Have you ever tasted spruce syrup? If you haven’t, now is a great time to try this versatile and virtually free superfood! So read on and see two easy recipes on how to make spruce syrup yourself. This sweetener, which utilizes the gold of the northern forests, is suitable for both Michelin restaurant dishes and home cooking.
In summer, nature swells with free, nutritious food. Early summer in particular is the time of spruce stands; after all, the spruce shoots are the light green shoots that the spruces grow in their branches in early summer.
The aroma of spruce is woody and citrusy. It’s a great pair of flavors, for example with fish – instead of dill, for example – or in a salad as such. Best of all, better pastoral care than wandering in the early summer forest is hardly. so a spruce picking trip is a recommended activity in every way.
Remember that picking up spruce cakes requires permission from the landowner! Picking the spruce itself does not harm it.
Why eat spruce?
Spruce is an actual vitamin bomb and an excellent source of vitamin C. New studies from the Natural Resources Center (LUKE) show that spruce is rich in vitamins C, K1 and A.
Hexagon is spoken of as a true panacea; chewing cucumbers is said to relieve inflammation and help with coughing. Spruce syrup in particular has been used as a cough medicine throughout the ages. Spruce syrup is also suitable for yoghurt, gingerbread, muesli, spices and pancakes – only the imagination is the limit.
The spruce was chosen as the herb of the year 2021 and is an example of a natural product whose commercial exploitation is still in its infancy.
Make your own spruce syrup
See below for two recipes to help you make spruce syrup at home yourself. The cooked version becomes thicker than the traditional syrup. Without electricity, just a syrup made with the help of the sun is more fluid – and it just couldn’t be easier to make.
Spruce syrup recipe
You need:
1.5 l spruce
1 kg sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
2 l water
glass jars for storage
Rinse the spruces and place in a saucepan. Cover the curds with water and cook over low heat for about 3 hours. Lift the cobs out of the pan and squeeze them through the sieve so that you get the last juices in the pan.
Add sugar and vanilla sugar to the spruce broth (this should now be about 1.5 liters in the amounts indicated). Boil the mixture for another 1-2 hours until it turns dark brown and syrupy. Jar the mixture into glass jars.
Spruce syrup without electricity (more current version)
You need:
Half a jar
of spruce cans in a glass jar Half a jar of
sugar
Press the cubes tightly onto the bottom of the glass jar (jar in half) and pour the sugar over them. Place the plate on the lid. Put the jar on the sunny window, the sun will start to heat the jar and the sugar will melt. When all the sugar has melted, strain the syrup and jar. Store in a cool place, this syrup will keep in the fridge for up to a couple of years!
What can spruce be used for?
In addition to syrup, spruce has many other uses, a few of which are listed below:
- You can make spruce tea. All you need is a handful of spruce cakes, hot water and some sweetener if you want. You can also add mint, lemon or cinnamon as an extra! Just heat the water and let the spruce roots simmer in it for at least 10 minutes. Strain and add sweetener / flavors.
- Use spruce cakes as an ingredient in your salad.
- Add cucumbers to smoothies, yogurt or porridge
- Ground spruce also works as a spice! When fresh, you can use it as a substitute for dill, for example.
