Connoisseurs of bathing paradise know how important a good broom is in a steam room. Everyone has their own preferences on this score, however, birch products are considered to be classics - fragrant, soft and healing.
Flexible branches and a velvety surface of leaves adhering remarkably to a hot body make it possible to bathe in comfort. The structure of the birch leaf, characterized by a large number of pores, is ideal for absorbing sweat. Neither oak nor eucalyptus have this effect.
The fragrance emanating from a birch broom pleases the heart and heals the body. In the bark and leaves of this tree are fragrant balsamic oils, harmful to germs. Vitamins, resins and tannins, leaves with twigs also stocked up a lot.
For asthmatics and those suffering from other respiratory diseases, a bath with a birch from a birch has a healing and beneficial effect. It is useful for allergy sufferers, as well as for those whose nerves play a fool. Smokers are also relieved. If you grabbed your back from rheumatism, your muscles hurt after overstrain or your joints twist - the recipe is the same.
Harvest time: not in a hurry and not late
To begin with, we have to find the right raw material, going after it in dry and clear weather, waiting for the dew to dry.
We collect raw materials at the beginning of summer (not later than mid-summer). Ancient beliefs say that the best brooms are obtained from those branches that are collected on the Trinity. However, it is permissible to depart a little from the canons.
The main thing is that the sheet is already strong, but not yet rough. From mid-July, trees are already preparing for fall, and the broom season is ending. And if it rains on the selected day, you should postpone your trip until sunny weather. You can not cut the branches in a wet form - they will then turn black and will smell unpleasant. They say that the broom “burned out”.
To check whether the birch is ready for brooms, lick its leaf from the outside, picking it from a twig. It should be soft velvet, as if slightly covered with a light fluff. If its surface is rough and harsh, then too late. Such a broom will be scratched.
And early, too, it is not worth making a blank - too young leaves are still weakly held on branches, therefore they will crumble even during drying. And the finished broom will become unpleasantly slippery and will not last long.
How and when to cut? We collect the branches carefully and in the right place
Having decided on the right moment, we set off for production. Preferably in a lowland where it is wet and shady. For example, near a river or lake. It is in such places that birches grow - curly and weeping. Their rods are considered the best for brooms.
We select young trees that have not yet bloomed. It’s good to take stumps with shoots as a sign. However, we will not be barbarians! In order not to destroy the birches, we do not expose them completely. We take lateral branches (without earrings) thinner - from those that grow low. They should be fairly straight, with a length of 50 to 60 centimeters. We use pruning shears.
How to knit a birch broom
We taper branches of the day in the shade - now you can knit. Just don’t wash them - spoil the product. Remember that in each broom there should be two or three branches with forks - so it turns out stronger. Where there is a pen, cut off all the knots.
We lay the branches thicker in the middle of the structure, thinner along the edges, bending them so that in the end we get the shape of a fan. This bend looks inward. All branches should be rich in leaves and have the same length. Some lovers, in addition to birch twigs, put in the middle of the product odorous currant or mint leaves.
The ends of the rods are tightly intercepted with twine, constructing a handle no thicker than five centimeters. We do the first winding closer to the end of the handle, not very tight. Then we divide the rods into two parts and twist them to a full revolution. After that, we fix the twine in several more places.
Never knit a broom with a wire - then you will scratch yourself in the steam room. It is best to take a kapron thread. Do not knit tightly - otherwise the finished product will not be able to dry well.
We leave the pen fifteen centimeters long - this is optimal. When it is ready, the protruding edges of the branches are cut with an hatchet, and the end is wrapped with something soft (so that you do not rub the corns then).
Secrets of harvesting brooms in the video tip section from Doki:
How to dry?
The first two or three days we hold a broom under some kind of press, not forgetting to turn over over time. Then we proceed to drying - in the shade, in a small draft, turning over again daily. The sun is destructive for our purpose - its rays will instantly twist the leaves, making them fragile.
It will take about a week to dry. Readiness is determined by the fragility of the leaves. After this, several brooms are tightly bandaged - two pieces together.
