Making birch kvass at home is a fairly simple and not time-consuming process. But the pleasure and benefits of this drink are simply enormous.
Think about it, if birch sap, prepared for future use, undergoes heat treatment and loses more than 50% of useful microelements, then in the case of birch kvass, everything valuable remains untouched and at the end, we get the most valuable, healthy, and most importantly natural product, which cannot be bought even in stores positioning themselves as the Eco brand.
You can read about the benefits of kvass made from birch sap in the next article, but now let’s get straight to the recipe itself.
Step-by-step preparation of homemade kvass from birch sap
Let us note in advance that kvass made from birch sap, the recipe for which we will give below, does not require the presence of all dried fruits, namely dried apples. They, like raisins, contribute to the fermentation process of the drink.
If you are a beginner and making a drink for the first time, you can try store-bought ones.
Recipe for a 1.5 liter bottle or jar
To make birch kvass at home you will need:
- birch sap - 1.5 l.;
- dark raisins - 10-12 pcs.;
- dried apples - 7-10 pieces;
- sugar to taste (minimum 5 teaspoons - maximum 5 tablespoons per bottle).
So, let's begin.
  | We take sugar, dried fruits, raisins (there is no need to wash them, since they contain natural yeast). |
  | We filter the birch sap through a fine metal mesh or gauze, thereby removing small debris and forest dwellers who also wanted to enjoy the sap. |
  | For preservation, birch sap should be as fresh as possible (light in appearance), but for kvass, sap that is not the first freshness is suitable. Typically it has a darker yellowish color. |
 | We take a container, in this case a plastic bottle. You can prepare and store birch kvass in glass jars, but then you will need to seal them with thick plastic lids, not sealing ones. If excessive gassing occurs, the lid will pop off the jar without damaging the container. |
  | Pour in the juice, leaving about 7 cm unfilled to the top. |
 | Add dried apples. |
  | A handful of raisins. |
 | Now it's sugar's turn. It is better to pour granulated sugar into a bottle using a sheet of paper rolled into a bag with a hole inside. (Lifehack:)) |
  | Twist and shake. It is not necessary to achieve complete dissolution of sugar; during the fermentation process it will certainly react and dissolve. We put the drink away for 3-4 days for fermentation in a warm place, you can just leave it in the apartment. |
After this time, the kvass made from birch sap can be considered ready, and now you can drink it for pleasure. But if you want to save it for future use, then strain all the ingredients, pour it into a glass container and put it in a cold place - a cellar or refrigerator.
Happy drinking!
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Kvass made from birch sap with raisins is a popular healthy drink, rich in calcium, magnesium and B vitamins. It perfectly removes thirst and allows the body to quickly recover after winter; It is easy to prepare at home and has no age restrictions for consumption.
The benefits of birch sap and kvass
In its pure form, birch sap contains vitamins B6 and B12, tannins, fruit sugar, as well as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. This rich composition makes it useful in the presence of diseases of the liver, stomach and kidneys; it is a good tonic and diuretic, and also helps cope with bronchitis and migraines.
Kvass obtained from birch sap surpasses it in the number of beneficial properties. Among them is the removal of toxins and carcinogens from the body (due to the content of organic acids in kvass). At the same time, kvass contains fewer calories, so it can be drunk without restrictions while following a diet.
Obtaining birch sap
Birch sap usually begins to be collected from cuttings after the snow melts - with the appearance of the first buds on the tree. Collection continues until the leaves completely bloom. It is best to collect sap from old trees whose trunk diameter is 20-30 cm. To do this, you need to make a shallow hole in the bark with a knife or drill - at a distance of 30 cm from the ground. Then insert any convenient groove into it, under which to place the dishes - a birch bark box or a bottle.
It is not recommended to collect more than a liter of sap per day from a tree so that the birch does not suffer. The best time to collect is between noon and 18.00, when the juice is released the most. After collecting, the hole in the bark must be closed with wax, garden varnish, moss or a wooden plug so that bacteria do not enter the trunk and the tree remains healthy.
Making kvass from birch sap
The collected juice is immediately filtered, getting rid of small debris. After this, pour into glass jars or plastic bottles, at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. dark or light raisins and sugar for 3 liters of juice. Without covering the containers with lids, the juice is left to ferment at room temperature for a day. Then close it and place it in the refrigerator or cellar for 3-4 days.
After this, the kvass is filtered and again placed in a cool place for long-term storage: the product is completely ready for use. It contains almost no alcohol (only 1.2%), so children can drink it from the age of one year. If desired, you can add sugar or honey to the kvass to taste.
