How to get birch sap: rules and adaptations

Do you know how to extract birch sap? Surely you just tried this drink, but you never collected it yourself. To fix this situation, we decided to tell you in detail about how to properly extract birch sap.

General information about the drink

Before I tell you about the collection of birch sap, I want to tell you what the drink is.

Birch sap is a liquid that flows from broken and cut branches and birch trunks, which occurs as a result of the action of root pressure.

Surely everyone knows that the birch bark (the second name of the drink we are considering) is a very valuable and nutritious product. This is due to the fact that it has a beneficial effect on the entire human body.

Brew composition and useful properties

In the spring, sweet birch sap is extracted due to the fact that it is very rich in vitamins and minerals. Specialists say that this drink includes the following substances: various sugars, phosphorus, potassium, zirconium, sodium, nickel, calcium, barium, magnesium, strontium, aluminum, copper, manganese, titanium, iron and silicon. Also scientists have found in it and traces of nitrogen.

Birch juice is recommended for drinking with beriberi, joint diseases, skin and blood, as well as bronchitis, angina, pneumonia and other pathologies of the respiratory system.

Drinking helps to cleanse blood, break down stones in the kidneys and bladder, increase metabolism. Also, it removes toxins and other harmful substances from the body.

Among other things, birch sap is useful for drinking with liver diseases, stomach ulcer, gallbladder, duodenal ulcers, low acidity, rheumatism, scurvy, radiculitis, arthritis, headaches, tuberculosis and even sexually transmitted diseases.

When to collect birch sap?

Birch sowing starts in early spring, with the first thaws. This period continues until the buds bloom. However, it should be noted that the exact time for the isolation of juice is difficult to establish, since it depends entirely on the weather conditions. Although most collectors claim that the "teardrop birches" begin to run already in mid-March.

To independently determine the beginning of the period of sap flow, it is only necessary to come to the forest and to prick the birch with a thin awl. If after this action, droplets of life-giving moisture are shown from the hole, it is possible to proceed safely to its collection and further preparation.

As a rule, the birch juice is stopped already in the second half of April, when the leaves start to blossom.

Collection Features

How to extract birch sap? To collect a large amount of life-giving drink, you should go to the forest before dark. After all, the most intense sap flow along the tree trunk is observed during the daytime. Therefore, it is better to start collecting early in the morning.

Before you take the birch sap, you should measure the diameter of the alignment. It is from this value that the number of holes in it will be determined. So, if the diameter of the tree is 21-26 cm, then it can be pierced once. If 25-35 cm, then you can make 2 holes, if 35-40 - 3, and if more than 40 cm, you can and all 4.

How to collect birch sap? Adaptations must be placed near the tree, which is located on the most warmed by the sun. Further it is allowed to move deep into the thicket.

As a rule, with one small birch man can get about 2-3 liters of life-giving drink per day. If you find a large tree, then it will give you about 7 liters of juice, or even more.

It is best to collect the juice in the place where the fast cutting of forests or groves is planned. It is strictly forbidden to take a drink from young trees.

In view of the fact that the roots of the birch are deep in the earth, it is not capable of absorbing poisons from the surface soil. In this regard, all the places where birches grow are ideal for collecting juice. However, experienced collectors argue that it is best to carry out this process in ecologically clean forests. This is due to the fact that the tree itself can easily absorb the exhaust gases and other harmful substances.

Basic rules for collecting a life-giving drink

How to type birch sap without harm for the tree itself? Unfortunately, this question is asked by few. In this regard, we decided to remind you of the basic rules of collecting a life-giving drink that will save the plant from further rotting and death, and also contribute to the effective extraction of juice:

• It is forbidden to "pump up" the first tree caught by simply cutting it with an ax, and then leaving an open wound on the trunk.
• For the preparation of useful natural juice, young trees should not be used.
• The hole for collecting the drink is better done from the north side. It is here that there is more juice.
• Before taking the birch sap, a shallow incision should be made in the trunk. However, experienced collectors say that it is best to drill a hole in it with a drill, and then insert a groove or a tube, through which, in fact, the liquid will flow into the container.

