TOP 13 recipes for preserving birch sap at home for the winter

To ensure a good supply of vitamins for the winter, it's important to plan ahead for your preserves—specifically, various juices. Many people want to know how to properly preserve birch sap at home so it's tasty, healthy, and has good shelf life. There are many recipes for this drink. Let's look at the most successful ones—with honey, rose hips, lemons, and oranges.

The benefits and caloric content of birch sap

Birch sap has a complex effect on the human body—it helps remove toxins, restores strength, and improves overall tone.

The main beneficial properties of birch sap include:

• anti-inflammatory action;
• increasing resistance to viruses;
• strengthening the immune system;
• destruction of microbes and bacteria;
• normalization of the nervous system;
• acceleration and improvement of metabolism;
• blood purification;
• removal of toxins and waste;
• healing of wounds and other skin lesions;
• normalization of kidney function;
• reduction of excess weight.

The caloric content of birch sap is 24 kilocalories per 100 milliliters of product.

Recipes for delicious birch sap-based drinks

Birch sap is an excellent base for vitamin drinks. Therefore, it's essential to stock up on a few jars for the winter.

Let's make a classic lemon drink

Adding lemon will add a pleasant sourness to the taste of birch sap and increase its vitamin content.

For the recipe you will need:

• 3 liters of fresh birch nectar;
• 1 medium lemon;
• 200 g sugar.

The cooking process consists of several stages:

1. Pour birch sap into an enamel container.
2. Add chopped lemon.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Immediately remove the liquid from the heat and skim off any foam that forms.
5. Add granulated sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
6. Strain through sterile gauze.
7. Pour into small jars.
8. Cover with lids and place in a saucepan filled with hot water.
9. Sterilize by boiling for 10-15 minutes.
10. Roll up the lids and carefully remove the containers.

Birch lemonade without sterilization

The drink prepared according to the following recipe does not have a long shelf life, but contains a maximum of useful substances.

For this you will need:

• 5 liters of birch sap;
• dried zest of one lemon fruit;
• 0.5 cups of sugar;
• 50 g raisins.

How to make delicious birch lemonade:

1. Strain the juice and pour into an enamel container.
2. Add granulated sugar and mix thoroughly.
3. Sprinkle with raisins and lemon zest.
4. Stir and pour into sterilized jars.
5. Screw on airtight lids and store.

Canned juice with citric acid

In this recipe, citric acid will act as a reliable and safe preservative.

List of required ingredients:

• 3 liters of birch sap;
• 5 large spoons of granulated sugar;
• 50 g of any dried fruits;
• 0.5 tsp citric acid.

Step-by-step preparation:

1. Pour juice into an enamel container, add sugar and citric acid.
2. Rinse dried fruits under running water, pour boiling water over them and add to the juice.
3. After the mixture boils, pour it into sterile jars and seal tightly.

Making kvass with raisins at home

The following components are required:

• 10 liters of natural birch sap;
• 500 g sugar;
• 50 light raisins.

The process of preparing this tonic drink involves the following steps:

1. Filter the juice using a sieve.
2. Rinse the raisins under running cold water, pour boiling water over them and dry them on a paper towel or napkin.
3. Pour sugar and raisins into a container with birch liquid.
4. Stir thoroughly to dissolve all the sugar.
5. Pour into a sterile glass container. Tie the neck with a piece of clean gauze.
6. Leave it in this state for three days, during the fermentation period.
7. After this period of time, strain and pour into sterilized jars or bottles.

Preserving birch sap with raisins and candies

One of the simplest and most accessible cooking options, for which you will need:

• 3 liters of birch sap;
• a glass of sugar;
• a handful of raisins;
• 5 lollipops (you can choose any, according to your own taste);
• half a teaspoon of citric acid.

How to make the drink correctly:

1. Pour the juice into a large saucepan.
2. Add raisins, citric acid and sugar.
3. Place on the stove and bring to a boil.
4. Meanwhile, throw the candies into a sterilized container.
5. Pour in hot liquid.
6. Roll up with secure lids.

Birch nectar with honey in bottles

In this recipe, honey will serve as a substitute for granulated sugar, making the drink richer in vitamins and more beneficial.

List of required ingredients and their proportions:

• 3 liters of freshly collected birch nectar;
• 3 full large spoons of honey.

You must perform the following steps in the following order:

1. Strain the birch sap through cheesecloth into an enamel saucepan with thick walls and a bottom.
2. Heat over medium heat.
3. Add the entire prepared volume of honey and stir.
4. Once the first signs of boiling appear, turn off the burner.
5. Cover the container with the vitamin liquid with a lid and leave until it cools.
6. Pour the cold drink into sterilized bottles.
7. Roll the jar tightly and store it in the cellar to steep for two weeks. After that, the drink will be ready to drink.

Sparkling champagne made from birch sap

An unusual way of preparing birch sap is to use it as a base for champagne.

To make this recipe you will need:

• 3 liters of strained birch sap;
• 1 kg of sugar;
• 15 g wine yeast;
• 0.5 tsp citric acid.