You can add a sprig of mint, a couple of cloves, a slice of lemon or a spoonful of cranberries to traditional birch kvass with raisins - the beneficial properties of the drink will increase. Any ingredient is added simultaneously with sugar and raisins. Fans of stronger drinks can add 20-30 grams of yeast to 3 liters of kvass - the taste will be more intense, and the percentage of alcohol will increase slightly.
To get a more “classic” taste of kvass, you can add a few toasted slices of black bread to it. True gourmets can replace them with coffee or barley beans (in equal quantities with raisins). And to create a “children’s” drink, you can add the juice of one sweet orange or a handful of dried fruits to the three main ingredients.
Storing kvass from birch sap
Kvass made from birch sap can be stored for up to a year in a cool and dark place, at a constant temperature of 4-5 degrees. The main condition: the drink must be poured into cans or bottles right up to the neck so that air does not penetrate. Otherwise, the kvass will turn into vinegar. Kvass can be consumed not only in its pure form, but also used for okroshka.
What could be more pleasant than a glass of refreshing drink on a hot day? It is kvass that, like nothing else, removes thirst. And if it is made from birch sap, and even prepared with one’s own hands, it has a doubly beneficial effect on a person. How to make kvass from birch sap at home or in the country, visual step-by-step recipes that describe this process in detail will help you.
How to express birch sap? How to make kvass from birch sap? What beneficial substances will you get from the produced drink? – the answers to these questions are described in detail in the article. People who want to fill their body with vitamins will definitely need advice on how to make kvass from birch sap. This gift of nature will delight you with its unsurpassed taste and cheer you up for the whole day. A glass of this miraculous drink a day, and your well-being will be a step higher. A tonic drink does not require financial investment, which is important in our time. Here you just have to find free time to extract sap from the birch tree and, while this is happening, you can mentally relax in nature, enjoying the surrounding landscape.
Useful properties of birch sap
The transparent drink, slightly sweet in taste, is actually rich in minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates. The simple-looking juice contains essential oils, saponins, tannins and many chemical elements (potassium, calcium, copper, manganese). In addition, birch sap is quite high in calories and modern nutritionists prescribe using it as a medicinal drug to keep your figure in shape.
Along with the healing properties that affect the figure, this juice increases the efficiency of the immune system, strengthens the cardiovascular system, and stimulates brain activity. As a diuretic, it relieves swelling and is therefore highly recommended for women who have just become mothers. The sweetish liquid is recommended for all people to drink: adults, children, sick and healthy.
Birch sap has a healing effect on the body, namely:
- removes harmful substances from the body;
- serves as a prophylactic agent;
- improves digestion;
- restores the acid-base environment in the stomach;
- has diuretic properties.
How to get birch sap?
Extraction of sap from birch trees depends on warm weather. After the winter cold, when the thaw begins, you can safely go with the devices to the nearest trees. To determine whether there is sap flow along the trunk, you should deepen the tip of the awl into the tree by 5-7 centimeters. If a drop of liquid appears on the surface, then you can safely start collecting it, while planning how to continue making kvass from birch sap.
It is better to collect sap during the day, since at night its movement along the tree trunk slows down.
So, when it has been determined that there is sap in the birch tree, you should start drilling holes. The distance from the ground should be approximately 50 cm. The number of holes depends on the diameter of the trunk. For example, the diameter of a birch trunk is 25 cm, which means there is one hole, and so on, increasing, + 10 cm is + 1 hole. It is better to make cuts to the bark on the south side, where there is more abundant sap flow. A pre-prepared boat-shaped groove should be inserted into the resulting hole. From one tree per day you can pump 3 - 7 liters of liquid.
You cannot drain all the liquid from the tree, otherwise it will die.
You can use a plastic bottle as a container for collection; this is very convenient, but you cannot further store the juice in it, as it loses some of its healing properties. When you come home, be sure to pour the birch nectar into a glass container.
Step-by-step description of preparing kvass
The clear, sweetish juice can be consumed not only in its pure form, but also made into kvass. This type of drink will appeal to those who do not really like birch sap, but need its beneficial contents. A cooling salvation in hot weather is kvass, which is based on birch sap. How to make kvass, several types of step-by-step recipes for making kvass from birch sap with the addition of other products will help you.
Recipe for kvass from birch sap with honey
Ingredients:
- birch sap – 10 l;
- pressed yeast – 50 g;
- – 200 g;
- lemon - to taste (3 pcs).
