged for a couple of minutes in boiling water. Pour the drink into jars and tightly twist the lids. We keep the jars upside down for a day, and then put them in a cold place.

Such a natural cocktail will last until next spring, and will allow you to “feed” on vitamins until fresh fruits and berries appear and keep birch sap in its entirety of taste.

What else can be added to our conservation?

  • Part of the sugar in the composition, put according to the recipe, can be replaced with natural honey.
  • You can also add a handful of dried fruits or candied fruits to the nectar.
  • The original taste of the drink is given by a couple of Barberry sweets added to the mixture.

Now you know how easy it is to preserve birch sap, and the proposed recipes allow you to make its already incomparable taste and aroma even more original and give it new interesting shades. The necessary supply of vitamins and minerals will provide you with health and energy for a long time.
Get another healthy habit this spring!

Birch sap is a transparent liquid that flows from the trunks and branches of a tree under the action of root pressure. The process of secretion of juice begins in the spring and continues until the buds open. Juice is extracted by making an incision on the bark or cutting off small branches. Next, a plastic chute is attached to the cut point, through which the juice flows into a substituted container or bag. For a day from one birch you can get 2 liters of juice.

It is very beneficial for health. This is just a storehouse of vitamins and the most useful substances. Fresh birch sap is not only a tonic and tonic, but also a dietary drink. It is also used for diseases associated with the throat (cough and sore throat), headaches, joint diseases. In general, there are a lot of useful properties and advantages of this drink, but contraindications of juice should also be taken into account. It should not be used by people suffering from stomach ulcers and urolithiasis.

Well, how to save birch sap? Unfortunately, this drink is stored very little. a couple of days, maybe a week in the refrigerator. Do you know how to preserve birch sap is possible with the help of conservation? The preservation process must be carried out immediately after collecting the juice. It is required to add a few preservatives, sterilize and store in glassware. But the resulting juice will not be as tasty and healthy as a natural product.

The next storage method is cooking. It can be prepared in two ways. In the first, we add sugar and store in a cool place, the product can be consumed in a couple of days. And in the second, yeast is added to the juice heated to a temperature of 30-40 degrees. Using this method, the drink should be infused for a week. In both cases, you can add raisins, rye crackers and slightly roasted barley for a darker color of the future drink. The shelf life of this kvass is 3 months.

The next tip is on the topic: "How to save birch sap." This method consists in the preparation of birch balm. 250 ml of dry wine, 100 g of raisins, 100 g of vodka and 200 g of sugar must be added to the juice. The mixture you receive must be left in a dark and cool place for 3 months. After that, you need to bottle it and leave it for another month.

Next, you can prepare birch balm. You can get it by evaporating the juice. The resulting balm is no less useful than juice. The problem lies in the production itself, since with prolonged evaporation from a whole bucket of juice, only half a glass of syrup will be obtained.

We also give an example of the manufacture of birch sap for wine. To do this, add 100 g of sugar to one liter of juice and boil for so long that the amount of liquid is halved. Then filter and leave to cool. We put 2 g After the temperature of the juice drops to 30 degrees, it is necessary to add 2 g of dry yeast. After a couple of weeks, we try for sweetness. If it is sufficient, then pour in 100 g of vodka. A month later, after filtration, we bottle it.

You already know how to save birch sap. And now more about the time of collecting birch sap. It is recommended to collect this healing drink in early spring, when it is already warm enough, but the leaves have not yet blossomed. As mentioned earlier, it is necessary to make a cut or a hole. But this should not be done with an ax. It is better to use a drill or something similar. So the damage done to the tree will be the least, and this will not affect the amount of juice.

It turns out birch sap is very useful and you can use it all year round replenishing the body with vitamins. Drink juice and be healthy.

Birch sap has long been considered a unique drink that is incomparable with either fruit or vegetable juices. It contains a huge amount of vitamins, minerals, as well as micro and macro elements that are so necessary for the human body: essential oils, glucose, saponins, betulol, phytoncides. And this is not the whole list of useful bioactive substances contained in birch sap.

