I immediately began suspiciously eyeing all trees in my neighborhood.
Damn you, PNW, with your majestic skyline and dumb forests of non-maple trees.
(Bone up onhow to make maple syrupand you wont complain about the price ever again).
Better yet, depending on where you live, now may be the perfect time to do it.
You want a fir or a spruce, and you want to be sure it hasnt been sprayed.
Once you locate this magnificent specimen, youll want to pluck the lighter green growth at the tips.
These are the spruce (or fir) tips.
Spread it around a little, you know?
You want to fill half a grocery bags worth.
Throw the tips into a big bowl.
Cover them with brown sugar and toss to mix them up.
Now pack it all into a jar, and I meanpackit in.
Really mash it in there.
Over time, the sugar will draw out the moisture in the tips, creating a syrup.
(You;ll know you should probably do this if you see bubbles.)
You could use white sugar, but dont.
Do not add pumpkin spice.
Do notinsultthe spruce tips.
After two months, youll see a syrup.
Pour it hot into a jar and its good to go in the fridge for up to three months.
Now: what todowith it?
Make cocktails,obviously.
I personally add carbonated water to it, creating a soda.
you’re able to also toss it into thatfire cideryouve been thinking about.
(Have you been thinking about it?).
When in doubt: Use it as you would honey.
I fell over when I read about using the spruce syrup as a glaze for pork belly.
(Ugh, my heart.)
I suspect it would make akickass compound butter, perfect for breakfast biscuits.
Imagine some in your holiday cranberry sauce!