Sourdough stages:
Kvass recipe (birch sap and honey)
Ingredients:
- birch sap – 5 l;
- sugar – 150 g;
- bread in pieces (black) – 400 g.
Sourdough stages:
The more the bread is browned, the more rich and dark the kvass turns out.
Birch kvass with raisins
Ingredients:
- birch sap – 10 l;
- sugar – 500 g;
- raisins - about 50 pieces.
Sourdough stages:
Recipe for birch kvass with added orange
Ingredients:
- birch sap – 2.5 liters;
- large orange – 1 piece;
- raisins, mint, lemon balm - to taste;
- sugar – 250 grams;
- pressed yeast – 10 grams.
Sourdough stages:
Recipe for kvass made from birch sap with the addition of dried apple fruits
Ingredients:
- birch sap – 5 liters;
- dried apple fruits – 1 kg;
- raisins – 300 g.
Sourdough stages:
Useful tips on how to properly make kvass from birch sap:
- before fermentation, freshly collected birch sap with your own hands must be strained through gauze, cotton cloth or a sieve;
- tasty and healthy kvass is obtained better from juice collected with one’s own hands;
- Plastic dishes are not suitable for fermentation; it is better to take glass containers;
- birch kvass with raisins is suitable as a base for okroshka;
- kvass can be stored for up to 120 days;
- store kvass in a cool place;
- Birch kvass combines positively with various medicinal herbs;
- This refreshing drink with the addition of raisins is best prepared in the spring, so that by summer you can delight yourself with sips of coolness;
- Kvass made with birch sap with honey is better in summer or autumn to boost your immunity in winter.
After reading the recipes, stop asking questions about how to make kvass from birch sap. It’s as easy as shelling pears, you just need to set aside a few hours for this procedure and continue to enjoy the results.
To delve into the preparation process in more detail, to clearly see what should be done and why, below is a step-by-step video of kvass made from birch sap.
Video: how to make kvass from birch sap?
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
The quantity of products is designed for a 1.5 liter container; if you use larger containers, increase the quantity of ingredients accordingly.
Today I’ll tell you a recipe for kvass made from birch sap with raisins. As everyone knows, “birch tears” are very useful for the human body, but it can be obtained for a very short period, in early spring, about 2-3 weeks. During this time, it is impossible to cleanse and enrich your body with useful microelements and vitamins that this natural drink contains. Therefore, I propose to extend this time and prepare birch kvass with raisins and sugar in plastic bottles. Everything original is simple, and when you try this drink on a hot May day, you will definitely give up your usual lemonade or beer, it will perfectly quench your thirst and fill you with energy.
How to prepare birch kvass with raisins in plastic bottles - recipe with photos step by step
To prepare, we need sugar, raisins, birch sap and a plastic bottle.
The dishes in which the workpiece will be stored must be thoroughly washed. Pay special attention to plastic bottles that contain alcohol, such as beer. Make sure there is no foreign odor. If you can’t get rid of a foreign smell, like beer, for example, then it’s better to replace the bottle. Take another container, I think this shouldn’t be a problem nowadays.
Rinse the raisins and put them in a bottle.
We also send sugar there using a watering can.
Pour birch sap. First you need to strain it through a fine sieve with gauze to get rid of small debris and bugs that got into the juice during collection. Close the lid. You need to leave it in a cool place for a week. In seven days the drink will be ready.
Many may have a question: how to make birch kvass with raisins if you are against storing drinks in plastic bottles, and especially if you don’t want to spoil such a valuable gift of nature and store it in plastic. There is an exit. Just pour it into regular glass jars or bottles of any size. Cover with nylon lids and place in storage.
Birch kvass with raisins and sugar should be stored in plastic bottles and glass jars in the cellar, but no more than 3 months.
Other recipes for birch kvass with raisins
There are many recipes for this wonderful and thirst-quenching drink; everyone can choose the one they like best in terms of ingredients and taste. Remember, kvass is not a long-term storage product; the maximum it can be stored in a cool place is 2 or 3 months.
All collected birch sap, no matter what recipe you use, must be strained through cheesecloth to get rid of wood debris and forest insects.
With dried fruits
- Birch sap - 10 liters;
- Dried fruits - 200 grams (apples);
- Raisins - 200 grams.