Healing properties of birch

Birch sap has long been considered a panacea for almost all known diseases. In fact, this refreshing and healthy drink beneficial effect on a number of body functions:

A glass of birch sap really stimulates all the work of the human body. But it is worth remembering that the abuse of any, even a natural drink, may have contraindications. The main rule is to know the measure and not to drink a drink of unknown origin.

This product is not just a medicine or a prophylactic, but on its basis you can prepare delicious alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

How to collect birch product

For the natural elixir to be beneficial, you need to adhere to right technology on collection and storage of this product.

Juice is harvested in early spring, in March-April. But be sure to take into account the weather conditions of your area. It is best to focus on the state of the tree itself, when Buds are swollen but not open yet. It is then that the movement of the sap of the tree is activated.

In the trunk of an adult birch tree, at least 20 centimeters in diameter, a hole about 3 centimeters deep is pierced. For these purposes, an awl or a screwdriver is suitable. The hole must be made at an angle, with a downward slope, which will facilitate the collection of the product. After that, a tube of the appropriate diameter is inserted into the hole and a vessel is attached into which the juice will be collected. The optimal time for harvesting is between 12-17 hours, when the juice turnover in the tree is plentiful.

After collecting, do not forget to close the hole. To do this, you can use a peg, which must be carefully inserted into the hole, or simply cover it with wax. And also do not forget that the optimal amount harvested juice from one birch should not exceed 3 liters. Otherwise, the tree can be destroyed.

Storing birch sap at home

It is important to remember that in the refrigerator the product cannot be stored for a long time. After 2 days, it loses all useful properties. Therefore, during this time it must be drunk or prepared for the winter. Below we will give several recipes for storing a healing drink at home for the winter, both by canning and without it.

Freezing juice storage

This is the simplest method of storing the product and does not require a lot of time. To do this, you need to use clean plastic bottles or any container that is convenient for you. It is better to prepare a drink in portions, since with constant defrosting, some of the beneficial properties may be lost.

It is not necessary to fill the bottles to the end, because when the liquid freezes, it tends to expand.

With this method, the product can be stored for up to 3 months.

Storage of a birch drink by canning.

Preservation is an efficient method of storing a birch product. For long-term storage, you can prepare a concentrate from it. To do this, the liquid collected from birch is heated to 60 degrees, and then about 75% of the volume is evaporated. When the concentrate is ready, it is poured into sterile jars and rolled up. But it is worth remembering that it is worth using such a product only after diluting it with water.

Canning birch sap at home with adding lemon.

Ingredients are calculated for 3 liters.

You will need:

  • 3 tablespoons of sugar;
  • 4 lemon slices;
  • Birch juice.

The product must be boiled in an enamel pan. In the prepared bottle, you need to add the ingredients and cover with gauze, strain the boiling broth. Next, roll up the lids and turn the bottle upside down, wrap it for self-sterilization.

Juice storage by sterilization.

First, birch sap must be brought to a boil. Then pour into jars and roll up. Ready cans should be placed in water at 85 degrees and kept for about 15 minutes.

After the time has elapsed, leave the jars to cool at a temperature of 18 degrees.

Canned drink with mint

You will need:

  • 50 liters of product;
  • 100 grams of dry mint;
  • 5 tablespoons of sugar;
  • 2 teaspoons of citric acid;

Prepared mint should be poured with hot juice and kept for 6 hours.

Next, strain the resulting infusion into an appropriate container. Add sugar and citric acid. Pour the product into jars, roll up and pasteurize for 25 minutes at a temperature of 95 degrees. Such a drink in the winter will bring you cheerfulness and benefit.

Birch sap drink recipes without preservation

Often, a vitamin product can be stored as a variety of drinks, which will have even more nutrients in their composition.

