Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (2024)

My son and I had a wonderful day foraging for spruce tips on the small trail behind our property. It was the perfect day, no humidity but still warm and a beautiful breeze. It’s truly a blessing to learn about the wild foods that grow around us and discover ways to enjoy them.

DISCLOSURE:In order for me to support myself and my herbal clinic, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsem*nt, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any product or services from this blog. I truly appreciate all the support you have shown my blog and my business and I will only ever recommend products that I use myself, truly love or covet. Many thanks.


I took the opportunity to teach him about ethical wild harvesting and why we couldn’t take what we needed from only one tree. Instead we wandered for close to an hour, taking a few from each tree we saw. We also got a rock in our shoe and saw a crow. All in all a grand adventure.

Why Spruce Tips

Spruce tips are delicious and packed full of vitamin C. They are also rich in potassium and magnesium, as well as carteonoids. Spruce has been used by the indigenous peoples of Canada (and the United States) to help relieve coughs, colds and sore throats, for longer than we’ve been here! Last but certainly not least, these bright green nutritional powerhouses are also high in chlorophyll.

When You Want to Harvest Them

Truthfully I thought we might be a bit late in our harvesting adventure, but I’ve tested the sugar and its quite lovely. The key is to get them while they still have their papery casing on them. At this point they are soft and tender and have citrus notes along with a hint of resin. Once they start to harden and lose the bright green colour you will want to stop harvesting.

Note: Make sure you try a few first before you harvest cups full, just to make sure you enjoy them and they don’t go to waste. This is a good rule of thumb for any wild harvesting/foraging you may do.

How To Enjoy Them

Due to their citrusy flavour they can be enjoyed in a variety of ways.

  • Salads, smoothies, blended with mayonnaise, infused vinegar, pickled or infused sugar.
  • Dried to make a tea to treat respiratory ailments and sore throats in the winter months
  • Dried to preserve as a spicein cooking
  • Infuse your drinking water with some tips chopped

It functions in very diplomatic manner for cipla tadalafil 10mg the therapy of erectile dysfunction. In fact, it makes a person forget that he has sildenafil discount taken a pill to cure this sexual problem. This is why Texas drivers education courses online, you may also be better on line levitra http://deeprootsmag.org/2015/07/14/herb-herby-herbert-daddy/ able to focus on something during coition. Penile dysfunctions, adrenal tissue damages and other related prostrate troubles can be treated by the regular massaging of male organ with this natural ingredients based herbal oil. buy generic levitra

What We Did With Them

Spruce Tip Sugar

Remove the paper casing from your spruce tips, wash and pat dry (or let air dry). Using a herb grinder or food processor pulse:

  • 1 cup of spruce tips
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
    • We used organic cane sugar

Pulse until they texture is uniform and spread on a baking tray or pan lined with parchment paper.

Allow to air dry at room temperature, stirring a couple of times daily, until the sugar is completely dry.

Note: The sugar will be really sticky at first but it will dry out. If you find this isn’t working at room temperature you can heat your oven to 150 degrees and dry them for about an hour.

Once the sugar is dry place them back in the food processor and pulse a few times to break up the chunks.

Store in an airtight container. Use the sugar as a sprinkle or shortbread or other baked yummies, flavour your tea or us it to rim your co*cktails. I can’t wait to try this in so many different dishes!

Lacto-fermented Spruce Tip Pickles

I’m always looking for reasons to use my Pickle Pipe Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (6). It’s been a very welcome addition to my home-cooking/homesteading/herbal medicine making kitchen.While I love pickling using a heated brine and then canning, I love the added benefits of probiotic production you get from lacto-fermenting something.

This recipe is for making one 500 ml jar of lacto-fermented pickled spruce tips.

  • Remove the paper casing from the spruce tips, wash and pat dry.
  • Fill your jar with spruce tips – about 2 cups worth
  • Add 1 tsp of sea salt
  • Fill with filtered water

You will need to ensure that your spruce tips stay below the brine. I used sterilized rocks (boiled them for 15 minutes). Some folks use cabbage leaves. I will definitely be purchasing Pickle Pebbles Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (7) at my first opportunity. If you don’t have a pickle pipe you will need to ensure you “burp” your jar every now and again as fermentation creates gas as a by-product.

