About Birch juice Probably everyone has heard it. Many people also know its benefits. But, unfortunately, the consumption of this product in our country has been declining for several years now. And the reason is not even that people cannot afford it (on the contrary, the cost of a liter of juice remains very affordable today), but because: first - taste qualities“modern” juice leaves much to be desired, secondly, people simply do not trust “store-bought” products of this kind, which contain more chemicals than natural ingredients. This is no longer the same product that was produced strictly according to GOST.

That is, the sap that you can buy in a store without any problems has very little in common with real natural birch sap, and its benefits, if any, are minimal. What to do? Avoid drinking birch sap completely, or use one that is not the most best quality- from store shelves? Neither one nor the other. After all, there is an alternative! You can prepare the juice yourself and enjoy the healthy drink all year long - until the next season.

The time to collect raw materials for the future drink is spring. On our blog we discussed the topic of how to properly prepare birch sap. And today we’ll talk about no less important aspect: how to preserve birch sap. You can do everything right: collect, save. But, if the cooking and canning process is carried out incorrectly, then all these efforts can go to waste! But if you take into account the information that we have prepared for you and set out below, then the canning process will take place as quickly and comfortably as possible, and the juice will be stored for a long time and will not lose its properties. healing properties.

Birch sap helps maintain good health and is an excellent remedy for the prevention of various types of ailments. With its help, you can strengthen the immune system, cleanse blood vessels, normalize your weight, and stabilize blood pressure. And these are far from the only ones positive effects which you can achieve by consuming juice prepared according to the following recipes.

Exist different recipes. The most popular are: birch juice with lemon, juice with orange, with raisins, with, with currants. From juice and raisins you can also prepare tasty, aromatic, healthy kvass. As a bonus, you will be presented with a recipe for homemade birch sap with candies. Next - about everything in detail!

How to preserve birch sap with lemon?

This is perhaps one of the most popular options. Sometimes a little more mint is added along with the lemon. This makes the drink even more refreshing and tonic. At the same time, it has a positive effect on the nervous system, due to the presence in it essential oils mint. The culinary properties of this drink are outstanding: it has a pleasant sour taste and a characteristic mint aftertaste. But, if you don't like mint, or you can't/don't want to add it, then you don't have to do it.

Ingredients:

• Birch juice;
• fresh lemons;
• mint (preferably in sprigs, fresh, if not, then you can do without mint);
• white crystalline sugar.

Cooking method:

1. For 10 liters of juice you will need 3-4 sprigs of mint, 1 medium-sized lemon and 12 tablespoons of sugar.
2. You need to put the juice on the stove (on “low” heat) and simmer. It is better to take enameled utensils for cooking, both in the example of this recipe and others. Once bubbles appear on the surface of the liquid, all foam should be collected. It will have a characteristic reddish tint.
3. After collecting the foam, add all the ingredients to the juice - one by one: lemon (cut into slices), mint (optional), sugar. Stir.
4. Simmer for another 13-15 minutes. At the same time, sterilize the containers in which you will be rolling already finished product. It is also advisable to treat the lids with boiling water.

Roll up the jars, filling them with juice one by one. Place in a dark place (not cold), cover with a blanket or other warm cloth. After a day, you can transfer the jars for storage in the cellar or refrigerator.

How to preserve birch sap with orange?

Such a drink will not only be healthy, but also very tasty and aromatic. Those who love sweet notes and citrus aroma will appreciate it.

Ingredients:

• Birch juice;
• fresh oranges;
• white crystalline sugar;
• citric acid.