The simplest recipe that our grandfathers used. Add dried fruits and raisins to the juice. They must first be washed with water. Leave for 3-7 days. In a couple of days, fermentation will begin. Periodically you need to knock the cap off the dried fruit so that it does not sour. When the typical pungency of kvass appears, it will happen in 5-7 days. It needs to be strained through cheesecloth. Store in a cool place.
My grandfather cooked in a huge twenty-liter saucepan, after a week the kvass was ready, but he did not strain, and did not take out the dried apples and raisins, but left them in the juice, over time the kvass became stronger and tastier.
With lemon
- Birch sap - 3 liters;
- Lemon - 0.5 pcs;
- Raisins - 6 pcs;
- Honey - 1 tbsp. lodge;
Wash the jar in which the kvass will be stored. Pour “birch tears” into it. Cut the lemon into slices, add honey and raisins to the jar. Cover with a nylon lid and leave for 10-14 days in a cool place, after two weeks the drink is ready to drink. In the same way, this drink can be prepared with orange. Or add these two wonderful citrus fruits together. Don’t forget to pour boiling water over it before eating, this will remove the bitterness and get rid of the wax that is used to treat the fruit so that it doesn’t spoil so quickly.
With honey
Prepared in the same way as the previous recipe, but without adding lemon. Used to quench thirst on a hot summer day, to strengthen the immune system. Healthy and very tasty.
With barley
- Birch sap - 10 liters;
- Barley - 1 kg;
- Raisins - 200 gr.
Sort the barley and get rid of excess debris. Rinse thoroughly and let the water drain. Fry in a dry frying pan until the barley is brown and smells like roasted barley. Make sure it doesn't burn.
Raisins need to be doused with boiling water. Add the cooled barley and raisins to the juice and stir. Place the container with juice in a cool place, such as a cellar. The required sharpness will appear over time. You can use it after a couple of days. In a dark and cool place, this kvass can be stored for almost half a year.
With bread
- “Birch Tears” - 5 liters;
- Raisins - 100 gr;
- Sugar - 1 tbsp;
- Black bread - 400 gr.
It will be very good if before cooking the juice sits in a warm place for several days and begins to sour.
When the fermentation process begins in it, you can begin preparing the kvass itself.
Pour it into a saucepan, add sugar. We heat it up, the sugar should dissolve, but the juice should not boil. During boiling, it will lose all its beneficial properties.
In the meantime, you need to cut black, preferably rye bread into small pieces of about 3x4 centimeters. Place on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes, the bread should turn into crackers, it’s okay if it burns, the color of the drink will be more saturated.
We send the bread crumbs into the heated juice and mix, and we also add the washed raisins. Mix it in and it instantly turns brown. Remove from heat, cover with a lid and leave to infuse in a dark, cool place for 3-4 days. After this time, filter the kvass and bottle it. We send it to the refrigerator.
With coffee
- Birch sap - 2.5 liters;
- Borodino bread - 2-3 slices;
- Sugar - 0.5 tbsp;
- Raisins - 1 tbsp. lodge;
- Coffee - 1 tbsp. lodges (grains).
Roast coffee in a dry frying pan.
Rinse the raisins.
Cut the bread into small pieces and dry in the oven.
Put everything in a three-liter jar, use a rubber glove to pierce a hole with a needle, and put it on the jar, tie it tightly with an elastic band around the neck. Leave in a warm place. After some time, the glove will begin to rise, which means that the fermentation process has begun. When the glove falls off, the process is complete and the drink is ready. Strain it through cheesecloth and store in the refrigerator.
With rice
- Juice - 5 liters;
- Rice - 1 teaspoon;
- Raisins - 1 tbsp. lodge;
- Sugar - 200 gr.
Mix all ingredients in a container, cover with a lid and leave in a dark, not hot place for 5-7 days. After a week the drink is ready.
With rose hips
Add 2-3 tbsp sugar to a one and a half liter bottle. spoons, 5-6 raisins, several dried rose hips. Seal with a stopper and store in the refrigerator; in a few days the drink will be ready.
With barberry
Birch kvass with raisins and barberries is prepared similarly to the previous recipe with rose hips.
With yeast
- Natural birch sap - 5 liters;
- Honey - 30 gr;
- Pressed yeast - 25 grams;
- Raisins - 4-6 pcs.
Add all the ingredients to the strained juice, mix and leave for three days, after three days the kvass is ready. It needs to be strained and poured into clean bottles, stored in the refrigerator or cellar.
