Spruce tip syrup is a tasty way to enjoy the tender young tips of spruce trees. It boasts a bright, citrusy flavor with a hint of pine and is perfect for adding a refreshing twist to cocktails, desserts, and more.
Recipe Highlights
Easy to Make: This simple syrup is super easy to make. The recipe requires equal parts sugar, water, and spruce tips and only has a few minutes of hands-on time.
Versatile: You can use spruce tip syrup as the base for many spruce tip recipes like this spruce tip old fashioned or spruce tip ice cream. It adds great flavor to cocktails and desserts, but can also be used in savory dishes like as a glaze for game birds.
Gift-Worthy: Homemade spruce tip syrup makes a unique and thoughtful homemade gift for wild food enthusiasts.
What are Spruce Tips?
Spruce tips are the bright green ends of spruce tree branches that emerge in early spring or summer. In my neck of the woods, spruce tip season is in early summer.
At lower elevations, you can find them in early spring. Young spruce tips are ideal for cooking because they can become bitter the older they are. If you've never tried them, the flavor of spruce tips can be quite surprising. They have a fruity, fresh flavor reminiscent of some hops used for beer.
As with any wild plants, it's important to identify the plant correctly and also not to take more than you need. When removing spruce tips, don't remove all of the tips from one tree, don't remove them from the tops of trees, and don't take them all from one area of the tree to allow for future growth.
Ingredients
- Spruce Tips: Young spruce tips are ideal for a clean, fruity flavor. Older spruce tips can be used, but the flavor profile will differ.
- Cane Sugar: I like to use unbleached cane sugar for making syrup. You can also use white sugar if that's your preference. To give to syrup a more rich flavor, brown sugar can also be used.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Spruce Tip Syrup
Read below for how to make spruce tip syrup in a few simple steps!
- Step 1: Remove brown papery husks from the spruce tips and ash spruce tips in a colander.
- Step 2: Roughly chop the spruce tips. This helps release some of the flavor.
- Step 3: Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar is fully dissolved, stirring occasionally.
- Step 4: Add the chopped spruce tips and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Step 5: Remove the pan from the heat source and let the syrup cool at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Step 6: Cover the pan and refrigerate for 12-24 hours, or until the syrup has your desired flavor level.
- Step 7: Strain the syrup with a fine mesh strainer. Transfer the syrup to glass jars.
- Step 8: Transfer the syrup to glass jars. You can keep the syrup in the fridge for 4-6 months or can it for longer storage.
Pro Tip
For a more intense flavor, you can increase the amount of spruce tips you use and also let them steep in the syrup longer.
How to Store Spruce Tip Syrup
Spruce tip syrup can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge for 4-6 months. You can also pressure can or water bath can it for longer storage. However, I find that the syrup loses some of its flavor when it is heated.
Serving Suggestions
I like to make spruce tip syrup for one, single purpose: spruce tip old fashioneds. But, it is also delicious in other cocktails, desserts (drizzled over vanilla ice cream), and savory dishes (like as a base for glaze for meat).
No matter how you choose to use it, you're going to love having this unique ingredient on hand!
FAQ
Spruce tips are often used to flavor syrup. The syrup can be used as a base for many recipes like cocktails, desserts, and savory dishes. They can also be used to make spruce tip salt, spruce tip vinegar, spruce tip jelly, and more!
Spruce tips have a fresh, fruity flavor reminiscent of some hops used for beer. The flavor changes depending on how old the spruce tips are.
Spruce tips can be used as an herb in cooking. It can also be made into spruce tip syrup or other dishes.
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Thank you!
Annie
📖 Recipe
Spruce Tip Simple Syrup
Equipment
- medium saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 cups spruce tips
- 3 cups cane sugar
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- Remove any brown husks from the spruce tips and ash spruce tips in a colander. Roughly chop the spruce tips. This helps release some of the flavor.
- Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar is fully dissolved, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chopped spruce tips and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat source and let the syrup cool at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Cover the pan and refrigerate for 12-24 hours, or until the syrup has your desired flavor level.
- Strain the syrup with a fine mesh strainer. Transfer the syrup to glass jars.
- Store in the fridge. See below for additional notes on storage.
Notes
- Young spruce tips are ideal for a clean, fruity flavor. Older spruce tips can be used, but the flavor profile will differ.
- As with any wild plants, it's important to identify the plant correctly and also not to take more than you need. When removing spruce tips, don't remove all of the tips from one tree, don't remove them from the tops of trees, and don't take them all from one area of the tree to allow for future growth.
- I like to use unbleached cane sugar for making syrup. You can also use white sugar if that's your preference. To give to syrup a more rich flavor, brown sugar can also be used.
- For a more intense flavor, you can increase the amount of spruce tips you use and also let them steep in the syrup longer.
- Spruce tip syrup can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge for 4-6 months. You can also pressure can or water bath can it for longer storage. However, I find that the syrup loses some of its flavor when it is heated.
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