Recipe 1. Birch.

Required Ingredients:

  • 1.5 kg of sugar;
  • 1 liter of port;
  • 2 lemons;
  • 5 liters of birch sap;

Grind the lemon together with the zest, mix with the rest of the ingredients in a prepared barrel. Close the lid and leave in a cold place for 2 months. After the time has elapsed, pour the drink into plastic bottles and store in a supine position on a cold surface. This product is recommended to drink no earlier than 4 weeks after preparation.

Recipe 2. Birch kvass.

You will need for 1 liter of product:

  • 15 g yeast;
  • 4 raisins;
  • lemon zest to taste;

Birch sap is heated to 35 degrees and everything is added necessary ingredients. Next, pour into prepared containers and leave for 2 weeks. After the time has elapsed, the drink is ready to drink. You can store kvass in the refrigerator or other cool place.

Recipe 3. Tincture.

An interesting way to store a birch product is to prepare tinctures on a variety of herbs.

For 1 liter of juice, take 2 tablespoons of the selected herb or berries. The jar of liquid must be covered with gauze and left in a dark place for 2 weeks. After that, the fortified drink is ready to drink.

You can find more details about how to store birch sap in this video:

Birch sap is truly unique and useful product. And there are a lot of recipes to keep it. But most importantly, do not violate the technology of collection and procurement. Just a few hours of your time, and the "miraculous elixir of health" will delight you all winter.

Birch juice. Beneficial features, extraction and storage of birch sap

Birch sap, or birch tree, is a liquid flowing from cut and broken birch trunks and branches under the action of root pressure.

Birch sap is a very valuable product that has a beneficial effect on the entire human body.

Useful properties of birch sap

Medical studies have shown that taking at least one glass a day for 2-3 weeks (optimally drinking three glasses a day half an hour before meals) will help the body cope with spring weakness, beriberi, absent-mindedness, fatigue and depression. Birch sap is contraindicated for those who are allergic to birch pollen.

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 salts, and microelements necessary for the body. It is recommended for beriberi, diseases of the blood, joints, skin, as well as for tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases. The use of birch sap promotes the breakdown of stones in the bladder and kidneys, cleanses the blood, enhances metabolic processes, and removes harmful substances from the body in case of infectious diseases. It is useful to drink juice for stomach ulcers, diseases of the liver, duodenum, gallbladder, low acidity, sciatica, rheumatism, arthritis, bronchitis, tuberculosis, scurvy, headache and sexually transmitted diseases.

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

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

It is also useful to wash your hair with dandruff 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 people during menopause, if you drink at least a glass of juice a day, then drowsiness, fatigue, irritability and other accompanying menopause phenomena will disappear.

With chronic rhinitis, fresh birch sap is drunk every morning, 1 glass. For coughs and colds - take it warm, diluted with milk and adding a small amount of flour or starch.

When to extract birch sap

Juice production begins in the spring with the first thaws and continues until the buds open. The exact period of release of birch sap is difficult to establish, because it depends on weather conditions. For example, if during the March thaw the juice has already begun to flow and frost suddenly hits here, then it may stop flowing for some time.

However, as a rule, the juice begins to run around mid-March, when the snow melts and the buds swell. To determine the beginning of sap flow, it is enough to go out into the forest and make an injection on a birch as thick as a hand with a thin awl, if the juice has gone, then a drop of juice will immediately come out at the puncture point, you can start collecting and harvesting it. Collecting juice is stopped in the second half of April, when the leaves are already blooming.

The most intensive sap flow through the tree occurs in the light half of the day, so it is better to start collecting in the morning, at night the juice “falls asleep”. The best time to collect the juice will be between 10.00 and 18.00, when it flows most strongly. The number of holes that are recommended to be made depends on the diameter of the tree, 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 quite possible to make four holes.

