When we think of juice our mind does not go to a tree, but we normally imagine fruit or vegetables. Birch juice is technically the sap of the plant. Saturated with micro-elements that the tree keeps throughout the winter. In spring the miracle happens, everything starts up again. We met Sergey Baturin. He defines himself as an agronomist, psychologist, pedagogue, fortune teller, electrotechnical and wanders the woods looking for the best birches to extract the precious sap from the plants. Intrigued? Let’s find out what he has to tell us!
Birch juice in Russia is one of those drinks that everyone talks about, but few have tried the original one. Usually, in shops, you will find water, sugar, and lemon drinks that closely resemble the original. But we are curious, to the core, and we went to look for one of the birch juice producers in the Moscow region. We met Sergey Baturin who went further, do you know what chaga is? Neither do we. Yet it seems that the Chinese have stocked it up to strengthen immunity due to the pandemic. We found out when juice is extracted and at what time of year and how to recognize the taste from the leaves.
What is birch juice?
Did you know that trees also have veins? They are the channels in the trunk that suck water from the soil to bring nutrients to the leaves. In spring, when the buds need the energy to open, a process of ‘suction’ of the water begins by the roots which, enriched by the nutrients present in the trunk, reaches the leaves. The pressure increases, the circulation process begins, the buds swell, open, the leaves open and photosynthesis begins. Sergey explains that on a hot summer day a single plant can transpire up to 500l of water. All this is miraculous, it always happens, every year, in all trees. Some of these produce a palatable sap, which is becoming a real banned product in Russia. Prohibited because the original is very complicated to find, in the supermarket or in the markets there are only substitutes. The culture of ecological and sustainable is also spreading in Russia in recent years. People are increasingly aware of this even if the road is very long.
How do you use birch juice?
It is possible to drink it pure or transform it into other drinks. It can be used as a base to start fermentation, bread can be made using juice instead of water. You can make kvass, the traditional Russian fermented drink. The sap extracted from the birch, up to 50l per plant, is a fundamental reserve of drinking water in the forest in spring. We tasted the fermented Chaga. Do you know that kind of bubo that can be created on the bark of plants? They are technically tumors, they absorb energy and nutrients. This means that they are a concentrate of micro-elements. Sergey transforms it, ferments it, adds birch juice to create an energy drink with a decidedly particular taste. In the interview, we will understand the power of the liquid in the fermentation phase. He told us that for three days and three nights the fermentation continues in an incredible way and the liquid literally comes out of the barrels.
Respect for nature and the environment above all!
Sergey is very keen to point out that the plant does not die, it is up to us to stop and take the necessary without causing damage to the tree. The forest gives us many gems, but we must not destroy them, we must find a balance in order to use what nature offers us without damaging it. Sergey tries to make drinks without any external additions, be it yeast or sugar. He tries, experiments, tries again, learns, and comes to the right conclusion. Going into the woods and making a hole to extract the liquid is not a difficult thing, to create the drink instead you need knowledge, practice, passion, and of course, a market that requires a natural product, not just water and sugar.
Here is the interview in which we will try to understand more!