Finally, spring has come and as it rapidly turns into summer, the foraging season is starting !
This year, with Morten's quit busy and me at Uni again, there's been little time to follow the garden so every free time we've had home together has been put in the veggie patch.
Never-the-less, here's the first recipe for 2022, a classic from Norwegian foraging cupboard, let's hear it for : Spruce buds syrup (granskudd sirup).
This recipe is so simple that you'll get a hang of it quickly, I promise. As the name implies, the main ingredient is young buds from spruces. You'll want them when they're started to open and grow, but not fully grown. In doubt, taste them (yes, you read right, just pick one and put it in your mouth. If the needles are tender and juicy, you're good to go).
As always, be 110% sure that you have identified the right tree ! I'll never insist enough on this. Check online, check in books, cross check different aspects of the tree (environment it grows in, shape, color, etc), ask a friend, just… be safe!
So, you’ve found spruce trees, their shoots are just as described earlier, now you have to pick them. I do recommend using gloves, although Morten usually goes barehand. To each and everyone their pain limits.
For this you will need easily two pints of buds (although you can start with one). Try to switch between spruce trees so you don’t harm one of them by removing all the new shoots.
Next, fill a cooking pot with the buds and cover with water. The buds will float in the beginning, so don’t get fooled. You don’t need to clean them if you’ve picked them “cleaned” already (that is picking only the ones without bugs, bird poo, etc).
Bring this joyful green mix to a boil and let it simmer for a good 30 minutes.
Let it cool down and filter it in a sift or a cloth. Don’t be alarmed by the color ! If it looks like an old washing-the-dish–after-a-big-meal sort of water, you’ve done it right. You’re done with the buds, but I'm sure your compost would be happy to enjoy them as well.
Now start the magic : measure the volume of budwater and add sugar. To make syrup, it’s about ⅔ of the water volume in sugar. In my case, 9dl of sugar for 1,4l of budwater.
Bring it again to a boil and let it simmer happily until you’re pleased with the consistence of your syrup (let it longer and you’ll find yourself with a delicious spruce bud jelly). Didn’t you say “magic” ? Look in your cooking pot after a while and you’ll notice that it’s turning from that awful grey dishwater to a vibrant orange/golden liquid!
Once it has reduced (aka concentrated!) to a satisfactory point, remove it from the heat, clean some jars (I prefer jars instead of bottles in case it has tipped over the jelly point) and pour the hot syrup in them.
Voilà !
With the high sugar content, it will keep a while in the fridge, although I would freeze the extra jars you have just made. You can then enjoy them in the middle of the winter. Delicious with both sweet and savory (pancakes and venison, to cite only a few).
Spruce buds syrup
Ingredients :
Spruce buds
Water
Sugar
Recipe :
Pick about a liter of spruce buds. Pour them in a cooking pot and cover with water.
Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 30 mins.
Let the mix cool off a bit, then filter through a cloth or a tight sift.
Measure the volume of water you have. Add ⅔ of the water volume in sugar.
Bring back to a boil and let simmer until syrup consistence.
Pour in jars.