The collection of birch sap should be started in the most sun-warmed places, where the birch wakes up even if there is still snow around. As the forest warms up, one should move deeper into the thicket, to where the forest wakes up later than on the southern edge. Usually, 2-3 liters of juice per day are obtained from a birch. A large tree can produce about 7 liters of juice per day, and sometimes more. It is preferable to collect the sap where the felling is planned, and it is not recommended to take it from young trees.

Due to the fact that birch roots go far into the ground, it does not absorb poisons from the surface layer of the soil. Therefore, all places where birch grows are equally good for collecting sap, but it is still better to collect sap only in ecologically clean forests, because the tree itself is able to absorb harmful substances and exhaust gases.

Rules for collecting birch sap

There are certain rules for harvesting juice that will save the tree from death or decay, and also make the extraction of juice the most efficient:

- You can’t “pump up” the first birch that comes across by chopping it with an ax and leaving an open wound on the trunk.

- In no case should a young tree be used for harvesting juice.

- It is advisable to make a hole on the north side, since there is usually much more juice there.

- When starting to collect, you can make a shallow incision on the tree, but it is best to drill a hole with a gimlet to a depth of several centimeters and insert a groove or tube into it, through which the juice will drain into the prepared dishes.

- You can use other, more in a simple way. Reaching for one of the birch branches, cut off part of the branch with a sharpened knife, and wrap the cut with a thick thread. Lower the end of the thread into the prepared dish, where the juice will drain.

- After collecting the juice, do not forget to tightly cover the hole or incision with plasticine, wax, cork, laundry soap, or fill it with moss. This will protect the tree from the penetration of bacteria and various fungi into it, which can cause decay in the area of ​​​​damage and, possibly, lead to subsequent death.

How to extract birch sap

The choice of dishes for collecting and storing birch sap must be approached selectively. In the old days, birch sap was collected in special boxes made of birch bark, it was believed that in them it retains its properties better. But it is quite possible to collect juice in ordinary glass jars or even in plastic bottles, but remember that chemistry can give the juice its specific flavor, and sometimes it dissolves in it itself.

Juice is usually obtained by cutting, cutting or drilling the bark of a tree, the diameter of which is not less than 20 cm, with a well-developed crown. It is better to make a slot or a hole in the trunk from the north side of the tree, where the sap flow is more active, at a distance of 40-50 cm from the ground, downward (the movement of your knife should be from the bottom up), the depth of the hole is 2-3 cm to penetrate under the dead bark, and if the birch is very thick, then even deeper. An aluminum, plastic groove, birch bark tray or other semicircular device is inserted into the slot, through which the juice flows into the container. Sometimes the juice is extracted by cutting off small branches and attaching a plastic bag to the place of the cut.

There is also such a way of extracting juice from birch or maple, which is useful in nature when traveling, when there are no tubes at hand, and it’s not very convenient to fiddle with pegs:

1. A bunch of grass, dry last year, is collected, cleared of leaves, etc. Any thread is tied together, and along the edge, everything unnecessary is cut off.

2. A hole is made in the birch, closer to the root, if any, 4-5 centimeters deep. We insert a bunch of straws there and press it on top with a small cap made of wood.
The whole thing takes 5 minutes.

Important! 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.

No need to strive to "drain" all the juice from one tree, it compensates for part of it, but if you bleed the tree completely, it can dry out. It is better to take a liter of juice per day from 5-10 trees than to take 5 liters from one, dooming it to death. After the collection of birch sap is over, it is necessary to take care of the tree itself and tightly close the holes made with wax, cork or moss so that bacteria do not get into the trunk, which can seriously threaten the life of the tree. After birch trees are cut, sap collection can be organized from stumps.

Some types of devices for extracting birch sap

How to store birch sap

If you do not want to drink the juice right away, but want to keep it longer, pour it into a glass jar and refrigerate. So the drink will be less oxidized, that is, spoil. However, it is better not to store the juice for longer than 2-3 days, otherwise it will ferment and turn from healing nectar into poison. But if you preserve the juice, then it will stand for a few more months.

