Birch juice
Reliable scientific data on the beneficial properties of birch sap to date either does not exist at all, or they are hidden away from the eyes of the people. Self-extracting juice is treated as a crime, and if you ask a person about what a birch sap is, the first thing he will remember is the sweet and sour liquid “packed” in a glass jar or tetrapack.
Of course, later, perhaps, someone will remember the trees with a black and white bark, but it will be later. And this is a little alarming.
On the other hand, time is nowadays when people learn about natural food products not in the forest, on a glade or near a river, but in a shop, studying colorful labels of semi-finished products.
Well, and about what health here there can be a speech …
However, we strongly deviated from the main topic of the article. After all, our main task is to find out what a birch sap is, how it can be of use to us, how to prepare it and whether it should be stored for a long time.
Therefore let us begin …
Benefit and harm of birch sap
Birch sap is a wood elixir of life that feeds the birch throughout its existence.
This definition is far from scientific or even generally accepted, but we believe that it reflects the essence of birch sap, its main purpose and value. In this case, despite the clearly defined biological role of birch sap, it is able to feed not only the tree, but also the human body. And with no less efficiency.
At first glance, birch sap looks very much like water, but it’s not water at all. And the point here is not in the sweet taste, which is a kind of “visiting card” of birch sap. In fact, these two liquids have different chemical compositions.
The maximum that water is capable of is the saturation with minerals. Birch sap, in turn, contains minerals, vitamins, enzymes, phytoncides, fructose, tannins, organic acids, essential oils and, most likely, much more. Because in a microscope, even in our advanced century, not everything is visible.
Thanks to such a rich composition, birch sap benefits everyone who is able to drink it. And this, not much, not a little – almost the entire population of our vast planet. The exception is only two categories of people:
- those who were not fortunate enough “to get hold of” the allergy to the pollen of birch earrings
- healthy children under the age of six months who have the opportunity to feed on their mother’s breast milk (no one will give birch juice for sick children at this age, but hypothetically he is able to help them)
The rest of the birch sap will be a great help in life, as it establishes metabolic processes in the body, and with regular use it can quickly remove a large amount of toxins from the human blood and blood.
In addition, all kinds of inorganic deposits (salts, trans fats, etc.), which await their hour in joints, internal organs, connective tissue and under the skin, also succumb to birch sap.
Such an effect on the body makes it possible to say with confidence that birch sap will be useful to everyone who has one or several diseases from the following list:
- radiculitis, arthritis, rheumatism, gout
- stones in the kidneys, urinary and gall bladder (must start with a small volume of juice and constantly monitor the size and position of the stones)
- functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney and other internal organs and systems
- cardiovascular diseases
- angina, cough, chronic runny nose, tuberculosis, acute respiratory disease and other diseases associated with the release of mucus and pus through the upper and lower respiratory tract
- any oncology
- any inflammatory processes in the body, and especially in the organs of the genitourinary system
- intoxication of any origin
- chronic fatigue, drowsiness and even depression
This is not a complete list of diseases and conditions in which fresh raw birch sap is shown. However, we have here not a medical encyclopedia, but just a small article on health. Therefore, we will end this conversation about useful properties and diseases.
Let’s note only, that the fresh curative purifying power possesses fresh raw birch juice. A little less useful will bring frozen raw juice, and very little benefit you get from all sorts of kvass, tinctures, industrial drinks with the name “Birch sap” and other products of industrial and domestic processing of this wonderful elixir.
How to collect birch sap
Acquaintance with the technology of independent collection of birch sap should start with the answer to the question, WHERE it can be collected. Although, of course, purely birch sap can be stored anywhere, including the Chernobyl “reserve”. Only here the use of the body is able to bring exclusively that juice that was collected far from any factories, cities, major roads (including railway) and agricultural fields.
Only in this case the birch sap will be clean (without heavy metals, radionuclides, pesticides and other harmful chemical compounds), safe and nutritious.
Birch juice can be collected from the moment when the first buds swell on the birches, and before the appearance of the first leaves. At the same time on solar glades gathering can begin a little earlier than in the depths of the forest. True, and the leaves here blossom faster than in the wilderness. So start with the glades and gradually move to darker places.
Check whether the juice flows, using a thin silk – pierce the bark and see if a drop of juice will appear. If there is – you can start collecting.
Trees should be selected based on the following parameters:
- the thickness of the trunk at the breast level of an adult is not less than 20 cm
- developed “lush” crown
In order to inflict minimal harm to the birch, the hole in the trunk should be made at an angle of about 45 degrees (to make the juice easier to drain), a thin drill – not wider than 1 cm, not more than 3 cm deep. As a groove, you can use curved pieces of tin, wooden and plastic tubes, medical systems, etc. The main thing is that these grooves do not “enrich” the tree and the collected juice with harmful chemical elements and compounds.
