Birch, a symbol of Russian nature, sung in many folk songs, is known not only for its beauty. It brings many benefits to man: birch leaves and buds are a cure for many diseases; lovers of the Russian bath in the summer store brooms made of birch branches for the whole year. Birch sap is also rich in nutrients.
The movement of sap in a birch begins in March, during the first thaws, when the snow melts and water begins to flow to the roots of the tree. Then the starch reserves, deposited in the roots and in the trunk of the birch during the winter, turn into sugar, dissolve in water and, under the action of root pressure, rise through the vessels of the wood to the buds, providing them with nutrition. Birch sap contains from 0.5 to 2% sugar. But this is not just sweetish water. Birch sap also contains vitamins, minerals, trace elements, biologically active substances, phytoncides, organic acids. It contains iron, calcium, potassium. Sap flow continues until the end of April, until the bud breaks, - only 15 or 20 days. In this case, the juice moves only under the influence of the heat of the sun's rays - in the morning. At night, the sap flow stops. By the way, the taste of birch sap is not the same for all birches. Trees growing in sunny, elevated places give sweeter juice. Birds are well aware of this, who also love to feast on sweet juice: it is on such birches that they look for damaged twigs, from which the juice drips down. Sometimes the birds themselves break off thin birch twigs. If there are many damaged branches on the tree, then on a warm sunny day it seems that the birch is crying - this is dripping juice from the wounds. A woodpecker simply hollows the trunk of a birch tree to extract sap. Birch sap is very useful in the treatment of many diseases, under its influence slags and other harmful substances are removed from the body. According to research by Finnish doctors, syrups and lozenges made from birch sap are a prophylactic agent to prevent the development of dental caries. Birch sap syrup is obtained by evaporation. It turns out a substance of yellowish-white color, the consistency resembles honey and contains about 60% sugar. You can stock up on the healing juice for future use: pour it into half-liter bottles, add 2 teaspoons of sugar to each, cork and store in a cold dark cellar. At one time, the USSR supplied large volumes of pasteurized birch sap for export to Western Europe and the United States.