A few recipes:

Fresh birch sap is fermented in glass containers of any volume. After washing with hot (preferably boiled) water, they are filled with fresh juice. For every half liter, add an incomplete teaspoon of ordinary or glucose sugar, 2-3 raisins washed in cold boiled water, and if you like, a little lemon zest. The container is closed with a cork or lid and secured with wire or bandages. The pressure of carbon dioxide during fermentation is quite high, and so that the glass does not burst, putting more than the indicated amount of sugar is not recommended. After a few days, you will have a pleasant-tasting, sour, highly carbonated drink.

To preserve the juice, heat it in an enamel bowl to a temperature of 80 degrees. Pour into glass bottles and jars. Fill almost to the top and cork with lids, and bottles with corks, followed by grinding. Then soak for 15 - 20 minutes in water of 85 degrees for pasteurization.

To preserve birch sap, kvass is made from it. 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.

Kvass can be prepared in a 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. Pour into bottles and keep 1-2 weeks in a dark cool place. Kvass can be ready already in 5 days, but the fact that it stays longer will not spoil the drink, it can be stored for the whole summer.

Another kvass recipe. A bag with burnt crusts is lowered on a rope into a barrel of birch sap rye bread. After two days, yeast will pass from the crusts into the juice and fermentation will begin. Then a bucket of oak bark is poured into the barrel as a preservative and tanning agent, and for aroma - cherries (berries or leaves) and dill stalks. After two weeks, kvass is ready, it can be stored all winter.

Our ancestors drank birch sap fermented in barrels without added sugar - this was a traditional low alcohol drink at Russian feasts. Birch juice itself is a pleasant, refreshing and strengthening drink for the body, but you can add juice of chokeberry, lingonberry, blueberry to it or insist on various herbs (thyme, chamomile, cumin, linden flowers, rose hips) in a jar covered with gauze for about 2 weeks . You can add to it infusions of St. John's wort, mint, lemon balm, pine needles, cherry juice, apples, currants.

Birch sap can be evaporated to a syrup containing 60% sugar. This syrup has a lemon-white color and the density of honey.

Belarusian drink. Pour the juice into a large bottle and put in a dark, cool place for 2-3 days. Then barley malt or toasted crushed crackers are added to it. For 5 liters of birch sap - 30 gr. barley malt or breadcrumbs.

Balm is also prepared from birch sap. For a bucket of juice, you need 3 kg of sugar, 2 liters of wine and 4 finely chopped lemons. All this must be put to ferment for two months in the cellar, and then bottled and kept for another three weeks.

Birch cosmetics

Nourishing mask for dry skin: 1 tbsp. l. sour cream mixed with 2 tbsp. l. birch sap, add 1 tsp. honey. Mix thoroughly and apply the mixture on the skin for 10-15 minutes. Wash off with cool water. The skin after it will acquire a beautiful matte shade.

Lotion for oily skin. Rub dry birch buds and fill them with vodka (1:5). Infuse for a week in a tightly closed container. Drain, squeeze and drain. Wipe face with lotion before applying nourishing cream.

With acne and eczema, they wash and wipe the skin with birch sap.

For dandruff, wash your head with birch sap.

For hair loss: 1 tbsp. l. birch leaves pour a glass of boiling water, boil for 15-20 minutes, strain, share boiled water to the original volume. Rinse your head with this decoction after washing.

Birch sap analogues

Sap flow in spring occurs in all trees, but the sap of American (ash-leaved) maple (Acer negundo) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) has practical application, except for birch.

In Russia, maple sap is rarely extracted, the volume of preparations is incomparable with birch. This is because sugar maple is most common in North America, and other types of maple are not as fast growing and therefore not as productive in juice.

In the southeast of Canada and the northeast of the USA (especially in the state of Vermont), on the contrary, maple sap is widely used, mainly for making sweet syrup.