Each birch, suitable for the above criteria, is able to give an average of 1 to 7 liters of juice. In this case, the holes are tightened over time, and we get less juice. We recommend not to make the hole deeper, but simply to change the tree. Only be sure to treat the damaged area – seal the hole with water, wax or clay.
How to preserve birch sap (before winter, at home)
Fresh raw birch sap can be stored in a cold place up to 2 days without loss of quality. After this time, as well as when stored in heat, the birch sap very quickly begins to sour. And then the methods of long-term storage of birch sap come to our aid …
v The ideal option of preserving birch sap before winter is its freezing. And the juice needs to be frozen quickly, then everything will remain in it.
If there is no freezer, then you can “roll” the birch sap into sterilized glass jars. To do this, it is heated to 80 ° C, poured into jars and rolled up with tin lids. After that, the clogged cans are kept in 85-degree water for 15 minutes and allowed to cool at room temperature.
You can also make birch concentrate. To do this, the juice is brought to a temperature of 60 ° C and 75% of the total volume is evaporated. The remaining 25 percent of the concentrate is dispensed from sterilized cans and sealed. And before use mix this concentrate with water.
What is prepared from birch sap?
Since the “discovery” of birch sap, people have come up with dozens of recipes for preparing tasty and useful (though not always) drinks, which include all kinds of kvass, syrups, home-made wines, fruit cocktails, sweet water, and others.
The simplest drink is obtained by mixing birch juice with fruit or vegetable juices. In any proportion – to taste.
A bit more difficult to prepare birch kvass (one of the options):
Fresh birch sap is poured into a glass bottle, there is added a handful of raisin berries (based on several pieces per liter) and sugar (2 tsp per liter). If you want, you can throw a little more lemon zest, fruit or berries into the bottle. After that, the bottle should be tightly closed and put in a cool place. In a few days kvass will be ready, but it can be opened both immediately and in 2-3 months. Do not spoil it.
Another option is birch-bread kvass:
Pour the birch sap into any clean container (preferably in an oak barrel), lower the cloth bag with rye breadcrumbs there and close the vessel. After a few days, the juice will ferment, and it can add stalks of dill, cherry leaves and oak bark. Then the future kvass is closed for at least 2 weeks. After that the vessel can be opened, and kvass – drink.
Prepare from birch sap and medicinal drinks. Usually birch juice is mixed with berries and honey for these purposes.
For example, here is the recipe for birch-cranberry drink:
The first thing to do is squeeze out juice from 150 grams of cranberries. Then put the squeezes in a saucepan and pour 1 liter of fresh birch juice. Hold this “compote” for 5 minutes in a water bath and cool. Mix with the cranberry juice squeezed earlier and add a little honey (or a lot if you are very fond of sweet). Drink – in the mood. The drink has a pronounced diuretic effect.
As we have already said, there are a great many recipes for such drinks, at least according to the recipe for berries. And if you remember about lemons, oranges and dried fruits, then during the spring you can provide yourself with a variety of drinks for the whole year. True, before this you have to properly stock up berries and dried fruits …
Birch juice
Birch juice
Reliable scientific data on the beneficial properties of birch sap to date either does not exist at all, or they are hidden away from the eyes of the people. Self-extracting juice is treated as a crime, and if you ask a person about what a birch sap is, the first thing he will remember is the sweet and sour liquid “packed” in a glass jar or tetrapack.
Of course, later, perhaps, someone will remember the trees with a black and white bark, but it will be later. And this is a little alarming.
On the other hand, time is nowadays when people learn about natural food products not in the forest, on a glade or near a river, but in a shop, studying colorful labels of semi-finished products.
Well, and about what health here there can be a speech …
However, we strongly deviated from the main topic of the article. After all, our main task is to find out what a birch sap is, how it can be of use to us, how to prepare it and whether it should be stored for a long time.
Therefore let us begin …
Benefit and harm of birch sap
Birch sap is a wood elixir of life that feeds the birch throughout its existence.
This definition is far from scientific or even generally accepted, but we believe that it reflects the essence of birch sap, its main purpose and value. In this case, despite the clearly defined biological role of birch sap, it is able to feed not only the tree, but also the human body. And with no less efficiency.
At first glance, birch sap looks very much like water, but it’s not water at all. And the point here is not in the sweet taste, which is a kind of “visiting card” of birch sap. In fact, these two liquids have different chemical compositions.
The maximum that water is capable of is the saturation with minerals. Birch sap, in turn, contains minerals, vitamins, enzymes, phytoncides, fructose, tannins, organic acids, essential oils and, most likely, much more. Because in a microscope, even in our advanced century, not everything is visible.
Thanks to such a rich composition, birch sap benefits everyone who is able to drink it. And this, not much, not a little – almost the entire population of our vast planet. The exception is only two categories of people:
The rest of the birch sap will be a great help in life, as it establishes metabolic processes in the body, and with regular use it can quickly remove a large amount of toxins from the human blood and blood.
In addition, all kinds of inorganic deposits (salts, trans fats, etc.), which await their hour in joints, internal organs, connective tissue and under the skin, also succumb to birch sap.
