Birch sap in Russia is traditionally mined in early spring, before the first leaves appear on the tree. Just a couple of weeks nature gives us to stock up on this healing drink, about the beneficial properties of which we have already spoken. Despite the fact that doctors recommend using only fresh juice, if properly stored, the healing drink given by the birch trees does not lose its healing properties for some time after the “harvest”. However, what is the proper storage of the drink? We will provide you with the answer to this question today.
Fresh birch sap can be stored in a cool place for up to 48 hours, after that it begins to lose its beneficial properties, it can even begin to sour at room temperature. That is why even during harvesting it is necessary to think about longer methods for storing juice. We will tell about them right now.
Storage methods for birch sap
1. Shock Freeze. With the quick freezing of birch sap all the useful elements are preserved. Storing the juice in the freezer will allow you to enjoy the drink and experience its miraculous effect even in winter.
2. Create concentrate. You can make a concentrate of birch sap. You need to heat the juice to 60 degrees and evaporate 75% of the total. The rest of the birch sap should be poured into sterilized jars and rolled up. Just do not forget that before you use this juice, it is desirable to dilute it with water.
3. Sterilization. It will help to preserve birch sap and its sterilization. To do this, you need to heat it to 80 degrees, pour it into glass jars and roll up the lids. After that, the banks for a quarter of an hour should be kept in 85-degree water and allowed to cool at room temperature. 4. Canning is another way that allows you to store birch sap for a long time. The method is simple - pour the birch sap into an enameled or stainless steel pot, add sugar and citric acid to taste. Bring the juice to a boil, make sure that all the sugar has dissolved. After that, the juice should be poured into the cans, sealed with lids and sterilized for 15 minutes in water at a temperature of 90 degrees.
How to preserve birch sap
The presented variant is considered traditional, however, birch sap with needles is often conserved. To do this, the young shoots of pine needles are well washed and scalded with boiling water. After that, they fold the pine needles into a saucepan, pour strained birch sap heated to 80 degrees and leave to infuse for 5-7 hours. After the specified time, the juice is drained, add a little sugar and citric acid. Now you need to pour the juice into the cans, cork with lids and pasteurize for 25 minutes at a temperature of 90-95 degrees. For a similar recipe, you can preserve birch sap and mint.
Recipes from birch sap
We have presented to your attention the main methods of long-term storage of birch sap with preservation of its useful properties. However, you can make from the juice and other drinks that are not as useful as pure juice, but nevertheless they will saturate your body with useful elements and will delight with a long shelf life.
Mors based on birch sap
The most simple recipe for making a drink from birch sap is considered to be juice. To do this, you must mix your favorite fruit or vegetable juice with birch.
Birch Kvass
You can also cook birch kvass. There are several ways to prepare such a drink, we will tell you one, the most simple and common.
Pour birch sap in a glass bottle, add a handful of raisins and sugar in the proportion of 2 teaspoons to 1 liter of juice, you can also add a little lemon zest, fruit or berries. After all the ingredients have been mixed, close the bottle tightly and store it in a dark, cool place. Birch kvass is ready for use in a few days. You can enjoy the taste of the drink at once, and keep it for several months.
Birch-lingonberry drink
If you want to make a delicious birch-lingonberry drink from birch sap, then you probably need this recipe.
First you need to squeeze the juice out of 150 grams of lingonberries. Put the marc into the pot and cover with a liter of birch sap. Put this “compote” in a water bath and heat for five minutes. After the drink has cooled, combine it with cooked lingonberry juice in advance, add honey to taste. The drink is ready to eat!
As you can see, dear visitors of the portal onwomen.ru, the miraculous effect of birch sap can be felt not only immediately after collection, but also after quite a long time. Do you know other ways to store birch sap? Share them with us in the comments!
