Ingredients
2 cups Spruce tips
2 cups Brown sugar
Instructions
Combine the spruce tips and sugar and pack into a quart jar, pressing down occasionally to compact the mixture.
Leave the jar out at room temperature. Some people leave them in the sun, which speeds the process.
You'll notice the volume of ingredients decrease as the spruce tips release their liquid.
Keep the jar like this for 1-2 months, or for an oldschool version, bury it in the ground and dig it up the next spring. Stir the jars occasionally, pressing the tips down to keep them under the syrup with a clean spoon.
To make the syrup
After the initial maceration (aging with sugar) pour and scrape the spruce-sugar slush into a pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil to dissolve the sugar, strain, then bottle and store. Discard the spent tips, and thank them for their service.
If for some reason, your syrup is a bit thick after cooling (over-reducing can stiffen or crystalize in the fridge) warm it back up and carefully adjust the consistency by adding a touch of water.
Storing the finished syrup
Store the finished syrup in the fridge. To preserve it long term (it's totally safe as it's basically all sugar) pour it boiling hot into a jar nearly to the brim, turn upside down and allow to seal, or process in a water bath in mason jars. If held at room temp after opening mold may form on the top, but it can always be re-boiled and refrigerated. This is super sturdy stuff.
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