Your pickles will take at least 3 daysto fully ferment but taste testing is always a fun and good idea. You will need to make sure to keep an eye on your pickles as lacto-fermentation happens faster at warmer temperatures. You will know it’s fermenting because there will be bubbles. Once they are fermented store them in the fridge using a regular canning lid. Enjoy them on their own, blended as a part of salad dressings or mayonnaise. I plan on trying them in lots of dishes and will update this post as I find yummy ways to enjoy them! .

Thanks for joining us on our spruce tip adventure! I’d love to hear about what you do with your spruce tips.

P.S. Please pin for future use 😉

Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (9)

  1. Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (10)

    Jinion June 9, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    What a wonderful idea! And love the pics of your little guy 🙂

    Is there an ingredient missing from your lacto-fermented recipe? Usually lacto-fermentation is done with liquid whey…

    Reply

      • Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (12)

        Jinion June 11, 2017 at 1:06 am

        Okay I get you. In that case, then they are not lacto-fermented – as “lacto” refers to milk.. They would just be ‘fermented’ or ‘cultured’ spruce tips. I shared this post on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ListenToYourHorse1/ so thanks!

        Reply

          • Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (14)

            bwoosteron April 23, 2019 at 4:39 pm

            Lacto refers to the bacteria (Lactobacillus) that is causing the ferment. Has nothing to do with milk.. Lacto fermented foods do not require milk whey, however milk whey often used (unnecessarily) as a starter.

        • Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (15)

          Laurie Nathanon May 11, 2019 at 10:54 am

          the lacto refers to the bacteria that form/collect…lactobacillus. So, yes, it is a lactoferment. At least as I understand it. 8^))

          Reply

    • Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (16)

      Shanañ kingon May 28, 2021 at 8:48 am

      Hi. Lacto-fermentation does not refer to milk…….it refers to the lactobacilli bacteria that is the basis of lacto-fermentation. Lactobacillus bacteria convert sugars naturally present in fruit or vegetables into lactic acid. 🙂

      Reply

  2. Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (17)

    Stephanieon May 7, 2018 at 9:43 am

    How do you know when fermented spruce tips are “done?” What is the flavor supposed to be like? And is there a “wrong”, i.e., dangerous outcome? Mine have been going for three days; no funk or anything yucky looking, and the smell is just sprucey. First ferment, so just nervous I guess. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (18)

      Spiraea Herbson May 7, 2018 at 10:01 am

      Most ferments take about 3-4 days 🙂 They should start to bubble a bit. They will taste fairly sprucey/lemony with a hint of salt. With all ferments there is a risk of growing mold so if anything every grows anything fuzzy or smells off I would chuck it at once.

      And no problem at all with the questions! Happy to help 🙂

      Reply

  3. Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (19)

    Alexandriaon February 9, 2019 at 6:05 pm

    When is the best time to collect the tips?

    Reply

    • Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (20)

      Spiraea Herbson February 10, 2019 at 5:52 pm

      Hi Alexandria,

      This will be dependent on where you live, but I do mention in the blog post that you want to get them when they still have their papery cover on them (just on the tip). You can harvest them afterwards, but they quickly loose their citrus note as the tips mature. Hope that helps and happy harvesting!

      Correne

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why do people pick spruce tips? ›

Well, spruce tips are high in Vitamin C, chlorophyll, and carotenoids; rich in minerals such as potassium and magnesium; and they also taste great.

How do you harvest spruce tips? ›

Harvesting spruce tips is very simple: pluck them off with your finger tips! The bright green tips are the new branch shoots of the tree. So any tip that is removed from the tree is in effect pruning it and new growth won't emerge from that same tip again. Removing the tips inspires growth from the lateral branches.

Are spruce tips good for you? ›

Spruce tips are the new growth of the trees each year and are most notably antiseptic, antimicrobial and an incredible source of vitamin C. After a long winter, they offer an immune boost and a fresh, lemony flavor that wakes you up from your hibernation slumber.

Can you eat any spruce tips? ›

Spruce tips have a range of flavors depending on their stage of maturity: herbal, fruity, citrus, resinous. They play well with both sweet and savory dishes. All spruce varieties (from the pine or Pinaceae family) are edible.