Method of preparing the drink:

1. For 10 liters of fresh birch sap you need: 1 ripe orange, 500 grams of sugar, 3 teaspoons of citric acid.
2. The juice should be left on the stove for enamel pan until it begins to simmer slowly. After a few minutes of boiling, you need to collect the foam from the juice and turn off the stove.
3. While it is boiling, prepare the remaining ingredients: wash the oranges thoroughly and cut into approximately equal 4 parts (you can also cut the orange into slices). If the jars are 1-2 liters, then each part of the fruit can be divided again.
4. Place citrus parts in pre-sterilized glass jars. Add citric acid and sugar there. Their required quantity It’s easy to calculate: if you took 10 liters of ingredients, and you have, for example, 2-liter jars, then put a fifth of acid and a fifth of sugar in each jar..
5. The juice has already boiled, the foam has collected. It's time to pour it into jars that already have everything you need.
6. Roll up the lids treated with boiling water. Next - everything is the same as in the previous recipe (with mint and lemons).

Citrus fruits, which are used in recipes for birch sap preparations, give the drink freshness and piquancy.

Birch sap with raisins

No less interesting recipe, according to which you can prepare a very useful and delicious drink. It cannot be stored as long as lemon or orange juice. But, if everything is done correctly, then in a cold place it will have a shelf life of up to 3-4 months. So how to cook it?

Ingredients:

• fresh birch sap;
• white sugar;
• raisins (can be used from any grape variety);
• citrus zest (just a little, optional for flavor).

You can also add orange or lemon if you wish. For more rich taste drink

Cooking method:

1. The juice is simmered in a saucepan for a few minutes.
2. Raisins are added to it (about 1.5 cups per 10 liters of juice), and the boiling process is maintained for another 5 minutes.
3. Add sugar (2 tablespoons for each liter of juice) and zest (lemon, orange).
4. Everything gets mixed up. The stove turns off.
5. Next is the seaming process, as in previous recipes.

You can make very tasty birch kvass based on birch sap; it turns out sharp and unusual, especially if you add raisins.

Kvass from birch sap with raisins

Based on juice and raisins, you can prepare a drink unique in its healing and gastronomic properties - kvass. Our ancestors knew this recipe. It has survived to this day virtually unchanged. Preparing kvass is simple, and the result will certainly please you.

Ingredients:

• fresh birch sap (5 liters);
• raisins (200 grams);
• 1 cup white sugar;
• a few crusts of rye bread.

Method for preparing kvass:

1. The juice is filtered through clean gauze and poured into glass containers.
2. Sugar, bread crusts and raisins are added to the same containers.
3. You need to put rubber gloves on the neck of each container (it’s better to take jars) (they will serve as a kind of indicator).
4. The jars are left in a dark place at a temperature of about 21-25 degrees Celsius.
5. The liquid will ferment for several days. When the excess gas inside the container is critical, the gloves will rise up, while remaining on the necks. You need to make one hole on the finger of each glove and leave the drink to ferment for another day. This, as a rule, is enough to complete the fermentation processes in it.
6. After this, the liquid must be strained and placed in the refrigerator without a lid. After 48 hours, the kvass is ready for use.

How to preserve birch sap with rose hips?

The vitamin-mineral composition and healing properties of birch sap can be significantly enhanced by simply adding rose hips to it. To prepare it you need a minimum of ingredients and the same amount of effort.

This is a good antiviral agent that helps strengthen the immune system and fight seasonal infections. Also, it can be used to normalize arterial pressure, because the juice has a pronounced diuretic effect.

Ingredients:

• fresh birch sap;
• rosehip (fruit);
• citric acid;
• sugar.

Cooking method:

1. Take 5 liters of juice: 25-30 rose hips (fresh or dry), 250 grams of sugar and 1 teaspoon of citric acid.
2. First of all, strain the juice and place it on the stove. When it starts to boil, skim off the foam and add the above ingredients. Stir. Simmer for another 8-10 minutes.
3. Next comes the process of pouring and rolling, as in recipes with lemon or orange.

If desired, you can add orange slices or lemon slices to the drink.

How to prepare birch sap with currants

This will be a sweetish drink with a pronounced currant aroma and barely noticeable sourness. Its health benefits have been proven by time and tested by the experience of generations!

Ingredients:

• fresh birch sap (5 liters);
• currant cuttings (14-16 pieces);
• citric acid (15-20 grams);
• sugar (to your taste).

