Birch sap is a very useful natural drink, which is endowed with a mass of healing properties and has an extremely beneficial effect on the human body. This is the so-called elixir of beauty, health, vitality and strength. This is because it contains many useful substances, organic acids and trace elements. Today we will learn all about Birch juice, let's talk about its benefits, how, where and when to collect, as well as how to store the drink.

All about the benefits of birch sap

Birch sap contains fructose, glucose, sucrose, organic acids, enzymes and substances that have great antimicrobial activity (phytoncides), as well as potassium, iron, manganese, calcium, sodium, magnesium, copper, which are required by the body weakened by spring beriberi.

Birch sap is endowed with a huge amount useful properties:

• Perfectly strengthens the immune system.
• Normalizes the work of the heart.
• It has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body.
• It improves metabolism and is very useful for brain function.
• Tones, invigorates and energizes the body.
• Just one glass of drink a day will relieve you of drowsiness, fatigue and depression.
• The drink is called one of the best dietary and restorative remedies.
• It is very useful for people with diseases of the urinary tract and kidneys - it stimulates kidney function, has a diuretic effect, promotes the release of uric acid and increases diuresis.
• Useful for lung diseases, bronchitis, tuberculosis, tonsillitis, cough.
• Relieves headaches and migraines.
• Useful for venereal diseases.
• It is recommended to take a drink for diseases of the liver, gallbladder, duodenum and with low acidity.
• Helps with high blood pressure and anemia.
• Renders therapeutic effect with arthritis, sciatica and rheumatism.
• Able to purify the blood and remove toxic substances from the body.
• Taking birch sap, you can increase the body's resistance to allergic, infectious and colds.
• In chronic rhinitis, it is recommended to take one glass of fresh birch sap every morning.
• Endowed with anthelmintic, antitumor and diuretic action.
• It is useful to wipe the skin with acne, eczema, psoriasis, furunculosis, neurodermatitis, fungal diseases, poorly healing wounds,

Important!To preserve birch sap for a long time, it can be frozen in ice molds and used as cosmetic ice.

Birch sap is widely used in cosmetology:

• Perfectly cleanses and refreshes the skin, and for this it is enough just to wash it in the morning.
• Used to moisturize and cleanse dry skin.

• Used for washing the head - to strengthen the hair, their rapid growth, giving softness and shine to the hair; used to fight dandruff.
• You can also do anti-cellulite wraps.

If we talk about harm, then birch sap can cause harm only if it was collected in contaminated places and if a person is allergic to birch pollen. Contraindicated in people suffering from stomach ulcers.

Did you know?The Soviet poet Stepan Shchipachev wrote the story "Birch sap" in 1956.

How to determine collection time

The collection begins in the spring during the first thaws, and ends after bud break. The beginning of the collection is dictated by weather conditions. But often the juice begins to flow somewhere in the middle of March, when the snow melts and the buds begin to swell, and continues to run until the middle - end of April.

You can check whether the time has come to collect and harvest, using a thin awl. It is necessary to go out into the forest and make a puncture in a birch as thick as a hand with this awl. If the juice has already gone, then a drop will immediately come out at the puncture site. This will mean that you can start collecting and harvesting.

Important! The most intensive sap flow through the tree occurs during daylight hours.

Is it possible to collect birch sap in urban areas

Answering the question whether it is possible to collect juice in the city, we immediately warn you: no, don’t even think about it. It is necessary to collect away from large cities, from highways, from large factories and polluted places, since the tree can absorb everything from the environment harmful substances and vehicle exhaust gases. The juice that will be collected from such trees will not only not bring any benefit, but can also be harmful to health.

The best places to collect

To really get healthy juice, the place of collection must be chosen very carefully. It is best collected in ecologically clean forests away from urban areas, industrial areas and highways.

Features of the collection, how to properly collect a healthy drink

Before you take birch sap, you need to know some simple, but very important rules and terms of collection:

• Young trees cannot be used for collection, only mature trees that have a diameter of 20 cm or more. If you collect sap from young trees, you can destroy them, because during the period of tree growth, he himself needs it.
• Use a drill with a 5-10 mm drill to collect. Such a hole overgrows in the trunk almost without a trace.

