Spruce buds
Just came in from picking a nice bunch of beautiful spruce buds. My intent was just to dry them for later. Got me thinking that this group likely has lots of awesome ideas. I hear they are loaded with vitamin C. I added them fresh into a handful of nuts and dried fruits I happened to have with me for snack. My tastebuds enjoyed the combo!
It will be fun to hear from you!
Comments
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I am just picking some this week. A few sites with cool information
https://www.ruralsprout.com/spruce-tips-syrup/
https://foragerchef.com/spruce-tips/ This site also had other fun information
Pickled spruce tips https://www.kitchenfrau.com/pickled-spruce-tips/
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Spuce tips are a new adventure for me. I was nibbling on some the other day in the back yard while feeding the rabbits
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Its almost Spruce tip season here. The Doug Fir is budding out now; some too large already. I prefer them just after the paper has come off.
Such wonderful medicine when they are infused in honey.
I am just waiting for a dry day to go picking.
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@torey I was going to infuse some in honey today. That sounds like a great medicine to have on hand
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@torey Do they have to be dried slightly or is fresh fine (infused honey)? I read an earlier post of yours that said to make sure it has been dry for a few days beforehand.
There has got to be some other baking recipes/uses for them too I would think. I bet you could decorate a cake with some of them. Haha...mini spruce trees in an outdoor scene on a cake or cookies?
Our spruce are just about right right now, however, I'd prefer to go for a drive and harvest from "waste" trees where they are plenty, by a gravel road in the ditch.
Here are some internal TGN links to more spruce tip talk.
https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/852817#Comment_852817
https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/867140#Comment_867140
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@LaurieLovesLearning I meant that the weather should be dry for a couple of days before harvesting. I put my fresh buds into honey. One year I learned my lesson about making sure the buds were dry before use. It had been a wet year anyway, but I harvested the day after a rain and the buds fermented in the honey and bent the top of the jar to release the gas. I'm lucky the jar didn't explode. I haven't done fir in honey before so I am going to do that today if I am not too late. They looked quite large on my journey yesterday.
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@torey Do you know if they can be successfully frozen for later use?
@Monek Marie We made dandelion wish bread and will make a second loaf by mixing 1/4 c. of spruce tips in it as well as an experiment. The kids live experimenting with natural ingredients.
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@LaurieLovesLearning I have never tried to freeze them. It would be an interesting experiment.
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@torey infusing in honey is much better than boiling in sugar for hours - this is what my neighbours do here. When you infuse in honey, do you use any proportion, o just that all the spruce is covered by honey. Do you keep in refrigerator for some time, before you store it. When we make Plantain in honey it has to be “ buried” for 3 months - kept cold. Otherwise it ferments.
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@jowitt.europe I have never heard of plantain in honey. I know the benefits of both separately.
Is the plantain fresh, wilted or dried? What do you use the plantain honey for?
Our plantain is growing and most is in its tender stages at the moment.
Is there anything else that you infuse in honey?
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@jowitt.europe I just cover the spruce tips with honey. I leave it sit on the counter so that I can invert the jar every day for the first few days and then I store it in a cool, dark place. I've never had it go bad even after 3 years, except for the year that it fermented.
I've never made plantain honey. I bet it is good for sore throats or used on burns. If I find a good patch, I will have to make some. So I am interested, as well, as to whether the plantain is used fresh, dried or wilted?
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I like hawthorne berries, elderberries or cranberries in honey
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@Monek Marie do you strain the berries out or just eat it all? Asking especially about elderberries?
We don’t have Hawthorne so know nothing about them. It all sounds great!
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I don't know how it happened but I have missed the spruce tips at my elevation. Tomorrow I will have to go up higher. I got just a handful when I went out this afternoon.
So, @LaurieLovesLearning, because there wasn't enough to do anything with, I have put them in the freezer to see how well they freeze and then thaw. I will report back.
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@soeasytocraft I was surprised to hear that you don't have Hawthorns cause they are so plentiful this side of the Rockies. I checked on my plant atlas and it seems there are some locations down in Cypress Hills but that is in a park so no picking anyhow.
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One of the links Monek shared was for pickled spruce buds. Would anyone happen to ferment them instead of using the vinegar method?
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@torey I met a fella a two summers ago. He has a hedge he planted ion his acreage. Very big trees. Only place I’ve heard of around Edmonton. Never heard of them wild when we lived further North I've toyed with the idea of getting back to him but life has been too busy.
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Yesterday I picked enough for a tray to freeze dry. I’ll use a lower temperature then for other foods. I’m told freeze drying retains the nutrients better then drying other ways.
I’ll still be able to pick some more and plan to freeze them for use over winter. Right or wrong! 😄
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I eat it all. I love elderberries this way especially if I have a sore throat
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I used to always nibble on the young fir tips when I was hiking. They help to quench your thirst. Have gotten out of the habit. Never really have given any thought to preserving fir tips.
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Have you heard of gemmotherapy? It's medicine made from tree buds. A lot of homeopaths also use these remedies. I've never tried making one but there must be directions online somewhere or in a book.
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@torey plantain in honey - actually it is mainly buckhorn plantain - is a widely used local medicine for coughs, bronchitis, colds, especially for children. For whatever reason buckhorn plantain is the most popular plantain in the area where I live. We use it fresh, we cut it very thinly and put in layers in a jar: a layer of plantain, a layer of honey and so on until a jar is full. In the old days they would really dig it 50 cm into the soil for at least 3 months. Some herbalists do it even nowadays. That impresses the customers 😊. They would sieve afterwards, if they give it to children. Grownups do not mind small pieces of plantain. It keeps for ages. I always have a glass in my fridge.
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@LaurieLovesLearning sorry, I did not tag you in my answer about plantain honey, thus I send you a quote - my answer to @torey
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@jowitt.europe Thanks!
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Ah! But those tips are strong! I can't say I am a fan of them directly off the tree.
We did make spruce tip mayonnaise which is essentially mixing a few ground tips into mayonnaise and letting it sit in the fridge for a day. We had it with canned salmon (fresh would have been better!).
Not too bad.
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