Cooking method:

1. Cans and lids are already in a known way should be prepared in advance.
2. Place the juice in a saucepan gas stove, bring to a boil, remove the foam.
3. Add sugar and acid to the juice, simmer for another 5 minutes.
4. Place the cuttings in jars, pour in juice, roll up and cover with a blanket.

You can also prepare canned birch sap with candies, you can use barberry or duchess.

Recipe for homemade birch sap with candies

This is the promised bonus. The recipe is really unusual and interesting. The juice turns out tasty and aromatic. Lollipops do not add any benefits to it, but they allow you to create a special taste aura that will definitely not leave you indifferent. So let's get started.

Ingredients:

Components (let's look at the example of a 3-liter jar):

• Birch juice;
• sugar (8 tablespoons);
• 1-2 slices of lemon;
• 3-4 “Barberry” lollipops (can be taken with other flavors).

Cooking method:

1. Everything is done according to the usual method: the juice is placed on the stove, brought to a boil, and the foam (if any) is removed. Just a little bit of citric acid, sugar, and unwrapped candies are added to the slowly boiling liquid.
2. The liquid is stirred periodically until the candies are completely dissolved, and the stove is turned off.
3. Lemon slices are placed in a jar, the juice is poured there and rolled up.

Now you know how to preserve birch sap correctly. Bon appetit and good health!

• Shelf life: 7 days
• Best before date: 7 days
• Shelf life in the refrigerator: 5 days
• Freezer life: 60 days

Storage conditions:
In a cool place, protected from light, at a temperature not exceeding +12 ° C

At the beginning of spring, when the snow in the forest just begins to melt and the first “clearings” appear on the ground, all nature comes to life. And life-giving moisture begins to flow through the birches - birch sap, a liquid that contains a lot of vitamins and nutrients.

You can easily collect it to nourish your body with energy and improve its health, but not everyone knows how to store birch sap at home so that it not only does not lose its beneficial features, but it didn’t deteriorate either. This is exactly what we will talk about today.

How to store birch sap at home

Storing birch sap is not difficult, but it all depends on what kind of product is in your department. If this is birch sap purchased in a store, then it is usually sold in 3-liter jars and hermetically packaged. Its shelf life is 2 years, just like everyone else canned food. The production date and expiration date can be found on the product label.

It’s another matter if you are planning to collect or have already collected natural birch sap and are wondering how to store it so that it does not lose its beneficial qualities. How to store birch sap at home? This will take a little work, but first let's look at useful qualities of this product:

• Birch sap has an excellent tonic effect;
• Excellent effect on the functioning of the bronchi and lungs;
• The liquid contains a very high content of calcium and magnesium, sodium and fluorine, and many others necessary for a person minerals.

IN middle lane Russia can collect healthy birch sap within just 2 weeks to enjoy its healing taste.

How to store birch sap in the refrigerator

In fact, real forest birch sap has a very short shelf life, so you should drink it right away to boost your immunity. But there are special methods to briefly extend the life of a vitamin drink, but no more than 2-4 days. This can be done if you immediately pour the drink into clean glass jars and put them in the refrigerator for storage.

How to store birch sap for the winter

Without freezing or canning the drink, this is almost impossible. But even in clean containers and special refrigerator conditions long-term storage birch sap can become dangerous, and it loses its beneficial properties.

To begin with, pathogenic microbes that live even in the cleanest refrigerator can penetrate into it, which will lead to spoilage of the juice. In addition, when it comes into contact with air, the juice begins to oxidize, and this leads to the fact that free radicals begin to release toxic substances from it. Therefore, in order to properly preserve the forest gift in the form of birch sap, it must be preserved.