• It is not necessary to make a hole too deep in the tree trunk, because the juice mainly goes in the surface layer between the bark and the wood. It will be enough 2-3 cm deep.
• The best time to collect is considered to be between 10:00 and 18:00, when the juice flows most intensively.
• Do not try to drain all the juice from one tree, otherwise you can destroy it. It would be better to go around five to ten trees and drain a liter a day from each.
• At the end of the collection, be sure to help the tree heal its wounds. Cover the hole with wax, garden pitch, or seal or hammer a wooden plug to keep bacteria out of the barrel.

As regards, in fact, how get birch sap:

1. Choose a birch with a well-developed crown with a diameter of more than 20-30 cm.
2. Make a hole carefully in the trunk at a distance of 20 cm from the ground.
3. Attach a birch bark tray or some other semicircular device into the hole made or under it, along which the juice will flow.
4. Place a jar, bottle or bag under the groove where the juice will run.

The number of holes made in the barrel depends on its diameter. With a tree diameter of 20-25 cm, only one hole can be made, and then one more hole for every ten centimeters. But the main thing is not to overdo it with holes, because the more the tree is injured, the more difficult it will be for it to heal its wounds.

Storage methods, studying recipes

It is best to use the juice fresh, when boiling some of its properties are lost. But how long can it be stored? If we talk about how long it can be stored in the refrigerator - no more than two days, and for long-term storage it is necessary to do some manipulations with it.

Storage methods (recipes) are known to be different. From it you can make kvass, syrup, balm, various drinks, or canned.

Canning. For one liter of birch sap, you need to take 125 g of sugar, add 5 g of citric acid, pour into jars, pasteurize and roll up with lids.

Birch syrup. Evaporate the juice to a yellow-white color until it becomes viscous and resembles in consistency. The concentration of sugar in syrup is 60-70%.

Birch wine. For 10 liters of birch sap, you need to take 1 kg of sugar, two peels, two bottles of white grape wine, yeast. Boil the juice with sugar over high heat until about eight liters of liquid remain; then take it off the heat, add the rinds and white wine, mix everything well and let the mixture cool down. Add 0.5 tablespoon of yeast and leave for four days. After four days, bottle everything, cork the bottles and put in a dark, cold place for a month.

Kvass:

• For 10 liters of Syria you need 50 g of yeast. It must be boiled so that some water evaporates, cool, add yeast and let it ferment for several days, then pour kvass into bottles, close and put in a cold place for a couple of weeks.
• For 10 liters you will need the juice of four lemons, 50 g of yeast, 30 g of honey or sugar, raisins. Mix all this, pour into bottles and leave in a cold dark place.
• Pour birch sap into an oak barrel, lower a canvas bag with burnt crusts on a rope rye bread, and two days later put oak bark in a barrel, you can also leave or stems. In two weeks, kvass will be ready.

The drink is very pleasant on its own, but you can add juice of various berries (lingonberries,

In spring, nature comes to life, and at this time of the year, sap flows along the birch trunk. It doesn't taste sweet at all. It resembles water from a spring. But it is a storehouse of useful substances. To obtain maximum benefit, you need to know when birch sap is harvested.

What time of year is it harvested?

The exact date when you can collect the juice, no one knows. It depends on the climate, weather conditions. If the buds begin to swell on a birch, you can try to collect a drink. If the kidneys are dry - do not rush.

The sap is usually harvested after the spring equinox. To find out if he appeared, you need to come to the forest at the end of March, make a cut with a thin awl. This should be done on the south side of the tree - this side is more warmed by the sun. It is better to choose a thick tree. If a drop has come out at the site of the incision, then sap flow begins, you can collect it.

