SPRUCE TIPS
Spruce tips are actually one of my favorite things to forage. I want to share a few ways that I enjoy them every year. These are easy to identify, especially in Cape Breton. The only toxic lookalike that folks should be warned about in the context of the Canadian Maritimes is the Yew tree / shrub.
When / What to Collect: If you are eating raw or dipping in chocolate for a little treat, go for younger tips that are softer and just coming out of their papery sheath. The larger and more mature, the more bitter and harder to chew. When they start to splay out, getting loose and collecting pollen from the air, it’s at the end of harvesting time. You can keep them fresh for a limited time, dehydrate or freeze spruce tips for later use.
Spruce Tip Honey
An infusion of tips and honey for several weeks! You can strain them out or let them continue to ferment in the honey for longer. This is one of the most worth-while uses of honey, in my opinion. Other people chop up the tips and even slightly heat the honey to make theirs (pasteurizing the honey). I like to keep my honey raw and have had really good results with full tips.
Spruce Tip Syrup
I should say straight up that the method of layering fresh spruce tips and brown sugar and turning in a sunny window for a couple weeks does not produce that much syrup. But what syrup it does produce is delicious! The rest I like to eventually mix up in a food processor and use it as a sugar rub for fruit, make quick hot simple syrups with, use in baking etc. Once it is processed I usually keep it in the fridge. One of my favorite uses of the fully buzzed up sugar + tips is for strawberries. This will elevate your strawberry shortcake game.
Spruce Tip Vinegar
The most basic instruction is to boil 4 cups vinegar, such as apple cider, poured over 4 cups of spruce tips. Bottle and let sit several days up to six weeks, shaking occasionally. I have elevated many an amazing mocktail (and cocktail!) with spruce tip vinegar. I have also made some really great salad dressings with it as a base.
Dehydrated Spruce Tips
I am dehydrating tips this year for the purpose of making a fine powder that I can add to things both in the sweet and savory realms. You can use dehydrated tips ground up as an addition to spice mixes, desserts, sauces - even a garnish. I’d like to get into making ice creams this year! Caramel Spruce Tip ice cream sounds wonderful to me.
Spruce Tip Simple Syrup
I highly recommend making a deep, dark simple syrup from the brown sugar fermented tips for use as a base in cocktails or iced teas. The brown sugar from this method is rather precious, though, so you can also grab fresh or dehydrated tips to make a simple syrup with white sugar (1:1 sugar + water + tips).
Spruce Tip Iced Tea
I love following the brown sugar syrup method, making a simple syrup from that, and using it as a base for iced tea. Brew black tea and let it cool, sweeten with your simple syrup and lemon juice to taste.
Infused Spruce Tip Salt
I have not personally become obsessed with salts (YET) but you can find lots of direction online for this and many more things to use.