Kvass made from birch sap is a tasty, tonic, perfectly thirst-quenching non-alcoholic drink (alcohol content less than 0.5%), which is easy to make at home. At the same time, the recipe is relevant all year round, since not only fresh (necessarily not sour) but also canned birch sap, prepared in the spring or bought in a store, is suitable for preparation.
Ingredients:
- birch sap – 5 liters;
- sugar (honey) – 200-250 grams;
- raisins (preferably large dark ones) – 50 grams;
- lemons – 2 pieces;
- yeast - 5 grams of dry (25 grams of pressed) or wine yeast per 5 liters of wort (optional).
Sugar can be replaced with liquid honey in the same proportions, and the color of kvass from white or pale yellow (depending on the raisins) will change to deep yellow or amber. In the classic version, raisins are responsible not only for taste and color, but are also used as a source of wild yeast (found on the surface of the berries). Lemons add a light citrus aroma, promote fermentation, creating the appropriate acidity of the wort, and give the drink a pleasant light sourness.
I advise you to make birch kvass without yeast (dry or pressed baker's yeast), since their use significantly worsens the aroma. In fact, instead of kvass, you get mash. Cultivated wine yeast (available in stores) or wild raisin yeast are suitable for this recipe. The correct activation of the latter is described in the first stage of preparation.
The authors of some recipes for kvass made from birch sap suggest supplementing the taste of the drink with black bread, fermented malt, coffee beans, dried fruits and even roasted barley. But the listed ingredients completely neutralize the already weak taste of birch sap, therefore they are only suitable for homemade kvass based on water or fruit juices with a high content of solids: apple, plum, cherry, etc.
Birch kvass recipe
1. 4-5 days before working with juice, activate wild yeast (relevant if you don’t have wine yeast and don’t want to use regular yeast for baking).
The problem is that most modern raisins are treated with chemicals and preservatives for long-term storage, so not all berries will ferment. I advise you to immediately buy 3-4 types of raisins (preferably in different stores) and try each batch as a starter.
Technology: be sure to pour the unwashed raisins into a sterilized jar, add 300 ml of water (birch sap) at a temperature of 20-28°C and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Tie the neck of the jar with gauze and transfer the future starter to a dark place at room temperature. Leave for at least 3-4 days to activate the wild yeast.
Foam may not be so intense, but its presence is required When foam, hissing and a slight smell of fermentation appear on the surface, the starter is ready. If this does not happen, an unpleasant odor or mold appears, which means that due to the treatment with preservatives, there is no wild yeast left on the selected raisins and you will have to use another one, repeating the entire procedure from the beginning.
2. Filter birch sap through gauze folded in several layers to remove small particles of debris. Pour the juice into a fermentation container.
3. Scald the lemons with boiling water, rinse in running water and wipe dry. Using a knife or vegetable peeler, carefully remove the zest from the fruit - the upper yellow part without the white pulp, which gives bitterness.
4. Add the starter made at the first stage (together with raisins) or yeast, sugar or honey, lemon zest and juice (squeeze from the fruit), well-washed raisins (if cultivated yeast is used) to the birch sap. Stir the wort until the sugar (honey) is completely dissolved in the water.
The water, sugar and raisins used to prepare the starter should be counted in the total amount of ingredients.
5. Cover the neck of the fermentation container with gauze to protect it from insects. Transfer the wort to a dark place with a temperature of 18-27°C and leave homemade birch kvass for 12-14 hours (with baker’s yeast - 6-8 hours) for fermentation.
It is better not to let the drink ferment for too long, otherwise it will become alcoholic. The theoretical maximum possible strength is 3 degrees (if the yeast converts all the sugar into alcohol, but this requires at least a few days). If the specified preparation technology is followed, the alcohol content will be below 0.5%.
6. Filter the finished kvass from birch sap through several layers of gauze, pour into storage bottles (preferably well-washed plastic ones), leaving 3-5 cm of free space from the neck. Close tightly.
Filtered raisins can be used as a starter for new portions of kvass (stored in a hermetically sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days), without being included in the ingredients, but simply added at the 2nd stage instead of wine yeast.
7. Keep the bottles for 30-60 minutes at room temperature (to saturate with carbon dioxide), then transfer to the refrigerator or basement. After 1-2 hours, the kvass is ready for use.
Attention! Periodically check the pressure in the bottles (plastic ones become very hard and “bloat”) and release the gas if necessary to prevent rupture.
On dark raisins with sugar Shelf life at temperatures from 0 to +8°C is 6 months. It is better to drink open birch kvass a day before.