How to store birch sap for future use

If there is too much birch sap, then simple fermentation will help preserve it. To do this, pour the strained juice into a clean (glass) container that has previously been sterilized with boiling water or steam. For each liter of liquid, add half a teaspoon (for color and taste, it is recommended to use cane or Brown sugar) and 5-7 pieces each. Also in some cases for spicy taste and aroma, add the zest of citrus fruits (lime, orange). Now the container can be closed with a tight lid, to be safe, so that the jar does not “explode”, you should tie it tightly with tape or wire and in 3-4 days you will get real birch kvass. Moreover, you should be careful with it, as it may contain alcohol. This drink keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

How to store birch sap so that it does not turn sour

And of course it will help preserve the juice and the simplest way- preservation of the product. To do this, just heat the strained drink without adding sugar to 80 degrees, pour it into prepared jars and roll it up in the usual way, you can use regular metal lids. To prevent air from getting into the product, you can additionally tar the area where the lid and container come into contact. After which, the sealed jars must be sterilized at a temperature of 75-80C for 15 minutes. This product can be stored up to six months, in a cool and dark place.

How to store birch sap in the freezer

How to store birch sap in a plastic bottle? If space permits freezer, birch sap, strained from debris and small splinters, can be poured into clean plastic bottles and freeze. You can choose containers according to your preferences from 0.5 liters to 2.5.

It is important to screw the cap on the bottle tightly enough and not to pour the full volume of juice into the container - when frozen, it will “inflate” a little and it may simply explode. Therefore, it is better to underfill 100-150 ml of birch sap.

This product should be defrosted in the refrigerator, and its shelf life is 8 months.

How to store birch sap at room temperature

If the collected product is not stored in a cool place, then in about 2-3 days the juice will begin to become cloudy and then ferment. While in the refrigerator at low temperature it will not lose its taste and will not change its consistency up to 5 days.

How to store birch sap in the cellar

If you “bury” a container of juice in the snow, in the shade of a house, or, for example, in a cold cellar, so that it is not exposed to direct sunlight, then the product can be stored up to 2 weeks. But it is worth noting that with such a long storage, the drink will lose its original taste, it will be sweeter and at the same time bland in taste. Then the juice will sour and then ferment, and a pronounced vinegar taste will appear.

How to store birch sap without sterilization

Among other things, based on birch sap, with its ability to ferment, you can prepare natural homemade alcoholic drinks. For example, you will need 5 liters of juice, 1.5 kg. Granulated sugar and a bottle of fortified. It is advisable to add the zest removed from a couple of lemons or. All ingredients are mixed and kept for a day at room temperature, and then 2 months in the refrigerator.

The taste of the drink develops very well after 80-90 days, and it can be stored for up to 3 months.

Remember that natural birch sap is an excellent immunostimulant, but, despite its natural nature, it should not be consumed in unlimited quantities. It will perfectly help saturate a weakened body with vitamins, protect it from inflammatory processes and infections, and restore strength after illness.

Alternative storage of birch sap, without canning

In addition to canning, the drink can be preserved in another way - by evaporation. In the end it will work out thick syrup, rich in minerals and vitamins, which can be diluted with regular water to quench your thirst. drinking water. In addition, it is very good to add to dough and flavor homemade confectionery or baked goods.

The only thing is, due to the fact that there is little sugar in the drink, the process can take quite a while. long time. You can try, of course, and if the result is satisfactory for you, prepare birch sap in this way. Moreover, in culinary publications there is information that some managed to bring the juice to a concentration with a sugar content of 70%, which means it is possible - but labor-intensive.

Production of such valuable product, like birch sap, is produced in April-May (depending on the region) and lasts no more than two weeks. So, in a sense, birch sap is a delicacy, and you should not miss the opportunity to collect and prepare it. It is known that the vitamins contained in the juice are preserved for a long time after collection, but only if it is properly preserved.

Without any processing, fresh juice is stored for no more than two days, and in the cold: in a warm room or in the sun it quickly sours. But this is not the only problem, because what longer juice"stands idle", the less remains in it useful substances. So you need to start processing freshly collected juice as soon as possible.