Preparation of sparkling drink:

1. Pour the filtered birch sap into an enamel saucepan.
2. Season with citric acid and sugar.
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
4. Remove the resulting foam.
5. Reduce the flame to minimum and continue simmering until the liquid volume is reduced by a third. This reduction will give the future homemade champagne a richer, deeper, and more refined flavor.
6. Cool the prepared birch-sugar decoction to a temperature of 30 degrees.
7. At this stage, add wine yeast and mix everything again.
8. Pour the resulting liquid into a glass bottle, where the required fermentation process will take place.
9. Place a water seal on the neck of the container.
10. Collect the resulting carbon dioxide using a sterile medical glove.
11. During the fermentation period, keep the bottle in a dark place where the air temperature does not rise above +23 degrees.
12. Under these conditions, birch wort will begin to ferment in about eight to ten hours.
13. After a month, the drink needs to be prepared for the next important process: carbonation. A key requirement for this process is the absence of foam and bubbles.
14. Sterile glass bottles are used for carbonation. They must seal tightly and withstand high pressure.
15. Fill the containers with birch liquid, adding 10 grams of sugar per liter and leaving a little space for the gas that will accumulate.
16. Move to a dark place for ten days.
17. After this period, move the bottles to the basement.

How to roll up thick birch syrup

Thick birch sap syrup is an indispensable preparation that can be used in cooking or as a base for drinks.

For cooking you will need the following products:

• 3 liters of juice;
• 1.5 kg of sugar.

To prepare syrup, you need to perform a number of steps:

1. Filter the birch sap through thick flannel cloth or multi-layer gauze.
2. Pour into a bowl or saucepan and heat until boiling.
3. Boil over medium heat for an hour, constantly skimming off any foam that forms.
4. When the volume of liquid is reduced by about half, add sugar and stir until dissolved.
5. While stirring, continue to boil the syrup until the desired thickness is reached.
6. Pour into sterile containers and seal tightly.

Birch mushrooms in plastic bottles

This simple recipe requires the following ingredients:

• 5 liters of birch sap;
• 1 liter of port wine;
• 2 lemons;
• 1 kg of sugar.

It's easy to prepare:

1. Wash the lemons and cut into equal pieces along with the aromatic zest.
2. Place all ingredients in a barrel or bottle one after another and mix well.
3. Place in a cool place to infuse.
4. After two months, pour into regular plastic bottles and seal tightly.
5. Place horizontally on pantry shelves.
6. Do not use for at least four weeks.

Rosehip Recipe in Jars

A drink prepared from the following ingredients is doubly beneficial:

• 3 liters of birch sap;
• 150 g rose hips.

You will also need three large spoons of sugar and a teaspoon of citric acid.

The cooking process consists of the following stages:

1. Filling an enamel pan with birch sap.
2. Add rose hips and sugar with citric acid.
3. Heating the liquid over low heat until it boils.
4. Pouring into sterilized glass jars.
5. Hermetically sealed containers.

With mint

The combination of natural birch sap and fresh, aromatic mint leaves is a wonderful tonic and energizing blend. If fresh mint is hard to find, you can use dried mint.

For this recipe you need to prepare:

• 5 liters of birch nectar;
• 150 g fresh or dried mint sprigs;
• 200 g sugar.
• 1 teaspoon citric acid.

Steps for preparing a vitamin-rich refreshing drink:

1. Rinse the mint sprigs and place them in an enamel container.
2. Pour in the entire volume of juice, having preheated it to 80 degrees.
3. Infuse for five to six hours.
4. Strain the aromatic liquid through a sieve or cheesecloth.
5. Add citric acid and sugar.
6. Pour into sterile jars and cover with lids.
7. Place the jars in a pan with hot water, boil for 15 minutes and seal them securely with lids.

Juice with barberry

For this healthy recipe you will need:

• 3 kg of birch liquid;
• 500 g barberry berries;
• 2 kg of sugar.

What you need to do:

1. Pour the juice into an enamel saucepan.
2. Add washed and stemmed barberries to it.
3. Add sugar and stir.
4. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low and simmer for a couple more minutes.
5. Strain the liquid, pour it into jars while hot and seal.

Exotic drink with orange

Adding citrus will make birch nectar more piquant and beneficial at the same time.

This recipe requires:

• 10 liters of birch nectar;
• 3 large oranges;
• 3 kg of sugar;
• a large spoon of citric acid.

The correct preparation process is as follows:

1. Pour the juice into a large saucepan, heat until boiling and remove any foam that forms.
2. Place oranges cut into rings on the bottom of sterilized jars (they should be washed first, but not peeled).
3. Add citric acid and granulated sugar to the boiling nectar.
4. Stir until dissolved and pour the hot liquid over the citrus fruits in the containers.
5. Roll up with sterile lids.

Features of storing winter preparations

It is recommended to store jars, bottles and other containers with homemade birch drink in a dark and cool place.

Shelf life is six months from the date of manufacture.

Birch sap-based drinks in corked bottles should be stored horizontally on shelves to prevent the corks from drying out.