Spruce Tips
gítgaa (picea sitchensis)
Supreme among its neighboring cedars and hemlocks, shéiyi, the Sitka spruce, is the state tree of Alaska and has been used traditionally by the Lingít people for millennia. Mature spruce, growing in well-drained soils, can reach more than 200 feet high. Traditional weavers would harvest xaat, spruce roots, and split them to use in making baskets. Each Spring, Lingít gatherers would also gently harvest the first bright green growth on the end of each branch, the tips, to use in medicine.
Spruce tips actually represent immature shoots, complete with needles (Owens and Molder 1973). Like the telescoping growth of young asparagus or bamboo shoots, a spruce tip is an entire branch, compressed into a tiny bud. As it contains all of this year’s growth for an individual branch, all of that potential disappears when you pick a spruce tip. So it is important to harvest carefully, as to not harm the growth of an individual tree.
More recently, brewers have used spruce tips for centuries in brewing certain ales, replacing bitter hops with their lemony accent. Captain Cook packed his ships with casks of such ale, and his crew avoided scurvy, thanks to the vitamin C naturally present in spruce tips. Spruce tips are also high in carotenoids and are rich in minerals such as potassium and magnesium.
Today, the most common use of spruce tips in Alaska is making jelly. Typically, one combines the tips with sugar and water and boils the mixture down to produce a ruby red jelly. The boiling process breaks down the terpenes present in the tips, giving the jelly a distinct lemony and fruity flavor. Spruce tips can also be somewhat astringent, due to their high concentration of phenols.
Every spring, residents of the small Southeast Alaskan town of Gustavus harvest spruce tips in the annual community tradition of “spruce tipping.” Pickers range in age from small children to 75-year olds, who all sell their harvest to a local fish processing company. The fish packer vacuum seals and freezes hundreds of pounds of tips every year, and resells them to Alaskan breweries, distilleries, food companies, and ice cream makers. The harvest provides needed economic activity in the small community and brings the flavor of the forest to products sold throughout Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
To harvest spruce tips, only pick the tightly-packed bright green needles that appear on the very tip of each branch in the Spring, usually during the month of May. Simply pull the bud gently from the end of the spruce branch. If there is a brown husk (equivalent to the papery skin of a garlic clove or onion), you can just rub this off loosely in your fingertips.
I prefer to use the flavor of raw spruce tips, rather than the cooked version, preserving more of their fresh, piney taste. Whenever someone asked what our spruce tip ice cream tasted like, I told them the kids say it tastes like Christmas.
In a commercial ice cream setting, one would add flavor to a cold, pasteurized ice cream base, using a flavored simple syrup. In the home kitchen, however, you can skip this step. You can simply use your ice cream base to make the “tea,” heating it up with the spruce tips and letting the spruce tips steep in the warm liquid. The longer you allow the tips to soak in the base, the more sprucey your final flavor. Be careful not to steep too long, or you will bring out the bitterness also present in the tips. I like to keep the spruce tips in the finished ice cream, to show the authenticity of the flavor. You can strain them out if you’d rather have a completely smooth mouthfeel, however.
You can use this technique with any number of wild ingredients. I also make a similar ice cream out of s'áxt' (devil’s club)(Oplopanax horridus) buds in the spring. One time, I even made keishísh, red alder (Alnus rubra) ice cream, toasting up alder wood chips and then making a simple syrup with them. Think about what local plant or tree you think might taste good in ice cream. Young growth from other evergreens such as pines, firs, Douglas fir, and hemlock are safe to eat. You could also use a local domesticated herb, like fresh rosemary, thyme, or even marjoram. Only your imagination is the limit. You might have to adjust your ingredient amount, depending on the strength of its flavor. If substituting a fresh herb, I recommend using two tablespoons in place of the ¼ cup of spruce tips in this ice cream recipe.
This recipe uses a Philadelphia-style ice cream here, without eggs. The spruce tip flavor shines through, without the muting richness of the egg yolks. In my ice cream, I would use a combination of locust bean gum and guar gum as emulsifiers instead of yolks. As these are difficult to find in a typical grocery store, I substitute pectin in this recipe.
Spruce Tip Ice Cream Recipe
INGREDIENTS
2 c heavy whipping cream
1 c skim milk
¾ c sugar
1 t pectin
1/4 c spruce tips
1/2 t kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring cream, milk, sugar and pectin just to a boil in medium sauce pan, over high heat, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and add spruce tips and salt. Whisk to combine.
Blend liquid in mixer or with immersion blender for 30 seconds.
Allow to rest for one hour at room temperature. Cool in refrigerator overnight.
The next day, churn in ice cream maker according to directions. Strain spruce tips before churning if you prefer a smooth ice cream.
Spruce Tip Lemon Sorbet Recipe
A sorbet is another good way to showcase the true flavor of spruce tips. Here the brightness of the lemon balances with the somewhat astringent taste of raw spruce tips.
This recipe calls for citric acid. I used a variety of acids in my ice cream and sorbet recipes. Acid can provide balance to recipes, especially those with high sugar contents. Acids can also help mute the bitterness of other ingredients. I typically add acid at the end of creating an ice cream flavor. If we think something is missing in a flavor, acid usually provides that lacking component.
Besides citric, I really like malic acid, which is found naturally in apples. It has a rounder profile, adding tartness without too much sharpness. I also routinely use vinegars in recipes, such as balsamic, red wine, and apple cider, as they provide complexity of flavor along with tartness. I prefer powdered vinegars, which you can obtain at specialty spice companies. Vinegar powders allow you to add flavor without liquid, avoiding extra water that can turn into ice crystals.
If you can’t find citric acid, just add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice to this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
3 ⅓ c water
1 1/2 c sugar
150 g spruce tips
½ c corn syrup
½ c lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1 t pectin
⅛ t kosher
⅛ t citric acid
INSTRUCTIONS
Add water and sugar to medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, whisk in pectin, spruce tips, corn syrup and salt. Allow to rest for one hour.
Strain out spruce tips. Add lemon juice, zest and citric acid.
Separate one cup of mixture and cover with plastic wrap and freeze solid.
Place rest of mixture in container, cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge until mixture reaches 40F.
Remove mixtures and stir frozen portion into rest of mixture until fully dissolved.
Transfer mixture to ice cream machine and churn until mixture has consistency of thick milkshake and color lightens, 15 to 25 minutes.
Spruce Tips
Using herbal ingredients to flavor ice creams and sorbets.