Storage of birch sap: preservation, freezing, sterilization

Conservation- This is the most popular and, according to many housewives, convenient way to preserve birch sap. So, for this you need:

1. Fill the enamel or steel pan, add the required (to your taste) amount of sugar and lemon.
2. Boil the juice and wait until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Pour the juice into jars, close them with lids and sterilize them for at least 15 minutes in water heated to 90°C.

There is an alternative method of preparation: preservation with pine shoots or fresh mint.

1. Collect young pine shoots (mint), rinse thoroughly and pour boiling water over them.
2. Heat the juice to 80°C, strain, and then pour pine needles (mint) over it and leave for 5-7 hours.
3. Drain the juice, add sugar and citric acid.
4. Pour the juice into jars, seal them with lids, and pasteurize for 25 minutes at 90-95°C.

Birch sap can be frozen, and preferably quickly. An ordinary household freezer is suitable for this, which will allow you to save unique properties juice “in its original form.” Frozen juice will keep for many months. Even after the New Year it will be as tasty as fresh.

The juice can be sterilized. Here's how it's done: it's heated to 80°C and then poured into clean glass jars. The jars are rolled up and kept in water heated to 85°C for 15 minutes. They should then cool down at normal (room) temperature.

Drinks with added birch sap: kvass, fruit drink, compote

Agree, the taste of birch sap is weak. For this reason, some people find this product uninteresting and tasteless. If you have excess juice that you do not plan to use pure form, can be prepared using them unusual mixes. True, such drinks are not as healthy as real, undiluted juices, but they will help diversify the range of your winter supplies.

Recipe delicious kvass from birch sap

1. Take glass containers(bottle, jar) and fill it with birch sap.
2. Add a handful of raisins and sugar (at the rate of 2 tsp/1 l), as well as lemon or orange peels(or grated zest), dried fruits (optional).
3. Mix all the ingredients well (shake the jar) and put it in a cool place away from light.
4. After 2-3 days, the drink can be tasted and evaluated. It retains its freshness for several months (again, when stored in the cold).

Fruit/vegetable juice

The easiest way to prepare fruit juice is to simply mix birch sap with any juice. homemade(for example, apple or carrot) in arbitrary proportions.

Lingonberry-birch compote

You will need 150 g of lingonberries and 1 liter of birch sap. The drink can be prepared from both fresh and canned juice. The same applies to berries.

1. Squeeze the juice from the berries.
2. Place the lingonberry “cake” into a saucepan; pour in birch sap.
3. Keep the pan with the drink in a water bath for 5 minutes.
4. Add lingonberry juice, squeezed earlier, and flavor the drink with honey or sugar.
5. Cool and consume!

As it turns out, birch sap is not “seasonal entertainment.” It is only important to have time to collect it before buds begin to appear on the trees, and then prepare it as quickly as possible. Use several methods and then compare the results, since now you know how to preserve birch sap. in winter healing drink homemade will help replenish the lack of vitamins, and in the summer it will invigorate and quench your thirst.

At the beginning of March, when the sun gives the earth its first warmth, a precious liquid containing a lot of useful substances begins to flow through the trees. Today we will tell you how to collect and, most importantly, how to preserve birch sap so that it does not spoil for a long time and has not lost its properties. After all, the “tears” of this are amazing beautiful tree help with many diseases, are rich in vitamins and support the immune system.

How to store birch sap depends on the form in which you purchased it. If you buy a store-bought product in glass jar or bottle, then all you have to do is enjoy the benefits of this delicious drink - the manufacturers have already done the rest for you. If you decide to collect “birch tears” yourself, then you will have to work a little so that they retain their valuable qualities for a long time.

What are the benefits of this drink?

• Birch sap has an excellent tonic effect - a glass of this wonderful “elixir” will provide you with energy for the whole day.
• It has a good diuretic effect and stimulates kidney function.
• Strengthens respiratory system, improves the functioning of the bronchi and lungs.
• This clear liquid is rich in potassium, calcium, sodium, fluorine and other beneficial substances.

