🌲 A spoonful of May Memories | Making Spruce Tip Syrup 🌲 Dream #9

Dear Dreamer,
have you ever wondered about those bright green tips of the needle trees that appear every may?
Did you know that they can be used to make cough medicine or tasty syrup for pancakes?
I didn´t.
At least not till last year.
In this video, I share how to make spruce tip syrup. One of those little dreams of mine that I was able to fulfill this may.
It made me think about my memories, my bad habit of pushing things I want to do further into the future, and my wish to be more intentional with my time.
My journey toward a simple and sustainable life has a lot of very rocky bumps in store for me. But that is what makes it so interesting and rewarding.
I hope you enjoy this video of my may memories.
Here´s to dreams, my friends.
Here's to dreams.
Love Lexi
🌲 🍯 🌲 🍯 🌲 🍯 🌲 🍯 🌲
"Spruce Tip Syrup" - Recipe
Ingredients:
spruce tips
water
sugar
lemon juice (optional)
Instructions:
collect fresh spruce tips (look down below for more information on how to forage them)
wash the spruce tips, put them in a pot, and fill it up with water till the tips are swimming (2 hands full of tips/one liter of water)
let them boil on middle heat (7/10) for an hour, then let them sit overnight
strain the water through a sieve or cheesecloth
add the sugar( you need as much sugar as you have water: 1 liter of water/ 1 kg of sugar)
if you like you can also add a little lemon juice
boil it on middle heat (7/10) and stir it occasionally. The sugar will start to "thicken" after a while (30 min). Bubbles will appear. If you want to check the thickness of the syrup collect a spoonful and let it cool down
fill the syrup in sterilized jars (once opened I would keep it in the fridge)
The other way of doing it
(I am still in the middle of this version :D)
you can also layer the tips with sugar in a jar
the top layer should be sugar
then put the jar in a window and let it sit for 4-6 weeks. The sugar will melt.
A couple of information:
The fresh tips contain a lot of vitamin c and essential oils and are being used for various things. Making cough medicine or tea for example. They can also be consumed raw.
The tips should not be harvested from young trees because that could damage their growth potential. As far as I read it can take up to two years before the tree recovers from the harvest in that spot and keeps growing there. So in general one should only take a few from every tree, avoid the center tips in the front and take only the ones growing on the side.
The best time to harvest is once the tips just opened.
Obviously, it is very important to be able to recognize the tree because there are poisonous ones out there. And getting permission from the owners before foraging.
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/ @caughtlittlediydreams
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🌲 🍯 🌲 🍯 🌲 🍯 🌲 🍯 🌲
#simplelife #slowliving #rurallife

[@becomingadreamcatcher]

I have a very important question for you. Ready? Is it okay to lick the plate clean? 😂🙈😉

[@Tortise02]

Definitely!

[@onewomanswhisky]

Favourite May memory... My partner got a phone call at his business, from a lady I worked with over 20 years ago. She wanted to get in touch with me, and I was happy to pass my number on. We finally got together last Sunday, and it was as though we had never been apart! We talked for 7 hours straight, we laughed and we cried. We shared memories, and made some new ones. I am so thrilled to have have reconnected! She's 88 years old now, and in some ways I feel I've missed so much by losing track of her over the past 20 years. I've promised myself to make the effort to see her as often as I can before the opportunity is lost, and she's gone. What a brilliant way to end Spring and move into Summer. Rekindling a lost friendship to carry into the coming years! Our pines have already moved past the stage to make this syrup, but our cedars have not. I'm going to try to make cedar syrup instead, see what happens! Oh, and by the way Lexi... Always. Lick. The. Plate!!!! We do...😏 Much love 💕 Marian 🇨🇦

[@becomingadreamcatcher]

Dear Marian, hello, my friend. How have you been these past few weeks? thank you for watching and sharing this lovely may memory. What a great thing to happen. My mother told me about something similar a while ago. It is so incredible how things just sometimes fall into place. We have a quote in Germany which translates to something like "you always meet twice in life". I think it is an English quote too? I guess it fits your story perfectly 😊 I read that cedar nuts are the best thing to harvest. But if you try to make the syrup let me know how it tastes 😋 You can use the regular needles of fir and spruce and pine for making syrup as well but it tastes different. I read that the young tips have a lemon after taste. I will try them raw next year 🥰 Oh and I always lick the plate 😋😋😋 what a waste to not do it. I just was not sure if I should do it on camera 😂🙈 Love Lexi

[@giftsofspring]

Beautifully made video

[@becomingadreamcatcher]

Dear Gifts of Spring, Thank you so much for watching my video and taking the time to write this lovely comment. I wholeheartedly agree with your words. It does not need much to be at peace. And seeking out nature is always the perfect place to go for me to feel better. Sending you love and greeting from Germany Lexi

[@Tortise02]

My mouth is watering...next May, I must collect some tips and try your syrup. That pancake looks amazing! It is strange, the way some moments are stored as memories, while others just float away...

[@becomingadreamcatcher]

Dear Charlotte, yes, do try to make the syrup. It is absolutely delicious 😋. Especially with pancakes 😂. I will definitely harvest new tips next year and experiment a little more. I hope you had a lovely spring and made a couple of lovely memories. ☺️ Love Lexi

[@naecotiliasounds2373]

I started making spruce liqueur 2 years ago - loving the collecting in nature (own forest). But every spring I'm so busy at work, coming home late... this year I thought I missed it. But luckily the nature was just as late as I was and I also ended up picking my spruce End of May :).

[@becomingadreamcatcher]

Dear Naeco Tillia Sounds, you have your own forest? That is so cool 😍! Good for you that you were able to take the time after all. I hope your schedule will clear up. I will definitely try to experiment a little more with the spruce tips next year 😋. Dry the for tea and eat them raw 😂 I hope you have a lovely day. Love Lexi

[@natalyam411]

In our supermarkets I have seen jars with fir-tree cone jam. They are quite pricy even though they are little, so I have never tried them. But it never occured to me that one can make it on their own. Great tip about the green tips! hehe

[@becomingadreamcatcher]

Dear Natalya M, thank you for watching my video 💚 fir-tree cone jam sound very fancy 😂.If you ever decide to try it let me know how it tastes 😋 I knew that one can use the cones as well to make syrup or other things. I think they need to be collected when they are very young though. I might look into it at some point 😊 Have a great day! Love Lexi

[@natalyam411]

@@becomingadreamcatcher Actually, your video gave me an idea to pinch those light green tips off and brew them in my cup with green strawberry tea. That was just delicious, I even ate up the little twig, that's how good it was! ; )

[@becomingadreamcatcher]

That sounds delicious 😋😋😋. I can't wait till next year to experiment a little more 😍