Spring Tips

Made my first batch of spruce tip jelly of the season...

 

...and I still have enough juice left to make another batch! :)

Now I know what you're thinking, jelly that tastes like a spruce tree? Why on earth would I want to eat that. Well if it were just ordinary spruce needles I was throwing into the jelly pot you'd be absolutely right. With all the secondary compounds found in conifer needles I doubt anyone would be able to keep the stuff down. But this jelly isn't made from just any old parts of the tree. It's made from the delicate light green tips of our local spruce that only appear in the spring and must be harvested (in June) while they are still that pretty light grass green in color. All the new growth for the season pops out at the tips in tiny light brown husks and once the husks fall away they are soft, light colored, light flavored, little tips that pluck off the branch quite easily.

Now I don't know how this recipe translates with other types of conifers in other areas but I'll give the recipe below for anyone who'd like to try it. 

Collect 9 cups of spruce tips, tips on harvesting them can be found here.

Remove the husks if any, clean them, and put them in a large saucepan and add water until the level is just below the top of the tips. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 hour, then turn down heat and simmer for 3 hours. Strain the tips through cheese cloth saving the juice and throw away the tips.

Spruce Tip Jelly

In a large saucepan combine 3 cups spruce tip juice and 1 packet of powdered pectin, stir to dissolve completely. Measure 4 cups of sugar in a separate bowl and set aside. Bring juice to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add the sugar, stir and boil for 1 full minute. Remove from heat, skim off foam and pour into prepared jars.

This is NOT like a fruit jam or jelly and should not be used with peanut butter. This jelly goes well with meat, cheese, cream cheese and crackers. I like it best with cream cheese and crackers myself. :)

Enjoy!