But, in fact, birch sap can be found not only on the store shelf, but also received completely free of charge as a gift from the “queen of trees”. Well, let's go to field work?

We take the best from nature!

You need to know not only how to preserve birch sap, but you also need to collect it correctly, otherwise you can cause irreparable harm to an innocent tree, and you will never collect the required amount of raw materials. Often in birch groves you can see dried out trees with barbaric ax marks on the trunks. To prevent this from happening, remember a few simple rules and follow them when collecting birch trees.

• Do not use an ax under any circumstances! It is much easier and more convenient to use a drill by drilling a hole 2-3 centimeters deep. This is the hole on next year will overgrow without a trace, and you will again be able to take sap from the tree.
• Don't try to take as much as possible more liquid from one source - otherwise the birch tree simply does not have enough strength for its continued existence and growth. Do you want more raw materials? Engage large quantity trees!
• Before leaving, take care of the health of the trees - close the hole so that the birch does not continue to leak sap.

Treat nature with gratitude and attention, and it will continue to delight you with its gifts! We have collected the “tears”, now we will start canning birch sap.

Classic way of canning

Ingredients

• — 10 l + -
• — 400 g + -
• - 1 tsp. + -

Preparation

This is the simplest and most common way to make “birch elixir” - even the most thrifty housewife has everything she needs! And the canning technology itself is extremely understandable and will work perfectly for any homemaker. The juice will be extremely tasty and a nice drink, perfectly removing thirst and invigorating.

1. Natural birch bark contains quite a lot of extraneous and clearly unnecessary impurities and additives. To get rid of them, we will strain our liquid through a fine sieve, which can be lined with two layers of clean gauze to be sure.

2. Add sugar and citric acid to the “birch elixir” and place the containers on a small flame. During the cooking process, reddish foam will accumulate on the surface, which must be removed with a spoon or slotted spoon. We will not boil our composition, but simply wait until bubbles begin to appear at the very bottom.

3. While the birch sap is simmering on the stove, we will take care of sterilizing the containers into which we will pour the sap. To do this, rinse the jars and lids with water and place them in an oven preheated to one hundred and fifty degrees. Please note that the lids must not have rubber inserts - otherwise they will melt and “leak”.

4. Well, now all we have to do is pour the elixir into jars, roll them up tightly and leave them upside down for a day. After this period, move the container to a cool, dark place.

Birch sap, the canning of which is extremely easy, will certainly help you get rid of thirst on a hot summer day and saturate your body with many useful substances!

Dessert drink “Birch in oranges”

Ingredients

• — 3 liters + -
• Orange - a quarter of the fruit + -
• — 100 g + -
• Citric acid- on the tip of a knife + -
• Raisins - 10 pcs. + -

Preparation

Does a child or someone at home not like birch sap in its pure form? Try a little trick - offer to try the healthy nectar using this recipe. We are sure that not everyone, even an adult, will smell the aroma citrus notes liquid donated by the birch tree!

1. Thoroughly clean the juice from impurities and smallest particles of debris - filter it through gauze folded in several layers. Place the pan with the liquid on a low flame, add sugar, stir and bring almost to a boil, but do not allow bubbles to appear on the surface.

2. We sterilize the jars according to the scheme described above - it is the simplest of all possible, but reliable. The main thing to remember is that both the jars and the lids will be very hot when removed from the oven, so be careful not to burn yourself.

3. Inside each jar we place raisins, orange and citric acid, washed and soaked in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Pour the drink into jars and screw the lids on tightly. We keep the jars upside down for a day, and then put them in a cold place.

Such a natural cocktail will last until next spring, and will allow you to “refuel” with vitamins until the appearance of fresh fruits and berries and preserve birch sap in all the fullness of its taste.

What else can we add to our preserves?

• Some of the sugar in the recipe can be replaced with natural honey.
• You can also add a handful of dried fruits or candied fruits to the nectar.
• The original taste of the drink is given by a couple of “Barberry” candies added to the mixture.