How to store - choose the right place
The easiest way is for the villagers - a haystack is the ideal place to preserve our products. They are put there with the handles outward, and with the leaves inside, placing in a circle and sprinkling with hay each layer. There is no stack - an attic or a dressing room will be a good option.
Those who live in the city can be advised to store a glazed balcony or loggia. Great boxes are cardboard boxes or paper bags. You can also take brooms to the garage. In general, any place where it is cool and air walks will do.
In order for the leaves on the branches of the broom to remain green for a long time and be stored for at least two years, they can be sprinkled with crystals of coarse salt.
Technological enthusiasts use vacuum packaging. And the Finns did come up with an interesting way - to freeze brooms. Such products created by shock-type freezing are offered in some saunas.
A knitted lush broom, in principle, can be used even immediately. But in this case it can not be kept in boiling water - it will boil. Twenty minutes in cold water will be enough. Then we pour it with warm water and steam - enough for several times. If the broom has gone through all stages of drying, then it will withstand boiling water.
How to steam?
The easiest way to steam a birch broom is as follows: lower it in steep boiling water for thirty or forty minutes. He's ready. There is another way that better preserves the healing power of birch. Yes, and the leaves roll less. To do this, we put a broom in cold water for a couple of hours in the evening before the bathing day. Then we pull it out and put it in the bag of polyethylene until morning.
Warm the broom with warm water after use. We put it in a bag and dry it at home by hanging it on a rope in a ventilated place. One product may well be enough for two or four visits to the steam room. However, depending on the force with which to whip their sides and back.
However, gradually the leaves are becoming smaller, the branches "bald" and break off. And when there is no trace of the former splendor, measures must be taken. If you are sorry to throw away the product, then you can resuscitate.
To do this, take brooms and put them in a container of water (if it’s cold, then overnight, with hot water for half an hour). And then we sort it by throwing out completely bare rods and those with less than a dozen leaves. And the rest is divided into short and long, then we knit them again. Done - you can steam up three more times.
The water in which the birch twigs lay was also very useful. After washing, you can rinse your hair and body. It tones the skin and removes dandruff and strengthens the hair roots.
Purchased or personally made?
In principle, if the broom is solid, then when using it it is not so important who made it. Someone does not want to bother, and he prefers to purchase this item directly in the bath - good, such a service exists everywhere. Someone tries, knits brooms, and someone buys them. Quite naturally.
However, it is pleasant to be proud to show friends and actually try the bath attribute, branches for which were lovingly selected from young June birches, and then knitted with their own hands. This is how to get a jar of your fungi collected in the forest and salted according to a special recipe. So many choose this option. And for the family budget, savings, by the way.
Stay healthy!
Birch brooms for a bathhouse - this is what you need. Well, no way without it. The article has a lot of useful information on how to prepare the birch broom for the bath yourself, we have birch growing in the country, now we will need to knit the broom for the bath ourselves, and not buy it.
I remember that in our cottage, my grandfather always harvested birch brooms. I didn’t understand why they were like that. Now, after reading the article, the picture in my head has taken shape. No wonder my grandfather appreciated just such, I think, to prepare from his birch for his summer residence. I really liked it.
And I myself was personally convinced that the birch brooms harvested at Trinity create a special effect. By this time, a leaf near a birch manages to get stronger, and the aroma is completely different (well, or is it really so for me).
The husband always procures brooms by himself, sometimes weaves twigs of mountain ash for a unique aroma.
Here it seems to write everything correctly, but as it comes to steaming brooms, many authors make a big mistake using boiling water for a broom. Boiling water can be used if you have a dry broom, and you already need to go to the steam room. Then we dip in boiling water and over steam from the heater we steam it. Best of all, if there is an hour before the bath, immerse the broom in cold water with the handle down, like a bouquet, for 40 minutes. Then, immerse in water about 40-50 g. 10 minutes, or rinsing the broom in hot (not boiling water, the hand barely tolerates) we pack it in a plastic bag, pour about 300-400 ml there, close it tightly and put it on the canopy.
If you follow the author’s advice and put the broom in boiling water for 40 minutes, we get a wonderful birch broth to rinse your hair and body, and the broom can be used as a washcloth, it will not be suitable for soaring. Respectfully, steam master Sergey.
Sergey, thanks for the addition!