I love spruce tea, my most favourite. As a child my mom would always get us spruce gum (resin) and we chewed that a lot when we went to our cottage. I have used spruce tips for tea but never eaten them, looking forward to enjoying some next spring. Very informative video, thanks for sharing! :)
Excellent information, I knew people made tea from them and I've always thought spruce tips looked like they should be tasty but didn't realise you could eat them raw. We have the sitka spruce here in Wales and it's actually our most common tree. I can't wait for next spring now.
Could you do another video about the differences between spruce species when it comes to: medicinal uses, culinary uses/taste, growth habits/requirements. Things to know when choosing which kind of spruce use or plant.
I could but I am not sure how much value it would have. We have only three native species of spruce (Red, Black and White). I talk about them in the video. I do have another video using spruce tips to cook with. Thanks for commenting
Do you ever do anything with the pollen or baby cones? The only ones Ive ever tried, and I have tried many, tasted kind of like Varsol . It wasn't very pleasant, but I'll try some more next year.
mark, thanks for your response on my uberlubem cup, im new at this ,still confused,haven't used my new cup, so if i wash it with warm water ,do i coat the inside before use,and then wipe out the olive oil real dry , will coffee taste funny, and then when i stor it do i just rinse with warm water before use again. any way mab i'll try your method eith flax seed . is the process still the same ,just rinse before use after applying flax seed oil.
There should be no need to oil it before first use. The company has coated it with a food safe sealer to protect the wood. Over time, hot water, coffee, tea will start to dry the wood out. That is when you should re-coat it with some type of oil. When you do, let it soak in and dry for a few days or a week. The longer the better. Then give it a rinse out and you are good to go. Occasionally, I see a bit of oil floating on top of my coffee first time after oiling but so little I don't notice it. Pre-warming the mug, especially if very cold will help with removing any oil and help prevent shock to the wood that may cause a crack. Hope this was a better answer
That's good information, Mark. Unfortunately, spruce trees don't care for the Texas heat. But the tender, young shoots of many vegetables are edible. Sweet potatoes are an excellent example of this. Many sprouts are delicious and nutritious. The vitamin C requirements of U-boat crews were met by eating mung bean sprouts.
@@MarkYoungBushcraft thanks for your reply! We have blue spruce and pine in our yard. I can see the tips are young and soft. But they are a bit larger than some harvest videos I have seen so I’m wondering if they are still ok or if I am a bit past their prime. Also if they are more intense in flavour, what is the best way to use them?
@@alexandraderry7086 I like eating them raw but if they are too tough or to intense you could simmer them in sugar and candy them. I don't eat sugar anymore but when I did, they turned out nice
They are not native to our area but to the best of my knowledge, yes they are edible. The only tree you must avoid (that I am aware of) is the Canada Yew. Thanks for commenting