Now you know how easy it is to preserve birch sap, and the proposed recipes allow you to make its already incomparable taste and aroma even more original and give it new interesting shades. The necessary supply of vitamins and minerals will provide you with health and energy for a long time.
Take on another healthy habit this spring!

Birch sap is very valuable and healthy drink, which is loved by adults and children. However, not many people know how it is collected, produced, and even more so how long birch sap is stored in the refrigerator. Let's figure out what birch sap is, find out its beneficial properties and storage conditions vitamin drink at home.

The collection of the vitamin drink begins in early spring, when the first signs of a thaw appear, and continues almost until flowering begins.

On a note! The process of obtaining healing liquid is based on flow from broken or cut branches and/or tree trunk.

Under the influence of root pressure, the accumulated liquid comes out. From one tree, 2-3 liters of juice are obtained per day, and sometimes the productivity reaches 7-8 liters. In the middle of the last century, birch sap was especially popular. It was the No. 1 drink in the Soviet Union.

Thanks to its energy value and its high vitamin content, it was recommended for use in preschool and general educational institutions. The freshly harvested product contains:

• Sugar – 0.5-2.5%.
• Ash – 0.3%.
• Essential oils, vitamins B6 and B12, betulin, saponins - up to 15%.
• Water – 80-85%.

In addition, birch sap contains from 0.7 to 4.5 g/l of various dry mineral components and ash. The density of a freshly collected natural drink is 1.0007-1.0045 g/l. It is thanks to saponin, which is part of the healing liquid, that birch sap has many beneficial properties:

• If you have a sore throat, it is recommended to take birch sap with milk and starch.
• Digestive problems can also be solved by lemon and birch water, taken in proportional ratio 1:3. In addition, birch sap improves general work gastrointestinal tract, relieves constipation and normalizes the passage of feces.
• Raw natural drink acts on humans as an anti-inflammatory agent for various colds.
• Functional dysfunction of the renal system can also be restored with the help of birch sap. Very often the drink is used as a diuretic.

The list of usefulness of the Russian drink can be endless. No wonder in England and North America In recent years, there has been increased interest in this drink, which has surpassed the popularity of the traditional tonic - coconut water. However, drinking birch nectar can bring not only benefits, but also harm.

How to properly store birch sap?

It is advisable to use glass containers rather than plastic ones to store birch liquid. You should know that freshly collected juice can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 5-7 days. After this period, birch water will taste unpleasant and lose its healing properties. Unfortunately, home conditions without the use of a refrigerator do not allow increasing the shelf life of the drink. After only 2-3 days at room temperature, the healing liquid oxidizes and begins to ferment, that is, it turns into poison.

However, there are certain technologies that allow you to process stale products and make various alcohol-containing drinks from them. You can increase the shelf life of birch sap in the refrigerator to 2-3 weeks using sugar and citric acid:

• For one liter fresh juice take ½ teaspoon of citric acid and 100 g of sugar. All ingredients are mixed and sent to the refrigerator without sterilization.

An even more radical storage method is batch freezing of birch sap in the freezer:

• Add 2 tsp to fermented juice (1 l). sugar, zest of a medium lemon and 5-6 pcs. raisins This mixture is well sealed and placed in the refrigerator for 10-14 days. After a precipitate has formed, the drink is filtered and sent to a cool place for 2-3 months. This storage method allows you to get birch cider as a result.

Attention! It is strictly forbidden to eat birch sap if mold has formed on the surface or the sap has become pungent. bad smell with visually detectable impurities.

Conservation natural product– this is the most correct solution, which allows you to preserve the beneficial vitamin and mineral supplements of natural liquid for a long time.