What is special about spruce? ›

The spruce (Picea) is an evergreen with short, blue-green, waxy leaves called needles. The waxy coating on the needles helps evergreen trees conserve water during the very cold winters where they live, when soil water is frozen and not available for the trees to use.

Why are spruce trees important? ›

Spruce pulp is important in the paper industry, and timber from the trees is used in a variety of applications. Resonant spruce wood is used for sounding boards in pianos and the bodies of violins as well as in construction and for boats, airplanes, and barrels.

How do you harvest evergreen tips? ›

To harvest tips from a tree, the tip gatherer grasps the branch firmly between thumb and forefinger and snaps it off with a quick downward motion. Generally, 12 to 20 inches of the branch is harvested. The last major set of stems of a fir branch should remain on the tree.

What do you do with spruce tips? ›

Think of them as an herb you would use raw. When I cook with spruce tips, I usually add them raw to salads or sprinkle over vegetable dishes. If I use spruce tips in desserts, they will typically be pureed or in an infusion, and always strained if possible since leftover particles can get bitter.

What can I do with fresh spruce tips? ›

The dark green of the existing branches is highlighted by the bright green of new tips. These emerging spruce tips are a delicious and versatile wild food and high in Vitamin C. Spruce tips have a distinct taste — citrus with a hint of resin. You can snack on them fresh or or add them to salads.

How long will spruce tips last? ›

If you have a few bags of spruce tips in the freezer, now is the time to use them before the harvesting season begins again. Two of the best ways to freeze spruce tips is to bag them up in plastic freezer baggies or to vacuum seal them and then freeze. Spruce tips can last up to one year.

What is the nutritional value of spruce tips? ›

Nutritional Value

Spruce tips are a source of vitamin A to maintain healthy organ functioning, potassium to balance fluid levels within the body, and vitamin C to strengthen the immune system while reducing inflammation.

Can you cook with spruce tips? ›

Spruce tips are 100% edible, as are pine tips and fir tips. You can eat them raw, pickle them, dry them in salt, powder them. They are versatile!

Can I freeze spruce tips? ›

Spruce tips are generally clean, but you can remove their party hats and give them a quick rinse to remove any dust and debris. They will last a few months in a paper bag in the fridge, if you can't use what you just harvested. They also freeze well, if you want to keep them even longer.

Are any spruce poisonous? ›

Spruce trees also provide foraging opportunity all year round. The needles are edible and most commonly used to make a hot tea, which is steeped (not boiled) to retain its nutritional quality. All parts of the tree are non-toxic.

Are spruce needles good for anything? ›

Put pine, spruce and other evergreen needles to work in the garden. Evergreen needles don't make the soil too acidic. They do, however, add organic matter and nutrients to the soil as they break down. And a look under your evergreens confirms they're a great mulch.

Why did people chew spruce sap? ›

Spruce gum was traditionally used by Native Americans in a salve for skin irritations and sores, and it wasn't long before European settlers began to appreciate its medicinal qualities. A number of Maine companies made spruce gum cough syrup, and cardboard packages advised chewing spruce gum as an aid to digestion.

What do you do with spruce tip sugar? ›

The smell of this sugar brings the forest into the kitchen and into our food. We use spruce sugar on cookies, cakes, and on savory dishes. We use it sometimes in fancy co*cktails at the bar.

What time of year do you harvest spruce tips? ›

In early spring, spruce trees produce feathery new growth covered in brown, papery sheaths. If you pull off one of the sheathes, you'll see young needles, just beginning to expand. Young spruce tips can be harvested from the time they emerge until they begin to stiffen.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Maia Crooks Jr

Last Updated:

Views: 6746

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (63 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Maia Crooks Jr

Birthday: 1997-09-21

Address: 93119 Joseph Street, Peggyfurt, NC 11582

Phone: +2983088926881

Job: Principal Design Liaison

Hobby: Web surfing, Skiing, role-playing games, Sketching, Polo, Sewing, Genealogy

Introduction: My name is Maia Crooks Jr, I am a homely, joyous, shiny, successful, hilarious, thoughtful, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.