• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FORAGER | CHEF

Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

  • Home
  • About
  • Mushrooms
    • Mushroom Archive
    • Posts by Species
      • Other Mushrooms
        • Lobster Mushrooms
        • Huitlacoche
        • Shrimp of the Woods
        • Truffles
        • Morels
        • Shaggy Mane
        • Hericium
        • Puffball
      • Polypores
        • Hen of the Woods
        • Dryad Saddle
        • Chicken of The Woods
        • Cauliflowers
        • Ischnoderma
        • Beefsteak
      • Chanterelles
        • Black Trumpet
        • Hedgehogs
        • Yellowfeet
      • Gilled
        • Matsutake
        • Honey Mushrooms
        • Russula / Lactarius
          • Candy Caps
          • Saffron Milkcap
          • Indigo Milkcap
      • Boletes
        • Porcini
        • Leccinum
        • Slippery Jacks
    • Recipes
      • Fresh
      • Dried
      • Preserves
    • The Basics
  • Plants
    • Plant Archive
    • Leafy Green Recipes
      • Leafy Green Plant Varieties
    • Ramps and Onions
    • Wild Herbs and Spices
      • Spruce and Conifers
      • Pollen
      • Prickly Ash
      • Bergamot / Wild Oregano
      • Spicebush
      • Golpar / Cow Parsnip
      • Wild Carraway
    • Wild Fruit
      • Wild Plums
      • Highbush Cranberry
      • Wild Grapes
      • Rowanberries
      • Wild Cherries
      • Aronia
      • Nannyberry
      • Wild Blueberries
    • From The Garden
    • Nuts, Roots, Tubers and Grains
    • Stalks and Shoots
  • Meat
    • Four-Legged Animals
      • Venison
      • Small Game
    • Poultry
    • Fish/Seafood
    • Offal and Organ Meat Recipes
    • Charcuterie
  • Recipes
    • Pickles, Preserves, Etc
    • Fermentation
    • Condiments
    • Appetizers
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Side Dishes
    • Entrees
    • Baking
    • Sweets
  • Video
    • Field, Forest Feast (The Wild Harvest)
    • Foraging Videos
    • Lamb and Goat Series
    • YouTube Tutorials
  • Press
    • Podcasts / Interviews
  • Work
    • Public Speaking
    • Charity and Private Dinners
    • Forays / Classes / Demos

Caramelized Spruce Syrup

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Spruce Tips in Sugar

Update:

This is a shortcut I used to have my bartenders make when I was first cooking with spruce tips. It’s done quickly, but it’s not as good as the real deal, which takes at least a month, for that, see my post on classic spruce tip syrup. 

Original post 

Spruce (and cedar) have tons of untapped possibilities. A green ice cream we make from young spruce tips never ceases to get oohs and ahs at the restaurant and I remember one guest I brought a scoop of it to ran back to the kitchen looking for me and asked my staff where “god” had gone, which was a bit awkward.

This past year, I ended up picking way more spruce tips than I could go through all at once, even with the relatively long shelf life they have under refrigeration (they’ll be good for about a month) I knew I needed to do something with them.

Making a syrup out of spruce tips ensures I have enough spruce flavor to last into the summer, if not longer. Spruce syrup is no secret though, bartenders make drinks from it and people are using it for all sorts of things.

Basic spruce simple syrup is, ok, but there’s a way to transform it into something very special, a concentrate with a deeper flavor than the original.

Caramelized Spruce Tip Syrup

The idea came after a conversation I had with my friend Dan, a friend of mine and a local hunter of things. He told me about a syrup Italians make from the buds of Mugo pine, called mugolio. It’s available online, but the price is ridiculous. Most vendors want to charge 10$ an ounce for the stuff, which is crazy when you consider how easy it is to make something similar yourself.

For the traditional syrup, you take some spruce tips and toss them with equal parts sugar, then pack them in a jar and put them in a sunny place for a couple months. The sugar gradually extracts water from the spruce and creates a syrup, which can be strained and used to flavor drinks, desserts, or what have you.

I’ve done a bunch of experimenting with this, and there’s a couple ways of going about it. The easiest way is to just drain off the natural syrup and use as is. But that takes a long time, and I can be impatient. Needless to say, you can make a good version cooking spruce tips with simple syrup without aging in a sunny place, although aging something in a sunny place is more romantic.