We offer interesting option How to seal birch sap in order to preserve its energy value for a long time:

1. Birch concentrate. It is quite easy to produce a concentrate from birch sap at home. The liquid is heated to 60 ºС and 75% of the total volume of the natural product is evaporated. However for quality cooking For freeze-dried products, it is better to use an autoclave.
2. Sterilization. Before pouring the concentrate into containers, you need to prepare glass containers. The heated concentrate to 80 degrees Celsius is poured into jars, covered tin lid and sterilized in a water bath for 20-30 minutes.
3. The final stage is preserving the vitamin preparation.

After cooling, such preservation can be stored not only in the refrigerator, but also in other places where the ambient temperature does not fall below zero.

How to properly roll up birch sap to preserve vitamin reserve until next season? It is very useful to preserve birch sap with pine needles:

• Wash and scald the pine buds with boiling water so that no waxy coating remains on them.
• Coniferous shoots and birch sap are mixed in a copper basin.
• The whole mass is brought to a boil and simmered over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
• The future pine-birch sap is infused for 10-12 hours.
• After straining, sugar and lemon acid. If desired, you can add orange or barberry to diversify the taste.
• The entire mixture is brought to a boil and boiled for 3-5 minutes, after which it is poured into prepared sterilized jars, which are sealed.

Necessary ingredients for pine-birch sap: for 1 liter of birch sap take 500 g of pine buds, 0.5 kg of sugar and 2 tsp. citric acid.

A drink containing birch sap and mint is very tasty and refreshing. For 10 liters of natural product, take 50 g of dry mint. All ingredients are mixed and brought to a boil. After infusion for 5-6 hours, sugar and citric acid are added to the resulting liquid. The product is preserved in the same way as pine-birch sap.

On a note! Canned vitamin drink preparations can be supplemented various components, which will be useful for the body in the autumn-winter period.

In addition, you can prepare canned preparation birch vinegar for the winter. For 2 liters of juice, take 100 g of vodka or diluted alcohol and 50 g of natural bee honey. The ingredients are mixed together and placed in a warm place to ripen. Homemade birch vinegar will be ready in 70-90 days. The product is bottled and stored in the refrigerator.

Birch sap recipes

Medicine has proven that if you drink a glass of birch sap during the day, it will help the body cope with spring weakness (vitaminosis), fatigue, absent-mindedness and other disorders nervous system. The recipes below will help restore digestion and stimulate immune system, and will also relieve the person from other symptomatic manifestations.

Recipe No. 1. Birch kvass. One liter of birch sap is heated to a temperature of 35–40 ºС. 20 g of yeast and 5 raisins are added to the healing liquid, as well as, if desired, lemon or orange zest. The glass container is tightly sealed and sent to a cool room for 2-3 weeks. After this period, a very tasty and healthy carbonated drink is obtained, which is recommended to be drunk chilled.

Recipe No. 2. Fruit juice. A simple but very tasty drink can be prepared using birch sap. All you need to do is add any fruit juice to the original component.

Recipe No. 3. Refreshing birch drink. For 10 liters natural juice necessary liter jar sugar and dried fruits eg apples and/or pears. The birch liquid is poured into an enamel bowl and mixed with sugar. A gauze bag with dried fruits is dropped into the prepared mixture. The workpiece is covered with a lid and sent to infuse in a dry and cool place. The drink matures within 2-2.5 months, after which it is bottled. This refreshing drink is stored in the refrigerator and consumed when necessary. The proposed recipes will be useful for both adults and children.

"Berezka's tears." Five lemons are crushed and, together with the skin, but without seeds, mixed with 10 liters of birch. 5 kg of sugar is added to the resulting mass. Everything is mixed and left for two months in a dry, dark place. After ripening, 1 liter of vodka is added to the product. The drink is bottled and stored in the refrigerator for another 3 weeks. Such alcoholic drink with pronounced lemon notes will please your taste for true lovers homemade creativity.

In addition to the recipes mentioned above, there are a great many various drinks, kvass, lemonades and non-alcoholic cocktails, which can be prepared using birch sap. To maintain the pristine freshness of natural birch sap, always store it in the refrigerator!