Spruce Tip Honey

This recipe is long overdue, as spruce tip season in the PNW is from mid April to May. Identify your spruce trees and taste them, they should be prickly. Pick as you need them, only. Taste them fresh and use them in butters, oil or vinegar infusions. My favorite way of preparing and preserving spruce tips is to make Spruce Tip Honey. For this, it is very simple.

Spruce Tips

Ingredients:

- Fresh spruce tips

- Honey

Instructions:

1. Begin by collecting fresh spruce tips. Make sure to gather them from trees that have not been treated with any chemicals, near busy roadsides or contaminated in any way.

2. Rinse the spruce tips, though they should be fresh and free of unwanted dirt or bugs. Pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel.

3. Place the spruce tips in a clean glass jar. You can chop them or leave them whole, depending on how soon you need your honey ready. Chopping will infuse faster.

4. Pour honey over the spruce tips in the jar, making sure they are completely covered.

5. Use a clean spoon to gently stir the spruce tips and honey together, ensuring the spruce tips are evenly distributed.

6. Seal the jar tightly with a lid and store it in a cool, dark place for about 2-4 weeks to allow the flavors to infuse.

7. After the infusion period, strain the spruce tips from the honey using a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Make a tea with the leftover spruce tips, infusing for 2-3 minutes.

8. Transfer the infused spruce tip honey to a clean jar or container for storage. Store in the refrigerator to minimize fermentation, or let it fizz in the cupboard for added complexity.

9. Your homemade Spruce Tip Honey is now ready to be enjoyed! Use it as a sweetener in tea, made into ice cream, drizzled over pancakes or oatmeal, or as a unique ingredient in various recipes. Spruce tip honey tastes great in a spritz, as a sweetener in a vinaigrette (use spruce tip vinegar for this too!)

The medicinal properties are high in spruce tip honey, with lots of vitamin C, it's great for fighting colds and amping your immune system.

Fermented Spruce Tip Honey

Spring Foraged Abundance