Birch sap

Birch sap is collected only at the break of winter and spring when the sap moves intensively.

Birch sap collection is done by drilling a hole into the tree trunk and leading the sap into a container via some conduit (a tube or simply a thin twig); the sap will flow along it because of the surface tension. The wound is then plugged to minimise infection.{{cite web|url=https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/bitstream/handle/11122/3198/Some%20impacts%20to%20paper%20birch%20trees%20tapped%20for%20sap%20harvesting%20in%20Alaska.pdf?sequence=1|id=R10-S&PF-FHP-2009-3

|date=May 2009|title=Some impacts to paper birch trees tapped for sap harvesting in Alaska|first1=Lori|last1=Trummer|first2=Tom|last2=Malone|publisher=Us Forest Service}}

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.

No published evidence exists to quantify the long-term impacts of sap harvest on birch tree and birch forest health, or birch timber quality. However, the wounds caused by tapping birches consistently lead to dark staining in the wood. In one study, infection and wood decay had spread from more than half of old tapping holes.

In comparison to maples, birch trees are considered far less tolerant to the wounds caused by tapping, so more conservative harvesting practises have been recommended by trade bodies such as the Alaska Birch Syrupmakers Association.

In Slavic regions the word "sap" is translated as "juice", i.e., "birch sap" is birch juice in Belarus ({{langx|be|бярозавы сок|translit=biarozavy sok}}, Byarozavik), Bulgaria (Bulgarian: брезов сок, romanized: brezov sok), Poland ({{langx|pl|sok z brzozy, oskoła}}), Russia ({{langx|ru|берёзовый сок|translit=byeryozovyi sok}}), Slovakia ({{langx|sk|brezová šťava}}), Ukraine ({{langx|uk|березовий сік|translit=berezovyi sik}}).

Estonia ({{langx|et|kasemahl}}), Finland ({{langx|fi|mahla}}), Latvia ({{langx|lv|bērzu sula}}), Lithuania ({{langx|lt|beržo sula, beržų sula}}), Norway,Planter og tradisjon: Floraen i levende tale og tradisjon i Norge, Ove Arbo Høeg, Universitetsforlaget, 1974, {{ISBN|8200089304}}. Sweden ({{langx|sv|björksav}}).Övre Dalarnes bondekultur 3, Lars Levander, Lund, 1947.

France, Scotland and elsewhere in Northern Europe as well as parts of northern China and both Hokkaido and Aomori as parts of northern Japan.

It is also widely used among the Pennsylvania Dutch, both as a traditional beverage in its own right, and particularly as a key ingredient in birch beer.{{cite web|url=http://www.grouprecipes.com/80154/pennsylvania-birch-beer.html|title=Pennsylvania Birch Beer Recipe|website=www.grouprecipes.com}}

{{infobox nutritional value|name=Sap, birch water{{cite journal |last=Kūka |first=Māra |title=Determination of Bioactive Compounds and Mineral Substances in Latvian Birch and Maple Saps |journal=Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences|year=2013 |volume=67 |issue=4–5 |pages=437–441 |doi=10.2478/prolas-2013-0069|s2cid=49739804 |doi-access=free }}|kcal=4.6|fat=less than 0.1 g|carbs=1.1 g|sugars=1.1 g|fiber=0 g|iron_mg=0.1|calcium_mg=60|magnesium_mg=11|phosphorus_mg=6.4|potassium_mg=120|manganese_mg=1.1}}

Birch sap contains heterosides (betuloside and monotropitoside),{{cite journal |last1= Sosa |first1=A | title= Un glucoside nouveau de Betula Alba L. Le bétuloside et son aglycone, le bétuligénol | journal= Paris Masson ed | year=1935}} 17 amino acids including glutamic acid,{{cite journal |last1= Ahtonen |first1=S |last2= Kallio |first2=H | title= Identification and seasonal variation of amino acids in birch sap used for syrup production |journal= Food Chemistry |volume=33 |pages=125–132 |year=1989 |doi=10.1016/0308-8146(89)90115-5 |issue=2}} as well as minerals, enzymes, proteins, betulinic acid and betulin,{{cite web|url=http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/essences/arbre.php?id=98|title=Bouleau à papier (BOP)|website=www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca}}{{cite book |last1= Bouchet |first1=Jérome | title= Les Stratégies en Thérapeutique Antivirale |pages=24 |year=2007}}{{cite web|url=https://www.santenatureinnovation.com/la-seve-de-bouleau-est-deja-la/|title=Cure de sève de bouleau et ses bienfaits multiples|date=10 March 2014|publisher=}} antioxidants,{{cite journal |last1= Demirci | first1=B | last2= Demirci | first2=F | last3= Hüsnü Can Baser |first3=K | last4= Franz | first4=G | title= Essential oil of Betula pendula Roth. Buds|journal= Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine| volume=1 |pages=301–303 | year=2004 | pmid=15841263 | doi=10.1093/ecam/neh041 | issue=3 | pmc=538512}} sugar (fructose, glucose and small amounts of sucrose) and vitamins (C and B(group)). Contrary to popular belief, there is no xylitol in birch sap (xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is industrially produced using high temperature and sulfuric acid, or through fermentation).{{cite journal |last1= Kallio |first1=H |last2= Ahtonen |first2=S | title= Identification of the Sugars and Acids in Birch Sap |journal= Journal of Food Science |volume=50 |pages=266–269 |year=1985 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2621.1985.tb13328.x |issue=1}}

Folk uses have been documented which include medicinal use, supplementary nutrition, and cosmetic applications for skin and hair.

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File:Berezovii sok.JPG

Birch sap may be consumed both fresh and naturally fermented. Fresh birch sap is highly perishable; even if refrigerated, it is stable for only 7 days. Shelf life can be prolonged by freezing or preservation techniques. Existing preservation techniques include:Nicole & Olivier Lhomme, NICOLL-Nature, Le Bio Logis, [http://www.lebiologis.fr/medias/files/seve-de-bouleau.pdf La sève de bouleau]

• Nothing i.e. bottled fresh sap (shelf life: 2–5 days refrigerated)
• Filtered with a 0.22-μ net (shelf life: 3 weeks refrigerated)
• Collected under anaerobic conditions (shelf life: 1 year ambient)
• Added sugar (3 g per 100 ml)
• Heat pasteurized, pasteurization should be conducted under specific temperature levels and times (shelf life: 1 year ambient). Although level of Vitamin C is lower than in fresh sap, all other benefits are preserved.
• Frozen at −25 °C (shelf life: 2 years)

Birch sap can also be used as an ingredient in food or drink recipes,{{cite web |last1=Bergo |first1=Alan |title=EASY BIRCH SYRUP RECIPES AND USES |url=https://foragerchef.com/birch-syrup-recipes-uses/ |website=Forager Chef|date=18 March 2023 }} 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 AlaskaAlaska Birch syrupmakers association [https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/05p0295/05p-0295-cp00001-01-vol1.pdf Petition to US Food and Drug Administration for establishment of Standard of Identity for birch syrup, including the Alaska Birch Syrupmakers' Association Best Practices]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. July 18, 2005. and Canada, and from several species in Latvia, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

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• {{YouTube|VH5oxHVgUvM|How to tap birch sap - Health benefits & a taste of spring}}

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