The real secret is in the final process. After you extract the syrup, you cook it down slowly until the color changes to amber, which deepens the flavor. It’s really fool-proof too, since if you cook the syrup down too far and it crystallizes or gets too thick, you can just loosen it with a little cool water to return it to the consistency you want, as long as it hasn’t scorched.

You can use the spruce syrup like honey or maple, but how does it work with other things? I’ve come up with a couple different ideas, but my favorite happened when I noticed a large, unused block of bitter, unsweetened chocolate at the restaurant.

Since the spruce syrup is sweet, you need to add it in place of sugar in a dessert. Chocolate-spruce mousse turned out really good, just make sure to use unsweetened chocolate. See that recipe here. 

Chocolate-Spruce Mousse

Caramelized Spruce Tip Syrup
Print Recipe
4.5 from 6 votes

Caramelized Spruce Syrup

This is not true mugolio, but it only takes a few minutes to make, instead of a month. Use it to flavor ice cream, panna cotta, cheesecake, a mousse, Italian meringue, there's plenty of possibilities. One of my favorites is the way the French serve their fresh cheese-with a little drizzle on top.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time1 d
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Spruce Syrup, Spruce Tips
Servings: 2 Cups

Ingredients

  • Ingredients
  • 4 packed cups spruce tips
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups water

Instructions

  • Grind the spruce tips and sugar in a food processor, then mix with the water, bring to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and allow to sit overnight. The next day, strain the syrup, then return it to the pan, cooking until it takes on a light amber color and the consistency resembles warm honey.
  • Transfer the syrup to labeled, dated container and refrigerate until needed. If the syrup becomes very thick when it's cold, thin it with a bit of cold water until it reaches your desired consistency.

More 

Spruce Tips: Harvesting, Cooking and Recipes

 

 

 

Related

Previous Post: « Puffball Hummus
Next Post: Bok Choy In Saffron Milk Cap Broth With Quail Eggs »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura

    November 26, 2016 at 11:31 pm

    You mention using cedar as well as spruce tips. I have recently moved to Central TX & there are a lot of cedar (actually ash juniper). Can I use the greenery from the cedar to make the syrup?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      December 6, 2016 at 9:24 am

      You can go ahead and try, I haven’t written a recipe for using the mature needles yet, but here’s the jist: finely chop up cedar and combine with 2 parts water and 1 part sugar. Simmer the mixture then allow to sit and infuse for a couple days, then strain and reduce slowly until it caramelizes and browns lightly. If the mixture crystalizes, just add some water, heat and dilute until it becomes liquid again.

      Reply
  2. Kristin

    November 27, 2016 at 12:44 am

    When do
    You collect spruce tips? Thanks

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      December 6, 2016 at 9:22 am

      They have a short season in the Spring. Make sure not to overharvest from a tree or pick directly from the top of the tree since it will stunt it’s growth.

      Reply
  3. Liz Terrance

    November 28, 2016 at 8:10 am

    I see all these incredible recipes with spruce and pine and they make me so jealous! I’m allergic to conifers 🙁

    Do you have anything to recommend with a similar flavor profile?

    Reply
  4. Barbara

    November 30, 2016 at 11:13 am

    When you pack it in a jar to put in the sun, is “equal parts” by weight or by volume?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      December 6, 2016 at 9:22 am

      Thanks for that, it is equal parts by volume. For example, 1 measured cup of spruce tips to 1 cup white sugar. You could definitely try experimenting with a weight version though.

      Reply
  5. Melissa Hoffman

    June 1, 2017 at 8:55 am

    Thank you so much for sharing all this. We have fresh tips growing right now on our farm, and as a self-taught chef, I appreciate that you share your process of learning so we can all benefit. Gratitude!

    Reply
  6. 4waystoyummy

    May 21, 2020 at 12:48 pm

    5 stars
    My mother from Austria taught me how to make the “romantic” version where the sun pulls the goodness from the fir tips. I find I get very little syrup most years and have attributed that to the fact that here in the NW we do not have hard winters. Like the tapping of maples…don’t they need cold to store the sugars? I will try to add water which is new to me. I love the taste and we were given it as a health tonic. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      May 21, 2020 at 1:29 pm

      Yes this is a short cut recipe–it won’t give as strong an infusion as the sun syrup, but it’s pretty good for only 24 hours.