• Another effective way of how to type birch sap without damaging the tree is the "branch" method. Reaching for the twig, it should be cut off a small part, and then lowered into a prepared container.
• After the collection of life-giving moisture is completed, it is necessary to densely cover the cut or hole with wax, plasticine or laundry soap. Also it can be plugged with a cork or moss. These actions will protect the tree from possible penetration of bacteria and fungi, which often cause rotting of the trunk.

How do they extract birch sap?

Before proceeding to the direct collection of birch sap, a proper container should be prepared. Her choice should be approached selectively. Previously, this drink was collected in special barrels made of birch bark. However, today most people use the usual glass jars, and sometimes even plastic bottles.

So how do they extract birch sap? Before this process, the tree trunk is cut, chopped or drilled. The cut is best done at 40-50 cm from the ground. In this case, the knife or awl should be guided from the bottom up. The depth of the hole should be about 2-3 cm. If the tree is very thick, then this groove should be increased.

After making a slot, a gutter or some other semi-circular device is inserted into it. It is on it that the juice will flow into the prepared container.

After the process is completed, you must take care of the tree itself. Place the cut carefully covered with wax, moss or cork.

By the way, after recent cutting of birches, the collection of juice can also be carried out from stumps that have not yet decayed.

What are the tools for collecting birch sap?

Now you know how to collect birch sap. Devices for such an event may be different. You can hardly buy them in the store. However, you can easily make them yourself. For this, it is allowed to use completely different capacities (bottles, cans), tubules, gutters, funnels, bundles, ropes, etc. By the way, it is the properly selected device that will provide you with a lot of tasty birch juice.

How to store?

Now you know how to extract birch sap. But this knowledge is not enough to preserve the collected drink. After all, if you do not want to use it immediately, it should be preserved. Otherwise, it will soon deteriorate and become unsuitable for use. In this regard, we decided to present you several recipes.

Recipes of blanks

The first way. Clean three-liter cans are sterilized above the steam, and then filled with freshly picked up drink. For every 0.5 liters of juice, add an incomplete dessert spoonful of glucose or ordinary sugar, as well as 2 raisins washed in cold water and a little lemon peel. The glass containers are closed with a lid. In a few days you will get a very pleasant and sour fizzy drink, which is best stored in the refrigerator.

The second way . Before preserving the birch sap, it is heated in enameled pots to 80 degrees, and then poured over glass jars or bottles. The filled container is clogged with lids or stoppers with osmolk. The tanks are put in water and sterilized on low heat for ¼ hour. Ready juice stored in the cellar or cellar no more than 5 months.

The third way. To keep the birch sap for a long time, kvass is often made from it. To do this, freshly picked up drink is heated to 35 degrees, and then several yeast granules and 3 raisins (per 1 liter of liquid) are added. Also to taste in kvass add sugar and lemon zest. Finally, the filled jar or bottle is closed and left at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. After this time, the drink is filtered and stored in the refrigerator.

Now you know how correctly birch sap should be processed at home. However, in any case, it is required to store it only in a cool room.

Analogues of birch sap

How to make birch sap and properly store it, we told above. However, very few people know that in the spring the sap movement occurs in all trees. Although not all plants can be extracted. Practical application received a drink that is made from aspen and sugar maple (American).

In our country juice from maple is mined very rarely. And its volume is quite difficult to compare with birch. This is due to the fact that sugar maple grows only in North America, while other species are not so fast-growing to give a large amount of life-giving drink.

In the northeastern United States, as well as in southeast Canada, maple juice is used very widely. Typically, it is used to produce a sweet syrup, which is often consumed with pancakes and added to various confectionery products.

Let's sum up the results

In this article, we answered in detail the question of how to make berry juice tasty and store it for a long time, and also discussed how it should be mined without harm to trees. Thanks to these tips, you are sure to get a very tasty and healthy drink that will well quench your thirst and saturate the body with minerals and organic acids. Do not forget to "treat" the slender beauty and treat the wound so that the tree does not die.