From medicine to summer drink, over your dessert, or in warm plant-based milk: pine syrup can do it all. The syrup is made from young pine shoots: fresh green twigs with needles that appear in spring and which you can pick yourself for this recipe. They are packed with essential oils and vitamin C. And you can taste it! Katja Wezel of wilderlust.nl Let us show you step-by-step how to make it yourself.
Making recipes from a pine tree
The Scots pine is recognisable by its straight trunk, reddish-brown bark and long, green needles that grow in pairs on the branches. You'll mainly find it in sunny spots with dry soil, such as dunes, sand drifts and heathlands. The young shoots – also called pine tops – appear in spring, usually in April and May. They are bright green, soft and grow straight at the end of the branches. It is at this time that they are bursting with essential oil and vitamin C. Harvest with care: only take what you really need, and never entire branches at once.
The young fir shoots are perfect for a refreshing syrup, but this versatile tree lends itself to many more surprising recipes. Think of a fragrant pine needle oil or a Dandelion and young pine cone honey.
Please note: the fir is sometimes confused with other conifers. The spruce has loose, prickly needles that are attached singly to the branch. The larch bears its softer needles in tufts and is the only conifer that sheds its needles in autumn. And then there is the yew, which – importantly – is poisonous. Only the flesh of the red berries is edible; the rest of the plant can even be dangerous!
ALSO INTERESTING: sparrentop stuffed with sauerkraut.
Recipe: making pine syrup
Kitchenware
- large pan
- fine sieve or cheesecloth
- Clean swing-top bottle
Ingredients
- 50 g young pine shoots
- 1 l water
- 90 g white cane sugar
- 3 slices of organic lemon with peel
Instructions
- Rinse the spring onions briefly and place them in a pan. Lay the lemon slices on top.
- Add the water and bring to the boil. Simmer the mixture for about 30 minutes with the lid on the pan.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve or cheesecloth into another pan. Do not use what remains in the sieve again.
- Add the sugar to the pine water and let it dissolve over a low heat. Let the mixture simmer for around 15 more minutes.
- Pour the syrup into a clean (!) swing-top bottle. Let it cool well and store in the refrigerator. Clean glass jars and bottles thoroughly? First, pour boiling water over them (don't forget the lid) and then place the jar/bottle in a 100°C oven for ten minutes.
- The syrup will keep for about a month. For a longer shelf life, you can add a little citric acid.
Notes
Neat game picking
Cooking with pine needles, twigs and apples is wonderful to do, but don't forget: foraging is officially forbidden in the Netherlands and is often only tolerated. In some places stricter rules apply, or it is absolutely not allowed. And you are also not allowed to pick certain species. Therefore, always pick with respect for nature: only for personal use, never take more than you need, and leave enough for animals, the tree itself, and other nature lovers. Want to know more about what to look out for? Here is a handy overview of the game picking rules.
Would you also like to go on the road with Katja? Check out her website wilderlust.nl with all the information about its wild-picking walks and courses.
More wild foraging ideas for spring
- Also see: make loose butter.
- Also see: Making dandelion syrup.
- Also see: Wild garlic pesto with ground elder.
Photo credits: Wilderlust (pine branch & selfie), Daniela Constantini, Pexels (dessert).
