Resin in the new growth of spruce trees provides the flavor of the wooden barrels used to age traditional balsamic vinegar. This makes great gifts, too! It's easy -- with only 4 ingredients!
I really like balsamic vinegar. I've seen it in specialty stores for $50 a bottle. That's too pricey for me, but the inexpensive grocery store balsamic vinaigrette just doesn't cut it. So what's a person to do? I say -- Start with a Spruce Tree!
Here's how I make some great balsamic vinegar from my spruce trees. It's really easy to make. I'll show some ways that I use my spruce tree balsamic vinegar to get the most out the the spruce flavor, too.
1. Start With A Spruce Tree
I pick the new spring growth from one of my spruce trees. In this case, I'm picking from an Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii). Picking right off the tree works best if you don't want to harvest too much. Picking the growing tips is like micro-pruning, so choose wisely! To find out more about identifying and picking spruce, you can read one of my earlier posts - How to Harvest the New Growth from Spruce Trees.
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2. Add 3 More Ingredients
This is so easy! Chop up 2 cups of spruce tips and put them into a jar. Then cover the spruce tips with 2 cups of apple cider vinegar.
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Add 10-12 peppercorns and 2 Tablespoons of honey.
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Put a non-metallic lid on the jar. Turn the jar a few times. Keep it in the dark and turn it every few days -- or whenever you remember. I age mine about 3 months before I use it.
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) That's it.
3. Now Enjoy Your Spruce Tree Balsamic Vinegar!
Here's what my Spruce Tree Balsamic Vinegar looks like when it's aged for 3 months.
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I entered it into the county fair and it got a blue ribbon! The judges said it was "Delicious!"
If you followed my blog for awhile, you probably have seen my Spruce Tree Balsamic Vinegar in action. I use it often on my wild salads, like my Paleo Winter Weed Salad.
It's great mixed with a good olive oil, for dipping bread. The marinated spruce tips are great on their own, too, chopped up and on top of cheese slices.
I also use it to marinate homegrown vegetables, like heritage tomatoes, sweet onions, and bell peppers.
And apples grilled with the marinated spruce tips and the spruce tree balsamic vinegar are so good that I'll be making a separate post on that!
I'll be making even more posts about how to use spruce trees. In the meantime, to see how to put all this into action, here's my video on how to make Spruce Tree Balsamic Vinegar:
What Do You Think?
I hope you get a chance to make your own Spruce Tree Balsamic Vinegar sometime! If you do, I would sure like to read about it! I'm sure that you can make some wonderful food with it!
- Do you eat Spruce Trees in any way?
- Would you try my Spruce Tree Balsamic Vinegar?
- What's your favorite way to use balsamic vinegar?
I write about foraging because I believe that we can all have lives that are richer, more secure, more grounded, and more interesting by getting to know the plants and the land around us – in our yards, our parks, and our wilderness.
I would like Steemit to be the premier site for Foraging on the Internet! If you have any thoughts about foraging, or experiences to share, write a post and be sure to use the Foraging tag. And check out the @foraging-trail to see curated quality posts about foraging. Happy Foraging!
Plant List
- Spruce - Picea spp.
- Engelmann Spruce - Picea Emgelmannii
** Haphazard Homestead **
