Spruce Sprout Jelly

It's the perfect time to collect spruce sprouts! But you have to hurry (depending on where you live). Spruce sprouts are the light green new growths of spruce and can be collected only a short time in the spring/early summer. They can be used for spicing jelly, syrup and schnapps, which they give a lovely citrus and "forest" taste to. Sprouts should be collected when they are still light green and soft. Remember to ask a permit from land-owner before collecting, as sprouts are newly-grown spruce parts, so collecting them might harm the trees (not if you collect only moderately and don't take all from any tree (I would take max. 10% of one tree's tips, usually a lot under that.

Btw, have you tasted spruce sprout cappuccino (kuusenkerkkäcappuccino)? Fazer cafés had it as a seasonal drink this winter. It was sooooo good, that I had to buy freeze-dried spruce sprout powder to make it myself. I'll come back to that, once I've perfected the recipe. (It's like Nordic Matcha Latte!)













The jelly has a delicate forest aroma. If you want a more pronounced flavour, chop them to smaller pieces. You can enjoy the jelly with toast, other bread, pancakes, yogurt etc.

Spruce Sprout Jelly
Author: Tuulia / Kitchenfoxtales     Preparation Time: 5 min     Cooking time: 10 min
Servings: 1-2 small jars of jelly     Calories per serving*: 20 kcal / 1 Tbsp

Springtime jelly with the essence of forest.

Ingredients:

• 200 ml spruce sprouts
• 200 ml water
• 80 g sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp pectin (or other jellying agent according to package's instructions)

Instructions:

1. (Optional: Chop the sprouts roughly.)
2. Place the chopped sprouts and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and boil for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow the sprouts to steep until the mixture has cooled down to room temperature. (If you want a stronger flavor, steep longer, up to overnight).
3. Strain out all sprouts so that only liquid stays behind. Press the sprouts to drain them completely.
4. Mix the strained liquid with the lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the sugar to the boiling liquid, whisking vigorously to fully dissolve the pectin and avoid clumping. Continue whisking until mixture returns to a full boil. Remove from heat.
6. Pour the hot jelly to small hot, sterilized jars and close them. Leave to cool upside-down.
7. Store the jelly in the fridge for up to a year.

Adapted from Kitchen Vignettes.
*Nutritional information is based on average values and is a rough estimate.

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