In what month is the juice harvested? The liquid goes from the end of March to the end of April. First, it appears on birch trees warmed by the sun (at the edge of the forest). Then the sun moves deeper into the thicket, distant birch trees warm up, and you can collect juice from them. Speaking about whether it is possible to collect in the city, it should be remembered that the air is polluted, therefore, the juice may not be useful, but, on the contrary, harm or cause allergies. Therefore, in the city, liquid is not collected from a birch.

Important! The air temperature should warm up to 5 degrees. The best time to collect is from 11.00 to 16.00.

If, after warm days, frosts or rains begin, then it is better to postpone the trip for a drink. Many people wonder if it is possible to collect juice in May? You can, but the taste becomes bitter. However, it retains its beneficial properties. Therefore, we can say that the taste depends on the time of collection, and not only on weather conditions and terrain.

How to collect juice correctly - ways

It is necessary to collect birch sap without damaging the trees. You must follow the rules:

1. Do not make deep cuts with an ax, as the liquid is between the bark and the wood. It is better to take a drill with a drill no more than 1 cm (the bark overgrows better).
2. Do not take all the juice from the tree. It is better to collect no more than 1 liter per day from one tree (in total, it is recommended to collect no more than 10 liters from one tree per season).
3. Do not collect liquid from young trees. It is believed that the juice from mature birches is sweeter. You need to choose trees with a diameter of more than 25 cm.
4. After collecting the juice, hammer a wooden plug into the hole. The tree will heal faster.

So, in order to assemble correctly, you need to choose a tree with a slight slope (this will make it easier to install the bottle). Three times a day (morning, afternoon and evening) you must come and pick up a drink. If it is clear that the birch gives little product, you should not drill other holes in it, expand what has been done. You just need to change the tree. Usually birch gives 2-3 liters per day.

When it becomes clear that more liquid cannot be collected from the tree, you need to help him heal the wound. In order not to damage the tree, you should find an old dry branch, with a diameter slightly larger than the drill, plug the hole with it. So the juice will not pour out, but will flow along the branches. The next year there will be no trace left of the hole.

Collection methods:

1. With the help of a groove. Drill a small hole about 30 cm from the ground. Peel the top layer of bark around the hole so that dirt does not get into the juice. Set the v-groove with an ax at a 45 degree angle. Substitute a bottle (bag, bucket).
2. Collection without accessories. Find a flat place on the birch, make a v-shaped incision. Bend the incised bark a little (to make a hook). Attach a container for a drink.
3. In packages. Choose a thick branch. It should move away from another thick branch (not from the trunk) to the side, and not up. Cut off the end. Attach container. You can just put the bottles on the branches.
4. With the help of a dropper. Drill a hole in the birch, clean it. Remove the needle from the dropper, insert the spout. Put a needle on the other end of the dropper, pierce the bottle with it. The liquid will flow through the dropper into the bottle.

Anyone can choose the most suitable collection method for themselves.

How to store birch sap

Of course, it is best to drink fresh birch sap. You need to drink at least 0.5 liters per day to feel the benefits. In the refrigerator or cellar, it is stored for no more than a month. It is best to store it by freezing: this way it will retain more nutrients.

Storage methods:

1. Pasteurization. For 1 liter of liquid, take 150 g of sugar, a pinch of citric acid. Mix everything thoroughly, filter through gauze, pour into jars and boil for 10 minutes. Roll up the lids, put in the pantry. The disadvantage of this method is that sugar and citric acid will change the taste of the juice.
2. Fermentation. Strain the juice, pour into containers. Cover with lids and cloth. Put in a place where there will be an optimal fermentation temperature of 10-15 degrees for 3 days. The drink may become cloudy. You can store it until mid-summer.
3. Freeze. Pour the drink into glass bottles and freeze.
4. Useful drink. Mix juice with mint and rose hips. Pasteurize.
5. Evaporation. Evaporate 5 liters of liquid in an open pan. You should get 0.5 liters of syrup with a sugar concentration of 70% (like honey).
6. Leaven. Add sugar, yeast and raisins to the juice. When it begins to ferment, pour into containers, close tightly with lids, put in a dark, cool place (cellar). Stored for at least three months.
7. Birch kvass. For 0.5 l of juice, take 1 tsp. sugar, three raisins, a little lemon peel. Ferment the drink in glass bottles, attach the lid tightly. This folk recipe, patented by the Academy of Medical Sciences.
8. Birch-pine drink. For 50 liters of juice, take 3 kg of pine needles (scalded), heat to 80 degrees, insist 6-7 hours. Then strain, add sugar, citric acid. Pour into glass jars, pasteurize for 30 minutes at a temperature of 95 degrees.
9. Storage in cans. Pour the drink into stainless steel cans. Insert a tube into the lid, plug it with a wooden cork. Pour well-roasted young barley into a gauze bundle and place in a can (so that the juice does not turn sour). The juice will change its color and taste (to bread), but it will be tasty and good for the liver.

