Spruce shoots straight from the tree are one of my favorite spring camping and hiking snacks. They’re a great wilderness digestif and breath freshener, an excellent source of vitamin C, and they taste good too. Tart, crisp, and clean. Young, tender shoots can also be infused or boiled in hot water for a refreshing tea. Mmm. I’ve heard of ales and cordials flavored with spruce and the other day I even came across a sparkling spruce beverage in a champagne-style bottle.
This year, I decided to make something a little more refined out of all that green growth and whipped up a batch of spruce shoot syrup. In Finland, spruce shoot syrup is used much like honey to flavor desserts or tea. The addition of sugar removes the sharpness, and the resulting syrup boasts a rich, sweet flavor with a fresh aftertaste. Delicious! Spruce shoot syrup is also traditionally used as a cold and flu remedy and cough syrup. I suppose all that vitamin C can’t hurt.
Spruce shoot syrup (kuusenkerkkäsiirappi)
1 quart/liter spruce shoots
1 quart/liter water
2 ¼ cups/ 460 grams sugar
Rinse and pick over the spruce shoots. Combine the shoots and the water in a pot and soak overnight. Lightly simmer the shoot/water mixture for three hours with the cover on. Then strain out the shoots and return the infused water to the hob. Mix in the sugar and continue to simmer very lightly. After about 2-2 ½ hours, the mixture will darken to a reddish-brown and consistency will become thicker, and syrupy. Pour the hot syrup into sterilized bottles. The syrup will thicken as it cools. Serve with tea, over ice cream or pancakes, or as a cough remedy. Yields around 500ml or 2 cups.
