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.

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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

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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

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

FAQs

Why You Should Harvest Spruce Tips + Some Recipes? ›

Spruce tips can be enjoyed raw, cooked into any dish and used as you might rosemary because their flavor profile is similar. I think that this flavor would pair well with white gamey meat and chicken. They can be chopped and added to salads, soups, and smoothies.

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.

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 can I do with fresh spruce tips? ›

Spruce tips have a distinct taste — citrus with a hint of resin. You can snack on them fresh or or add them to salads. Dried spruce tips can be ground in a coffee grinder and make a great nutmeg like spice – check out the recipe for Moose Steak with Yukon Rub and for Northern Pumpkin Pie! They can also be used in teas.

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.

What is the flavor of spruce tips? ›

Spruce Tips are made from the tender new shoots of the eastern white spruce that emerge in the early spring. Fresh spruce tips have a bitter rosemary lemon-like flavour that cuts through oily and fatty flavours. Loaded with vitamin C, they have long been used for by first nations for teas.

Are spruce tips healthy? ›

They are full of vitamin C for immune system strengthening, vitamin A for healthy organ function, magnesium and potassium, and have always been used by indigenous tribes for coughs, colds and sore throats.

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!

Are spruce needles safe to eat? ›

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.

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.

Can you freeze fresh spruce tips? ›

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. Today, I'm making spruce tip/carrot/zucchini/ bread with spruce tip cream cheese frosting. All you need is your favroite zucchini carrot bread recipe.

How do you dry spruce tips for tea? ›

Lay reserved spruce tips in a single layer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, or in a food dehydrator. Heat in dehydrator or in low oven with the door open until completely dry. Store in a cool, dark cupboard or pantry.

How long do you boil spruce tips? ›

Boil spruce tips in water for 15 minutes (approximately 4 oz of spruce in 3 cups of water) to make a wonderful essence that can be used in making bread or other baking recipes.

What does spruce tip jelly taste like? ›

Tasting notes: To Alaskans, Spruce Tips embody the flavor of Spring. Spruce Tips play well with both sweet and savory dishes and have a range of flavors depending on their stage of maturity: herbal, fruity, resinous. A hint of citrus from the Sitka Spruce Tips makes for a sweet, fresh flavored jelly.

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 animals eat spruce tips? ›

A. Hungry squirrels are causing the damage to your spruce. In winter and early spring squirrels occasionally gnaw through the ends of spruce branches, causing the tips to fall to the ground. Sometimes the tips fall immediately and other times it takes a strong wind to knock them off the tree.

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