Such an effect on the body makes it possible to say with confidence that birch sap will be useful to everyone who has one or several diseases from the following list:
This is not a complete list of diseases and conditions in which fresh raw birch sap is shown. However, we have here not a medical encyclopedia, but just a small article on health. Therefore, we will end this conversation about useful properties and diseases.
Let’s note only, that the fresh curative purifying power possesses fresh raw birch juice. A little less useful will bring frozen raw juice, and very little benefit you get from all sorts of kvass, tinctures, industrial drinks with the name “Birch sap” and other products of industrial and domestic processing of this wonderful elixir.
How to collect birch sap
Acquaintance with the technology of independent collection of birch sap should start with the answer to the question, WHERE it can be collected. Although, of course, purely birch sap can be stored anywhere, including the Chernobyl “reserve”. Only here the use of the body is able to bring exclusively that juice that was collected far from any factories, cities, major roads (including railway) and agricultural fields.
Only in this case the birch sap will be clean (without heavy metals, radionuclides, pesticides and other harmful chemical compounds), safe and nutritious.
Birch juice can be collected from the moment when the first buds swell on the birches, and before the appearance of the first leaves. At the same time on solar glades gathering can begin a little earlier than in the depths of the forest. True, and the leaves here blossom faster than in the wilderness. So start with the glades and gradually move to darker places.
Check whether the juice flows, using a thin silk – pierce the bark and see if a drop of juice will appear. If there is – you can start collecting.
Trees should be selected based on the following parameters:
In order to inflict minimal harm to the birch, the hole in the trunk should be made at an angle of about 45 degrees (to make the juice easier to drain), a thin drill – not wider than 1 cm, not more than 3 cm deep. As a groove, you can use curved pieces of tin, wooden and plastic tubes, medical systems, etc. The main thing is that these grooves do not “enrich” the tree and the collected juice with harmful chemical elements and compounds.
Each birch, suitable for the above criteria, is able to give an average of 1 to 7 liters of juice. In this case, the holes are tightened over time, and we get less juice. We recommend not to make the hole deeper, but simply to change the tree. Only be sure to treat the damaged area – seal the hole with water, wax or clay.
How to preserve birch sap (before winter, at home)
Fresh raw birch sap can be stored in a cold place up to 2 days without loss of quality. After this time, as well as when stored in heat, the birch sap very quickly begins to sour. And then the methods of long-term storage of birch sap come to our aid …
v The ideal option of preserving birch sap before winter is its freezing. And the juice needs to be frozen quickly, then everything will remain in it.
If there is no freezer, then you can “roll” the birch sap into sterilized glass jars. To do this, it is heated to 80 ° C, poured into jars and rolled up with tin lids. After that, the clogged cans are kept in 85-degree water for 15 minutes and allowed to cool at room temperature.
You can also make birch concentrate. To do this, the juice is brought to a temperature of 60 ° C and 75% of the total volume is evaporated. The remaining 25 percent of the concentrate is dispensed from sterilized cans and sealed. And before use mix this concentrate with water.
What is prepared from birch sap?
Since the “discovery” of birch sap, people have come up with dozens of recipes for preparing tasty and useful (though not always) drinks, which include all kinds of kvass, syrups, home-made wines, fruit cocktails, sweet water, and others.
The simplest drink is obtained by mixing birch juice with fruit or vegetable juices. In any proportion – to taste.
A bit more difficult to prepare birch kvass (one of the options):
Fresh birch sap is poured into a glass bottle, there is added a handful of raisin berries (based on several pieces per liter) and sugar (2 tsp per liter). If you want, you can throw a little more lemon zest, fruit or berries into the bottle. After that, the bottle should be tightly closed and put in a cool place. In a few days kvass will be ready, but it can be opened both immediately and in 2-3 months. Do not spoil it.
Another option is birch-bread kvass:
Pour the birch sap into any clean container (preferably in an oak barrel), lower the cloth bag with rye breadcrumbs there and close the vessel. After a few days, the juice will ferment, and it can add stalks of dill, cherry leaves and oak bark. Then the future kvass is closed for at least 2 weeks. After that the vessel can be opened, and kvass – drink.
Prepare from birch sap and medicinal drinks. Usually birch juice is mixed with berries and honey for these purposes.
For example, here is the recipe for birch-cranberry drink:
The first thing to do is squeeze out juice from 150 grams of cranberries. Then put the squeezes in a saucepan and pour 1 liter of fresh birch juice. Hold this “compote” for 5 minutes in a water bath and cool. Mix with the cranberry juice squeezed earlier and add a little honey (or a lot if you are very fond of sweet). Drink – in the mood. The drink has a pronounced diuretic effect.
As we have already said, there are a great many recipes for such drinks, at least according to the recipe for berries. And if you remember about lemons, oranges and dried fruits, then during the spring you can provide yourself with a variety of drinks for the whole year. True, before this you have to properly stock up berries and dried fruits …