On the harvesting and generosity of spruce!
We harvest spruce tips in the spring to pickle, dry for tea and infuse in salts. We freeze them too for future baking.
Today I’m making salt, here’s how we do it.
Ingredients: new spruce shoots, sea salt, time
For this we use the bigger shoots, but while they’re still tender. Spring is a quick time, you need to watch them, they can explode from barely there to full grown in days depending on the weather. We’ve had years where it’s a cool long spring and they can stay at the perfect stage for a week or more, totally weather dependant and variable, just like spring.
I measure this recipe, not weigh. Though I should try that sometime!
I use equal amounts of whole spruce tips and fine sea salt.
So, I have in this case 6 litres of whole spruce tips, not packed, just put them in loose. A large glass measuring cup is perfect for this job (a hugely used item in our house)
6 litres of fine salt.
Then, I blend them up together in my food processor. Add salt in first to the bottom with every round, as the tips will stick and not blend as well I find. You don’t need to be precise here, just layer salt and spruce tips, some salt on top can help the blend the tips more finely.
Blend together until the spruce tips are well blended with the salt and small, this is how I like them. Other people prefer it more chunky, all in the preference.
Have on hand a large mixing bowl that will fit your final product. Add each batch to this bowl and don’t worry about inconsistency of each, you’ll mix it all together at the end so it’s even. Also, at this point if the bits seem too big, you can reblend, or you can blend the salt when it’s dry, which will make the whole product finer, including the salt.
At this point I add it to baking trays to dry, about an inch thick. I like to air dry mine, but this totally depends on the season and the weather. If it’s consistency warm or hot in your house that’s perfect. Damp days the salt will rehydrate. If this is the case, put in in the oven at the lowest temperature (ours is 150F) and put a wooden spoon in the door to keep it ajar. This keeps it from getting too hot, which will bake off much of the flavour.
I prefer air drying because I find the flavour more dynamic. The oven dried one is still incredible, just doesn’t have the same alchemical process I feel.
Also, the slower it dries, the more likely your spruce tips will brown, which does not affect the flavour but does affect the presentation. If this happens, it’s still good! If you prefer the tips stay more green , you’ll have better luck with this if you oven dry them.
Either way, while you dry, you need to visit them occasionally and mix it up again, from the corners where it will dry first, into the middle. This will help make a cohesive product and move the drying process along.
Depending on the weather, this can be a day or two or a week. I judge the finished product by feel. Once it’s deemed fully dry, get it into a jar with a lid on it, to help prevent reabsorption of moisture.
Store in a cool dry place, out of the light if you made a lot. If you just have a smaller amount, keep it out so you use it! Try it on everything, but we love it as seasoning salt for baked fish, added into soups, on top of cheese and crackers… Anything!
Seems to elevate the salt to another level, bringing the wild generosity of spruce with it.