      Reply
      • 4waystoyummy

        May 21, 2020 at 1:54 pm

        I’m sure it’s delicious and I’ll try it. I just found a pickle recipe with the tips, a Scandinavian recipe I think. Eager to try it! I have Sweet Woodruff syrup in the works right now. Life is fun and tasty! Thanks!

        Reply
  7. SJ

    May 15, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    How long does this last for? And what’s the best way to store it? Does the type of sugar matter?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      June 19, 2021 at 7:36 pm

      Sugar type doesn’t matter. It will last for months in the fridge and can be canned as for maple syrup.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Caramelized Spruce Tip Syrup – Wolfdancer's Kitchen says:
    April 15, 2017 at 11:31 am

    5 stars
    […] https://foragerchef.com/caramelized-spruce-tip-syrup/ […]

    Reply
  2. Spring and Foraging | Sketchbooks and Dandelion Jam says:
    May 11, 2021 at 7:36 pm

    5 stars
    […] Here’s a recipe less for using on pancakes, and more for compacted essence flavor for cooking and baking! From one of my new favorite blogs, I totally recommend blindly scrolling through his posts: https://foragerchef.com/caramelized-spruce-tip-syrup/ […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

2022 James Beard Nominee

beard award

Subscribe (It’s free)

ORDER THE BOOK

UPDATED OPTIONS FOR CA / EU / US the forager chefs book of flora by Chef Alan Bergo

Forager Chef

Forager Chef

Footer

Instagram

foragerchef

FORAGER | CHEF®
🍄🌱🍖
Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
2022 James Beard Nominee
Host: Field Forest Feast 👇
streaming on @tastemade

Alan Bergo
Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each instead of the pound. 

Good day today, although my Twin Cities spots seem a full two weeks behind from the late spring. 2 hours south they were almost all mature. 

76 for me and 152 for the group. Check your spots, and good luck! 

#morels #murkels #mollymoochers #drylandfish #spongemushroom #theprecious
The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natu The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natural secretion of water I typically see with plants. 

I understand it as an indicator that the mushrooms are growing rapidly, and a byproduct of their metabolism speeding up. If you have some clarifications, chime in. 

Most people know it from Hydnellum 
peckii-another polypore. I’ve never seen it on pheasant backs before.

Morels are coming soon too. Mine were 1 inch tall yesterday in the Twin Cities. 

#guttation #mushroomhunting #cerioporussquamosus #pheasantback #naturesbeauty
Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a grocery store. 

#groceryshopping #sochan #rudbeckialaciniata #foraging
Italian wild food traditions are some of my favori Italian wild food traditions are some of my favorite. 

Case in point: preboggion, a mixture of wild plants, that, depending on the reference, should be made with 5-23 individual plants. 

Here’s a few mixtures I’ve made this spring, along with a reference from the Oxford companion to Italian food. 

The mixture should include some bitter greens (typically assorted asters) but the most important plant is probably borage. 

Making your own version is a good excercise. Here they’re wilted with garlic and oil, but there’s a bunch of traditional recipes the mixture is used in. 

Can you believe this got cut from my book?!

#preboggion #preboggiun #foraging #traditionalfoods
Oh the things I get in the mail. This is my kind Oh the things I get in the mail. 

This is my kind of tip though: a handmade buckskin bag with a note and a handful of bleached snapping turtle claws. 😁😂 

Sent in by Leslie, a reader. 

Smells like woodsmoke and the cat quickly claimed it as her new bed. 

#buckskin #mailsurprise #turtleclaws #thisimylife #cathouse
Bluebell season. Destined for a Ligurian ravioli Bluebell season. 

Destined for a Ligurian ravioli as a replacement for the traditional borage greens. 

#mertensiavirginica #virginiabluebells #spring #foraging
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Privacy

  • Privacy Policy

Affiliate Disclosure

 I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchases help keep this website free and help with the many costs involved with this site as it has continued to grow over the years. 

Copyright © 2022 ·