Spruce tip syrup

How to make Spruce tip syrup!!
#1 Find a tasty Sitka spruce like this one that is bursting with tips. The tips should be fairly large and it is good if they still have that little brown tip on them. I think that brown tip gives the syrup that delightful pinkish color. Maybe you can make syrup with any species of spruce?? Someone will have to experiment, sounds like my friend Jessica has some spruce trees in her front yard. Maybe she will find out?2. Marvel at the lovely smell of all the spruce tips when you have them bagged up and waiting in your fridge for their special night

3. Cover the spruce tips with water. The water should just cover the tips completely.

4. Bring the water and the tips to a boil. Turn off heat and let the tips steep until the water is cool. I give it a stir now and then and inhale the yummy smell.
5. Clean your canning jars and get them lined up and ready to go. I keep mine in hot water when I am almost ready to can.

6. Drain the syrup water out into another clean bowl. I use a colander for the initial sieve because the tips are large and block anything with finer holes. Then I actually squeeze the liquid out of handfuls of tips. WATCH OUT though - Sitka spruce have super sharp needles. I gingerly start squeezing the tips to make sure I'm not going to spear my hand. Then I squeeze the tips hard and get every last drop out of them. Once the tips are drained, they can go in the compost or trash. Then you can strain the syrup water (should be a light brown) through a finer sieve to get last bits of needles and brown tips out.
7. Figure out how much syrup water you have. If you got 2 cups out of it, you add an equal amount of sugar. That's the part I don't like telling people about. But - truth be told - the spruce tips add the flavor, not the sweetness. That has to come from sugar you add in. So equal parts sugar to water.
8. boil boil boil baby boil

9. How do you know when you are done boiling? Here is a trick - put a small plate in the freezer. When you think the syrup is thick enough from boiling forever, let a few drops drip onto the cold plate. This gives you an indication of how thick the syrup will be once it cools down. This batch probably took almost 2 hours of boiling to get thick enough. This is also when the color changes from brown to a rich pinkish-red. Why? I have no clue.
10. Can the syrup. Once the lids were on we boiled the sealed cans for 15 minutes. We left 1/2 to 1/4 inch of space between the syrup and the lid. Not sure which once is better for syrup.
11. Take the cans out after that boiling time and and let them cool over night. It is fun to listen to the pop of the canning lids as they seal when the can cools down. Ahhhhh.

12. Plan on making waffles or pancakes for breakfast in the morning and start gorging on yer syrup! (It's tasty on vanilla ice cream as well - if you can't wait for breakfast)