Home Beneficial properties of fruits Calendula is decorative, medicinal and spicy. Birch sap - benefits, harm, extraction and storage of birch sap

Beneficial properties of fruits

Calendula is decorative, medicinal and spicy. Birch sap - benefits, harm, extraction and storage of birch sap

Birch sap is a clear liquid that flows from cut or broken birch trunks and branches under the influence of root pressure. The flow of birch sap begins in the spring with the first thaw and continues until the buds open.

The exact period of birch sap release is difficult to establish, because it depends on weather conditions. For example, if during the March thaw the sap has already begun to flow and then frosts unexpectedly hit, then it may stop secreting for some time. However, as a rule, the sap 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 with a thin awl on a birch tree as thick as your hand. If the juice has started flowing, a drop of juice will immediately appear at the puncture point, which means you can start collecting and storing it. They stop collecting sap in the second half of April, when the leaves are already blooming.

The most intense sap flow through the tree occurs during the light half of the day, so start collecting better in the morning, at night the juice “falls asleep.” The best time to collect sap is between 10:00 and 18:00, when it flows most heavily. The number of holes that are recommended to be made depends on the diameter of the tree; if the diameter is 20-25 cm, then only one, if the volume is 25-35 cm, then two, if the diameter is 35-40, three, and if the diameter is more than 40 cm, it is quite acceptable to make four holes.

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

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

The choice of containers for collecting and storing birch sap must be approached selectively. In old times Birch juice collected in special containers 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 own specific taste, and sometimes it dissolves in it itself.

The sap is usually obtained by cutting, nicking or drilling the bark of a tree with a diameter of at least 20 cm and a well-developed crown. It is better to make a slot or hole in the trunk on the south side of the tree, where sap flow is more active, at a distance of 40-50 cm from the ground, in a downward direction, your movement should be from bottom to top, 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 sap is obtained by cutting small branches and attaching them to the cut site. plastic bag. There is no need to try to drain all the sap from one tree, it will compensate for some of it, but if you bleed the tree completely, it may 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 completed, 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 pose a serious threat to the life of the tree. After cutting down the birches, sap can be collected from the stumps.

If you do not want to drink the juice right away, but want to store it longer, pour it into a glass jar and put it in the refrigerator. This way the drink will oxidize less, 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, it will last for several more months.

Several recipes for preserving birch sap for long-term storage.

Fresh birch sap is fermented in glass containers of any size. After washing with hot, preferably boiled, water, they are filled fresh juice. For every half liter, add half a teaspoon of regular 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 stopper or lid and secured with wire or bands.

Pressure carbon dioxide During fermentation it is created quite high, and to prevent the glass from bursting, it is not recommended to add more than the specified amount of sugar. In a few days you will get a pleasant-tasting, sour, highly carbonated drink. To preserve the juice, heat it in an enamel container to a temperature of 80 degrees. Pour into glass bottles and jars. Fill almost to the top and seal the bottles with caps and then resin. Then soak for 15 - 20 minutes in 85 degree water to pasteurize.

Making kvass from birch sap.

To preserve birch sap, kvass is prepared from it. Heat to 35 degrees, add 15-20 g of yeast and 3 raisins per 1 liter, you can add to taste lemon zest. After this, the jar or bottle is tightly closed and left for 1-2 weeks. Kvass can be prepared in another 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 for 1-2 weeks in a cool, dark place. Kvass can be ready in just 5 days, but the fact that it sits longer will prevent the drink from spoiling and can be preserved for the whole summer.

Another recipe for kvass. A bag of burnt crusts is lowered on a string into a barrel of birch sap. rye bread. After two days, the yeast will move 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 stems. After two weeks, the kvass is ready and can be stored all winter.

Other methods of preserving and preserving birch sap.

Our ancestors drank birch sap fermented in barrels without adding sugar - it was a traditional low-alcohol drink at Russian feasts. Birch sap in itself is a pleasant, refreshing and body-strengthening drink, but you can add sap to it chokeberry, lingonberries, blueberries, or infuse with various herbs - thyme, chamomile, caraway, 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 thickened by evaporation to a syrup containing 60% sugar. This syrup has a lemon-white color and the thickness of honey.

Drink in Belarusian style - pour birch sap into a large bottle and place in a dark, cool place for 2-3 days. Then they add barley malt or toasted crushed crackers to it. For 5 liters of birch sap – 30 g. barley malt or crackers. Balsam 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 needs to be left to ferment in the cellar for two months, and then bottled and aged for another three weeks.

Medicinal properties of birch sap.

Birch sap contains organic acids, tannins, minerals, iron, potassium, calcium, glucose, fructose, phytoncides. Drinking birch sap helps break down stones in bladder and kidneys, cleansing the blood, enhancing metabolic processes, removes harmful substances from the body during infectious diseases. It is useful to drink juice for stomach ulcers, liver diseases, duodenum, gallbladder, low acidity, radiculitis, rheumatism, arthritis, bronchitis, tuberculosis, scurvy, headaches and sexually transmitted diseases.

