Bella Adams
Birch sap is a clear liquid that flows from a tree during the sap flow period (March-April). If you’ve ever accidentally broken a tree branch when it had no leaves yet, you might have seen a clear drop at the point of the break. This is birch sap.
Nutritional value of birch sap
Birch sap contains many important trace elements, including calcium, iron, and potassium, as well as phytoncides, tannins, and organic acids.
100 ml of birch sap contains:
- Calories, kcal: 24.
- Proteins, g: 0.1 г.
- Fat, g: 0.0 г.
- Carbohydrates, g: 5.8 г.
- Birch sap contains:
- Sugars – 1-4%.
- Potassium – 273 mg / l.
- Sodium – 16 mg / l.
- Calcium – 13 mg / l.
- Magnesium – 6 mg / l.
- Manganese – 1 mg / l.
Birch sap: benefits
The clear, sweet drink is recommended for people with gastrointestinal diseases. It has a positive effect on liver diseases, duodenal inflammation, ulcers and low acidity, and gallbladder diseases.
In the spring, when our body is weakened by the long winter, this wonderful drink will help to cope with vitamin deficiency, and spring depression, restore strength and vigor, and strengthen the immune system.
Since ancient times, the juice has also been used as an anthelmintic and diuretic and is useful for those who suffer from headaches.
Birch cleanses the blood and is indicated for allergic diseases. This useful property helps to effectively treat intoxication.
It has a pronounced expectorant effect, so it is useful for bronchitis and asthma.
For cosmetic purposes, birch sap is used for acne, skin eczema, and dry skin. In these cases, it is good to wipe the skin with birch sap or prepare masks based on birch sap. For those who want to have beautiful, strong hair, get rid of dandruff, and accelerate its growth, it is useful to wash their hair with birch sap.
How to collect birch sap
Birch sap used to be available in any store, with large three-liter jars crammed onto grocery store shelves in abundance. Now it is also available in both glass and cardboard packages. However, to preserve the healing drink, substances are used that destroy nutrients and such juice will not give you anything but a taste reminiscent of childhood.
Therefore, it is better, if possible, to collect birch sap yourself. This is done between March and April when there are no leaves on the branches yet, but they should appear soon. Usually, the sap flow period lasts 2-3 weeks, so don’t waste time.
For sap collection, choose a tree at least 20 cm in diameter, with a spreading crown, growing in ecologically clean areas. In a small area about 20 cm from the ground, the trunk is cleaned of bark (a small square is cut off), and then a hole is drilled no deeper than 3-4 cm. The fact is that the sap does not move in the very depths of the trunk, but somewhere between the bark and the upper layers of wood.
A wooden container for collection is placed below. You can also substitute a bottle or jar, and direct the jet with a straw or a bandage twisted into a bundle.
The most “productive” hours for collecting birch sap are between noon and 6 pm, at which time the movement of sap is most active.
The thicker the tree trunk, the more holes for collecting sap can be made. So, for example, if the trunk diameter exceeds 40 cm, then you can make up to 4 holes at the same time.
A small tree can give you up to 3 liters of juice per day, and a plant with a large trunk can give up to seven liters.
After the sap is collected, do not forget to close the holes so that bacteria do not get in, which can make the plant sick and die. You can fill the holes with wax, a piece of moss, or just plasticine, but don’t leave them open.
How to preserve birch sap
Freshly harvested birch sap can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days without special treatment. Later, it will begin to ferment, you will notice this when the transparency of the drink disappears and it begins to foam. Of course, it is better to use the juice fresh, but if you have a lot of it and want to prepare it for future use, you can use the following recipes.
Here are three recipes to preserve birch sap in a simple and easy way:
- A foamy drink made from birch sap is prepared as follows. For half a liter of freshly collected juice placed in a bottle, take 2 teaspoons of sugar, the zest of a quarter of a lemon, and 3-4 raisins. Bottles are closed with corks, wrapped with wire for reliability, and put in a cold place for two to three months. After the drink “ripens”, it is drunk, adding sugar to the taste. Kvass, vinegar, and strong alcoholic beverages are also prepared from birch sap.
- 5 g of citric acid and half a glass of sugar are added to one liter of birch sap. Everything is mixed, passed through a filter, and poured into jars. Then the juice in the cans is pasteurized, rolled up with lids, and stored in a cool place.
- Birch sap can be used to make syrup, which can later be added to drinks. To do this, the liquid is evaporated over low heat with the lid open until the contents thicken to the consistency of honey. Then pour the syrup into a jar and store it in the refrigerator.
Contraindications to the use of birch sap
In addition to the benefits, birch sap can harm the human body in a small percentage of cases. For those whom doctors call allergic if they are allergic to birch tree pollen, it is not recommended to drink this juice. The body’s reaction can be immediate. Also, urolithiasis will be considered a contraindication for drinking this drink. By causing active urination, birch sap can cause the movement of stones, which will be manifested by the strongest painful sensations. The place where the drink was collected is also of great importance. Trees growing in close proximity to highways and busy highways will produce sap “contaminated” by heavy metals. Contaminating your body with such elements is simply dangerous for any person, therefore, before buying birch sap, it is advisable to inquire in which areas it was collected.
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