There are a lot of recipes, all of them do not require much effort to prepare.

Birch drink has a positive effect on the body:

• normalizes digestion: relieves spasms and colic, improves appetite;
• stabilizes the acidity of gastric juice: a lower level of acidity increases, an increased one lowers;
• dissolves kidney stones, has a diuretic property;
• helps with atherosclerosis - cleanses blood vessels from cholesterol plaques;
• has an expectorant property, it can be used for bronchitis;
• restores metabolism, being a low-calorie drink;
• treats anemia, increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood;
• helps with colds: increases sweating, brings down the temperature;
• treats a runny nose;
• brings the pressure back to normal;
• fights beriberi and spring blues;
• relieves age spots (juice is applied externally in the form of a lotion);
• stimulates growth and reduces oiliness of hair;
• tonic, improves immunity.

The benefits are due to the fact that it contains such substances:

• organic acids;
• tannins;
• fructose;
• enzymes;
• a large amount of vitamin C;
• mineral elements.

Contraindications:

• exacerbation of stomach ulcers;
• exacerbation of urolithiasis;
• individual intolerance.

Birch sap is used in folk medicine. It helps to get rid of many diseases, improving the general condition of the body:

1. With anemia, they drink it, mixing it with carrot or apple. Taking 50 ml 15 minutes before meals can increase hemoglobin levels.
2. To increase immunity, a birch drink is mixed with milk in equal proportions and consumed orally.
3. For diseases of the digestive system, drink pure juice of 50 ml.
4. Skin diseases are treated with birch lotions, compresses.
5. To cleanse the body of toxins and toxins, drink 200 ml in the morning before breakfast for 6 weeks.

Important! In the treatment of cough, birch sap is heated.

Birch sap can be found on store shelves. But assembling it yourself is not difficult. The main thing is to choose a method convenient for yourself that does not harm the tree. Birch sap collected in spring is a very valuable and useful product.

Do you know that birch sap is very useful and you can drink it? From mid-March to early May, on the vast Russian forest expanses, the gentle rays of the sun awaken to life the main natural symbol of the country - the birch: sap flow from the roots of the tree begins up the entire crown. The timing of the movement depends on the region and weather conditions. In Siberia, in the north-west of the country, and even in the middle lane now, in the second half of April, the most best time drinkBirch juice- a storehouse of useful vitamins, micro-macroelements and amino acids.

Birch sap, is it possible to take it from a birch?

I foresee the question of ecologists or people who are zealous about nature: why collect birch sap, causing harm to the tree? I am also against industrial sap harvesting and inaccurate, sometimes barbaric treatment of trees, leading to their death.

However, from 1 liter to 3 liters (no more than 1 liter per day) of juice, an adult birch can give without harming its health. It's like donors who donate a portion of blood for the benefit of human life and for their own renewal of the body. Often, the white-barreled ones themselves cry, losing drops of juice that are transparent, like tears, because remember:

“Juice appears on white trunks -

Now the birch trees are crying, then the birch trees are crying ... ".

Today, birch sap is classified as a biologically pure product that has benefits and its cost exceeds 100 rubles. for 1 liter. Exotic or unique benefit? Let's see what the juice of white-barreled beauties is so rich in.