Birch sap increases the body's resistance to colds, infectious and allergic diseases, has an anthelmintic, diuretic, and antitumor effect; birch sap is useful for wiping the skin for eczema, acne, to moisturize and cleanse dry skin. It is very good to apply the following mask to your facial skin: mix 1 tbsp. l. sour cream with 2 tbsp. l. birch sap and 1 tsp. honey You need to keep this mask for about 15 minutes, rinse with cool water, after which the skin will acquire a beautiful matte shade.

It is also useful to wash your hair with dandruff with birch sap, to enhance its growth and appearance of shine and softness (infusion of birch leaves has the same property). Birch juice good remedy from impotence. Birch “tears” have a very good effect on people during menopause; if you drink at least a glass of juice a day, drowsiness, fatigue, irritability and other phenomena associated with menopause will disappear.

Systematic intake of birch sap has a general strengthening and tonic effect. Birch sap is contraindicated for those who are allergic to birch pollen. IN medicinal purposes Birch sap should be drunk fresh. It is recommended to take 1 glass 3 times a day 20-30 minutes before meals for 2-3 weeks.

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Choose a young tree whose trunk is no more than 10 cm in diameter. Pierce with an awl (not too deep) and observe for a while. If a drop of liquid appears at the puncture site, it means that the juice can already be collected.

Thin trees are not suitable for such a task; with deep punctures we only injure them, and the juice will not be as tasty.

Select several trees, do not try to squeeze all the juices out of one. If you need 5 liters of sap, then it is better to choose 5 birch trees and collect a liter from them, rather than extract all the liquid from one.

Do not choose trees that are located within the city limits to collect sap. They absorb everything that is harmful around them - exhaust gases from cars on the highways, smoke from factories and factories, dust. This juice can cause more harm than good. Go deeper into the forest for birch sap.

Treat the wood with care, do not make cuts with an axe, use a drill with a thin bit. Remember that the circulation of sap occurs near the bark, so there is no need to drill a hole too deep in the tree trunk.

How to collect birch sap - instructions for beginners

So, make a hole, secure a clean plastic bottle(this can be done by taping it to the trunk). Form a flagellum from gauze fabric, which will act as a kind of conductor of liquid. Insert one end of the flagellum into the hole made, and lower the other into the neck of the container. By capillary method, the juice from the hole, accumulating in the gauze flagellum, will gradually fall into the plastic bottle.

It is advisable to monitor the filling of containers several times a day. If the sap flow is not as intense as at the beginning of the collection, do not try to drill a hole deeper, just move on to a new tree.

After completing the collection, do not forget to take care of the tree. Seal the hole with a wooden block, wax or a piece of moss. The sap will stop flowing out and will begin to flow to the birch branches. Then the tree will deal with its wound on its own. If you do everything correctly, you will drink the juice and save the tree.

Have you collected 50 liters of live drink? Save some for the winter, prepare birch sap with orange.

Oksana Abramovich was with you

Also watch a video on how to collect birch sap using straws and tubes into a bottle.

Tell me, when is birch sap collected? I have loved this drink since childhood, and last year we bought country cottage area not far from the birch grove. Now, instead of buying juice made from who knows what, we want to make it ourselves.

Many of us still remember the time when large three-liter bottles with a translucent sweet drink stood on store shelves, and birch branches were on the label. This health drink has not disappeared from the shelves today; in most cases, it has simply “migrated” to paper tetrapacks, but, unfortunately, the quality of the juice can be debated. Unscrupulous manufacturers often add various preservatives and other components that increase shelf life, but do not improve taste qualities. Therefore, if possible, lovers of this nectar prefer to prepare it themselves: this way you can always be sure that the product is 100% natural. Since the collection period is very limited in time, in order to have time without harming the tree, you need to know when and how to properly collect birch sap.

When can you start collecting juice?

Collect in early spring, wherein exact time depends on where the trees grow and climate. IN southern regions this is the beginning or middle of March, and in northern latitudes and the whole month of April. Sap flow is activated in the tree when the snow melts and positive temperatures prevail outside. You can visually determine whether a birch tree is ready to release a healing drink by the swollen buds.

It is important to have time to collect the juice before the buds begin to open and leaves appear (usually this is two weeks).

If you are in doubt, you can check whether sap flow has started. To do this, you need to make a small hole in the tree with a sharp awl. If nothing comes out of it, then you need to wait a little longer, covering the wound with garden varnish. A droplet emerging from the hole indicates the beginning of the sap collection season.

How to collect correctly?

