When the natural world awakens in spring you can often find me meandering the forest understory in search of all things green. Spruce tips are one of such greens on my list of easy spring plants to forage. I especially love to munch the raw, tender, zingy shoots with trail mix on a hike. While other wild plants might be elusive to locate, spruce tips are usually quite abundant and safe to forage. Because this plant is a great introductory plant into the world of foraging I thought I would share tips for foraging wild spruce tips plus my recipe for quick-pickled spruce tips, so you can also enjoy the wild flavors of the forest this spring.

How to Identify Spruce Trees

Emerging spruce tips are incredibly obvious to spot in coniferous forests and grow abundantly across the globe in both urban and wild landscapes. However they are commonly confused with pine trees. The difference between pine and spruce is that pine trees have long needles, combined in sets of two, wrapped in a papery material that attaches the needles to the branch. Pine needles are attached to the branches in clusters. Spruce tree needles are very short and attached individually. There are different types of spruce trees, and all spruce tips are edible. When identifying spruce trees for foraging, simply look for the bright green tips emerging from branches in high-spring. Then of course, look at the needle formation and color to confirm your identification.

How to Harvest Spruce Tips

Harvesting spruce tips is very simple: pluck them off with your finger tips! The bright green tips are the new branch shoots of the tree. So any tip that is removed from the tree is in effect pruning it and new growth won't emerge from that same tip again. Removing the tips inspires growth from the lateral branches. Only harvest the tips that grow in shadier parts of the tree or on the undersides of main branches. Never harvest tips from young trees because it will stunt their growth. Remember, anytime you forage only take just what you need from plants that are growing abundant and healthy. Keep your impact small by leaving as much as you can for the animals. Spruce tips pack an intense flavor, so most folks truly don’t need to harvest more than a small handful. If you have a spruce tree in your yard harvest from that one instead of a wild tree - assuming no harmful chemicals have been applied to the tree.

How to Eat Spruce Tips

Spruce tips offer an exceedingly vibrant flavor reminiscent of sweet resinous pine. Other words that come to mind during a bite: lemony, astringent, tart. While all spruce tips are edible, I find blue spruce to be the most intense flavor. Spruce tips can be enjoyed raw, cooked into any dish and used as you might rosemary because their flavor profile is similar. I think that this flavor would pair well with white gamey meat and chicken. They can be chopped and added to salads, soups, and smoothies. They can be cooked into a sweet syrup and mixed with cocktails or used as a medicinal oral syrup because of their high amounts of Vitamin C. Spruce tips can also be pickled to help diffuse the intensity of the flavor and enjoyed later as snacks, on salads or sandwiches. I’ve chosen to quick-pickle this foraged batch and I’ve shared my recipe below.