Composition of birch sap

Birch juice- a saline solution that nourishes the tree and promotes the formation of foliage and provides it with life. And it is already clear that it will be useful composition not only for a tree, but also for a person, besides, it also tastes good. It does not have a pronounced taste, it is a cool, slightly sweet liquid with a slight sourness, reminiscent of spring water.

Birch sap contains the following components:

• Proteins;
• , the one that is found mainly only in animal products. This is what makes birch sap especially useful.
• Organic acids, enzymes, aromatics, tannins that improve metabolism and help eliminate carcinogens and toxins. Phytoelement saponin in juice reduces.
• fruit sugars.
• Trace elements and their salts: potassium, magnesium, sodium, copper, manganese. Especially the juice is rich in potassium, which blocks sodium, reducing swelling, improving the functioning of the heart muscle.

There is an opinion that in its composition birch is close to, the benefits of which have already been discussed.

Birch sap: benefits

1. Juice perfectly replenishes the balance of vitamins in the body and resists.
2. Strengthens , reducing risk .
3. Juice regulates the acidity of gastric juice, therefore it is prescribed for patients with gastritis with low acidity. It has a rare ability to scar the lining of the stomach and intestines caused by ulcers.
4. Enhances metabolic processes in the body, relieves depression.
5. Well cleanses the blood, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, eliminates toxins and toxins, relieves swelling, is a natural diuretic.
6. Birch sap is recommended for sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia. You can just gargle
7. Birch elixir is used in the treatment of diseases of the joints, arthritis, arthrosis, salt deposits.
8. Helps with furunculosis, neurodermatitis, eczema, and other skin and hair problems.
9. Thanks to low calorie, V 100 grams only 25 kcal with great benefit, it is used in diets for weight loss.
10. Juice is useful for women during menopause, as it lowers blood pressure and alleviates the symptoms of this period. Eliminates fatigue, lethargy and gives strength.
11. In cosmetology, it occupies a leading position: it is added to the composition of creams, masks, and lotions. Rubbed into hair.

When to collect birch sap

Birch sap is usually mined after the spring equinox (March 21) immediately with the snow melting. It all depends on the weather, the tree feels it subtly. The beginning of the movement of the juice can be checked by making a light incision along the trunk. If there is juice, a drop of it will immediately appear. So you can start collecting. When choosing a place, it is important to consider the following points:

• The most useful is the clear juice collected in the middle of the sap flow period. With the buds open, the juice becomes cloudy, bitter and can no longer be consumed.
• They collect birch sap far from the city, so that the highway does not pass nearby, otherwise there will be no benefit in the sap.
• It is better to choose a birch on a hill, in the depths of the forest, where it wakes up a little later, such juice is sweeter.
• The tree must be mature, with a trunk thickness of at least 20 cm with thick bark. But it is better to neglect too old trees, the juice in them is also bitter and almost tasteless.
• Collection is carried out in clear sunny weather, then the best movement of the juice. In the dark, the movement stops, the tree also falls asleep.

How to collect birch sap correctly without harming the tree

It is important to collect birch sap correctly so as not to harm the tree and at the same time get the juice in full

1. At a height of about 1 meter, a hole is made with a sharp knife or a drill with a diameter of 5-8 ml. In no case do not chop the bark with an ax and make large cuts - this can destroy the tree! Do not make more than 3 holes in one barrel.
2. The juice goes between the bark and the wood, so there is no need to drill deeply, it is enough to break through the bark layer.
3. Insert a plastic tube from the juice, a wood stick, a metal tube in the form of a drain into the hole, fastening a thick thread, a rope at the end, or you can use a medical dropper by removing the needle from it and inserting it into the hole with the spout. On them, the juice will begin to drain into a plastic bottle or glass jar.
4. The volume of juice should not exceed more than a liter per day - the same amount that birch is able to restore without loss. It is better to use several trees.
5. Do not forget to cover the hole in the tree with clay after finishing the collection, plug it with grass, a stick or garden pitch, taking it with you in advance.