Stocking up delicious drink, do not forget about the tree itself. To avoid harm, the following rules should be followed:

The life-giving sap can only be “stirred off” from mature trees; young birch trees themselves need it to grow.
The minimum size of a birch trunk from which you can take sap should be 20 cm in diameter. Only one hole is allowed on such a tree.
In older and larger birch trees, you can additionally make one more hole for every 10 cm of trunk diameter, but do not get carried away, otherwise it will be difficult for the tree to heal many wounds.
It is better to make the hole obliquely with a downward slope, at a level no more than 50 cm from the ground, using a drill with a drill size of up to 10 mm - such wounds heal quickly and almost without traces. The penetration depth is from 2 to 3 cm. The bark in the selected location must first be removed.
Insert a gutter into the hole made and place a container under it.

It is better to take a liter of sap from each tree than to drain it all from one birch, because in this case there is a risk of the tree dying. At the end of the procedure, the holes should be covered or closed with a wooden peg.

Just a couple of decades ago, everyone could enjoy this miracle drink by visiting the nearest store or canteen. Now find natural juice birch is difficult even in supermarkets. Therefore, amateurs collect the “correct” birch sap on their own.

A unique drink and its benefits

There is a popular belief: “Whoever drinks enough birch sap will gain health and vigor for the whole year.”

Many people know about the benefits of birch sap. It is beneficial for the whole body. Firstly, it restores metabolism. Secondly, it gives strength and vigor, and normalizes blood pressure. Thirdly, it is a storehouse of vitamin C.

Until recently, everyone could enjoy this drink. Now the production of birch sap has decreased. Now find natural product difficult even in supermarkets. This is why many people prefer to extract juice themselves. It turns out that this is a simple procedure.

Birch sap is a tasty and healthy drink

Anyone can collect birch sap. The main thing is to know the basic rules.

What you need to know when you go for this juice

Before you go to birch grove or into the forest, you need to arm yourself with knowledge of the technology and secrets of successful sap collection.

Follow the law, take care of your national heritage!

Don't worry, the law Russian Federation allows collecting birch sap. The main thing is that the tree remains alive after your extraction. Otherwise you will be fined.

Only mature birch trees are suitable for collecting sap.

To prevent this, choose an adult birch tree with a diameter of 25 cm or more. And also you should not make rough and deep cuts that are harmful to the tree.

Remember! It is forbidden:

collect the sap of young birches;
make deep cuts with an ax;
collect more than 10 liters of sap from one tree (a couple of liters from one tree is enough, it is better to go around several birches).

Right time of year

No one will tell you the exact date when you need to go for birch sap. It all depends on the weather conditions and climate of the region. Usually in Moscow, Moscow region and around middle lane In Russia, the juice appears in the third ten days of March, in the southern regions - at the beginning of March, and in the northern regions, beyond the Urals and in the Altai Territory - by the end of April.

Be observant, as soon as the first signs of spring begin to appear, you can run to the birch tree to check. Look at the buds, if they begin to swell, then you can check by making a small hole in the trunk. Most likely, the juice will already be running with might and main.

But if the buds are still dry, you should wait a little, since most likely there will be no juice. Or there will be, but in meager quantities.

Table: Leningrad region, Siberia or Altai - when you can collect birch sap in different regions of Russia

Early March	Third ten days of March	April
Kursk region Lipetsk region Tambov region Belgorod region Voronezh region Krasnodar region Rostov region Volgograd region Astrakhan region Republic of Adygea Republic of Kalmykia Republic of Crimea	Tver region Vladimir region Tula region Oryol region Kostroma region Nizhny Novgorod region. Smolensk region Yaroslavl region Ryazan region Kaluga region Bryansk region Ivanovo region Moscow region	Leningrad region. Pskov region Novgorod region Vologda region Arkhangelsk region Republic of Karelia Komi Republic Murmansk region Altai Republic Irkutsk region Khabarovsk region

Temperature, lack of rain, suitable hours of the day and other nuances

There are also several “secrets of success” that are worth knowing in advance:

The air temperature should reach 5 degrees Celsius.
If after the thaw there are frosts or rain, this is not the best best time for collecting birch sap. It's better to wait until more favorable weather conditions. Otherwise, you will simply waste time.
The best time to collect juice is from 11:00 to 16:00.
When more sunlight, birch sap flows more intensely.
Pure and high-quality birch sap can only be collected in the forest, in a birch grove, where the environment is environmentally friendly. Also avoid swampy places. You cannot collect birch sap within the city, especially near factories. This is fraught with allergies, and in the worst case, poisoning.
You cannot collect birch sap within the city limits. This is fraught with allergies, and in the worst case, poisoning. And, of course, it is impossible to collect birch sap near factories and factories.
Collect sap from the south side of the birch tree.

Woodworking Instructions

This rule overlaps with the first. The thicker the tree, the better. A young birch tree will not produce as much sap as an adult tree can.

If you choose the right source, you can collect up to 7 liters of sap from one birch tree at a time.

And be sure to treat the injured area of the birch after completing the procedure.. To do this, cover the cuts and holes with garden varnish or close them with a homemade wood plug.