hi
any body heard of birch sap as a tonic , from the tree that gave us aspirin there is a seasonal tonic thats free
if your able ,in early spring
you will need
one large silver birch tree growing in the woods
one hand held bit and brace
one 3/4 wood drill
one pruning saw
3 feet of plastic hose food grade 3/4 OD
clean muslin cloth
blue tac or putty
duck tape
one 1 gallon food grade container with lid
bowie knife
one mallet
and nap sack to put it all in
on a nice spring day find your tree ( give it a
optional )
drill a hole 1 and 1/2 feet up the trunk 4 inches deep
push in tube about a inch and a half and seal with blue
tack
tape muslin to top of container lose also tape end of tube so sap drips through cloth position container so sap will trickle down into it loosely tape lid on to keep rain out
give it a
optional )
return same time next day, the container should now be full
remove tube and muslin and taste your tree juice put the lid on to carry home
remove hose and blue tac
IMPORTANT
you must now plug the hole or your friendly tree may die
cut a live branch slightly bigger than the hole in the tree about 8 inches long with your pruning saw, remove bark and whittle down with your knife, three and a half inches so its a tight fit in the hole ,then hammer it with the mallet, into the hole the full 4 inches and trim it of flush with the trunk with the pruning saw
job done
give it a
and say thanks optional
now whats the point in all this effort
Birch sap is the sap extracted from a birch tree, such as a North American Sweet Birch or a Silver Birch. The sap is often a slightly sweet, thin syrupy-watery liquid. The tree sap contains sugars (namely xylitol), proteins, amino acids, and enzymes.
Birch sap must be collected during a specific time of the year, depending on the species and geography, at the break of winter and spring when the sap moves intensively, typically between the first thaws and the start of bud development. The collected sap can be drunk as a tonic and it is a traditional beverage in Belarus (Belarusian: Бярозавы сок / biarozavy sok), Poland (Polish: Oskoła), Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and elsewhere in Northern Europe as well as parts of northern China.
Birch sap collection is done by tying a bottle to the tree, drilling a hole into its trunk and leading the sap to the bottle by a plastic tube. A small birch (trunk diameter about 15 cm) can produce up to 5 liters of sap per day, a larger tree (diameter 30 cm) up to 15 liters per day. Birch sap has to be collected in early Spring before any green leaves have appeared, as in late Spring it becomes bitter. The collection period is only about a month per year. The price of birch sap is correspondingly high in some countries, e.g. in Japan reaching up to 50 Euro per liter.
Birch sap may be consumed both fresh and naturally fermented. It is a very refreshing drink.
Birch sap can also be used as an ingredient in food or drinks, such as birch beer or wintergreen flavored candy.
Concentrated birch sap is used to make birch syrup, a very expensive type of syrup mainly made from paper birch in Alaska, and from several species in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In Russia this tonic is used as a traditional herbal medicine functioning as antiseptic, anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-itching treatment.
Fresh birch sap is highly perishable; even if refrigerated, it is stable for only up to 2-5 days. Shelf life can be prolonged by freezing or pasteurization. However pasteurization destroys some ingredients and can alter the taste of the product. Frozen birch sap is fairly stable.
you can also make BEER and WINE
also there is some research that suggests anti cancer agents
ENJOY