If you went to the forest and did not take with you devices for collecting birch sap, you can cut a branch and hang a bottle on a knot, the juice will flow down it. You can hang several bottles at once on several knots like this:

How to take birch sap for health benefits

It is better to drink juice fresh, it has more vitamins and nutrients. Fresh juice is stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days. You can preserve the juice, but as you know, all its benefits end there. But it is better to freeze the juice, so it retains its properties more.

You can drink it with milk, making cocktails with the addition of citrus juice or mint leaves. But I think that it is best to drink pure juice, enjoying its transparent moisture.

How to store birch sap

It is best to drink the juice as soon as you receive it. If it is not possible to get it often, you can stock up for future use and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This juice is the best. If there is a lot of juice, you need to think about how to save it.

Freezing juice in the freezer

The most convenient and reliable way to store birch sap is to turn it into ice. And this method helps to preserve all the useful substances. So feel free to pour the juice into molds and send it to the freezer, as needed, you can get the mold, melt and drink.

Birch sap canning

You can preserve birch sap in glass jars, but the process requires heating the sap to a boiling point, at which most vitamins are killed. Of course, something of the usefulness of the juice remains, therefore the method is acceptable, but you should know that it will no longer retain all the benefits of the juice.

We heat the juice to a temperature of 80 degrees and pour it into clean sterile preheated glass jars and close it with a sterilized metal lid. We wrap the jars with a warm blanket and so stand for 6-8 hours. Then we cool the jars and send them to a cold room or refrigerator. So we save all the beneficial properties of birch sap.

Birch sap: harm

• those who are allergic to pollen,
• urolithiasis,
• stomach ulcer during exacerbation.

Birch sap treatment recipes

Treatment with birch sap is quite affordable and enjoyable. Birch sap helps:

At chronic, sore throats drink fresh birch sap every morning, 1 glass.

From cough it is good to take birch sap, half diluted with warm milk.

In addition to the fact that birch sap tastes good, it is also full of substances necessary for the body. Fresh birch sap is able to normalize the microflora in the intestines, break down kidney stones, and help the immune system fight lung diseases. It is also used in cosmetic purposes. The healthiest sap is the sap you collect directly from the tree. The simple rules of this procedure will help you to get this tasty and healing drink easily and without consequences for the birch.

We choose the time to collect the juice. Immediately after the spring equinox on March 20, you can start monitoring the flow of sap in the trees. To make sure that the juice has gone, find a young birch, the thickness of which does not exceed 10 cm in diameter. Make a thin puncture and observe. A drop of liquid that comes out will tell you that you can start collecting juice. And do not be embarrassed if there is still snow around the tree. Birches very early "come to life" by spring, as soon as the first sun appears. We choose birch. Do not look for juice in thin birch trees, as you will only injure it with punctures. And the juice in young trees will not taste familiar to you. Also, do not get hung up on one tree, but rather select several trunks for your purposes. Birch will give you about a liter of juice without consequences for its life. Therefore, it is better to collect 5 liters from five trees than the same amount from one. Remember that urban birch trees do not have even some of the useful properties that you will find in forest trunks. Trees perfectly accumulate dirt, dust, exhaust gases, fumes from plants and factories. Their juice will be completely harmful to you.

We make a hole. To avoid damaging the tree, avoid cutting holes with an axe. Use a drill with a thin bit. Birch sap circulates in the surface layer of the wood, closer to the bark. Therefore, making too deep a hole is not required.

Collecting juice. To collect juice, choose a container with a narrow neck. So you protect the juice from getting grass, dirt, debris into it. A plastic bottle is best, which is also easy to tie to the barrel just below the hole. Now you need to build a conductor for the juice. A well-washed bunch of grass or a flagellum of gauze will perfectly collect the juice from the trunk and bring it into the bottle in a capillary way. Insert the "conductor" into the hole in the barrel and lower it into the neck of the container. We control the collection of juice. Check the filling of the containers several times a day. If the juice is slowing down, do not try to deepen the hole or otherwise speed up its collection. Better move on to the next trunk. By not draining the birches completely, you will keep them alive.

We treat birch. When the juice collection is completed, do not forget to plug the hole you made. Drive a wooden block into the hole, plug it with moss or wax. So the juice will no longer flow out and will begin to flow to the branches. The birch itself will quickly heal the wound. The next year you will not find a trace of a puncture.

By observing simple norms, you can both enjoy a healthy drink and protect the birch from death.

A couple of decades ago, everyone could enjoy this wonderful drink by visiting the nearest store or canteen. Now it is difficult to find natural birch sap even in supermarkets. Therefore, lovers collect the "correct" birch sap on their own.

Unique drink and its benefits

There is a belief among the people: "Whoever drinks birch juice to the full, he 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. First, it restores metabolism. Secondly, it gives strength and vigor, normalizes pressure. Thirdly, it is a storehouse of vitamin C.

Until quite recently, everyone could enjoy this drink. Now the production of birch sap has decreased. Now it is difficult to find a natural product even in supermarkets. That is why many people prefer to extract juice on their own. It turns out that this is a simple process.

What you need to know when you go for this juice

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

Obey the law, take care of your national treasure!

Do not worry, the legislation of the Russian Federation allows collecting birch sap. The main thing is that the tree stays alive after your prey. Otherwise, you will be fined.

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

Remember! It is forbidden:

• collect the juice 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 bypass several birches).

The right time of the year

Nobody will tell you the exact date when you need to go for birch sap. It all depends on the weather conditions and the climate of the region. Usually in Moscow, the Moscow region and in central Russia, juice appears in the third decade of March, in the southern regions - at the beginning of March, and in the north, beyond the Urals and in the Altai Territory - by the end of April.

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

But if the kidneys are still dry, you should wait a bit, as there will most likely be no juice. Or 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 decade 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 several "secrets of success" that you should know in advance:

1. The air temperature should reach 5 degrees Celsius.
2. If, after a thaw, frosts hit or it started to rain, this is not the best time to collect birch sap. Better to wait until more favorable weather conditions. Otherwise, you will just waste your time.
3. The best time to collect juice is from 11:00 to 16:00.
   

   When there is more sunlight, birch sap flows more intensively.

4. Pure and high-quality birch sap can be collected only 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 and factories. This is fraught with allergies, in the worst case - poisoning.
   

   In the city, birch sap cannot be collected. This is fraught with allergies, in the worst case - poisoning. And, of course, it is impossible to collect birch sap near factories and plants.

5. Collect sap from the south side of the birch.

Woodworking Instructions

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

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

And be sure, after you complete the procedure, treat the injured place of the birch. To do this, cover the cuts and holes with garden pitch or close them with a homemade cork made of wood.

What methods of collecting birch sap will not damage the trees

Using a groove - plastic, aluminum or wood

You will need:

• drill;
• axe;
• V-shaped aluminum gutter;
• container.

Thus, on average, you can collect a liter of juice in 20 minutes.

Video: extraction of birch sap with a groove

No tools - just hands and a knife

You will need: a sharp knife, a container for juice.

This method is good when you are relaxing with your family or friends in nature. In a couple of minutes you will collect a mug of juice.

Video: how to collect birch sap simply and quickly

Collection in a bag (bag) or a bottle from a branch

You will need:

• sharp knife or hatchet;
• container.

With a drip

You will need:

1. We drill a hole in the birch. We clean from sawdust.
2. Remove the needle from one end of the dropper. Insert the cambric into the hole.
3. We insert the other end of the dropper with a needle into a plastic bottle, piercing it.

This is one of the most common ways to collect birch sap. Since you can quickly and without harm to the tree collect up to 7 liters of juice.

Video: how to collect birch sap with a dropper

As you can see, there are many different options for extracting birch sap. Choose the one you like best. And do not forget to follow the measure and rules. Then every year the birch will thank you with its wonderful juice.