Make Your Own Balsam Fir Syrup

November 08, 2018

Tree Food: Make Your Own Balsam Fir Syrup

The winter months are ideal for delicious recipes to share for your friends and family. We are going to be sharing an absolutely delightful syrup that you can actually make using parts of your own trees!

This sugary sweet and light pine syrup is refreshingly minty and is the perfect addition to your hot coffee and tea drinks, your desserts, cocktails, or even drizzling over your holiday meats.

We especially love that you can incorporate your local trees in this recipe, giving the syrup a natural, almost woody taste.

What You’ll Need: Ingredients

You will need a few different ingredients to make this syrup. Before you get started, gather up:

– 4 cups of granulated sugar

– 4 cups of light brown sugar

– 8 cups of water

– 3 cinnamon sticks

– 1 crushed nutmeg

– 6 whole cloves (or 1 pinch of ground cloves)

– 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger

– 1-2 pinches of salt

– 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

– 1.5-2 cups of either Balsam Fir or other conifer needles

What You’ll Need: Tools/Utensils

In addition to that list of ingredients, you should also have a:

– large saucepan

– mesh strainer

– sharp knife

– measuring cups and spoons

– glass bottles to store the final product (we recommend mason jars with lids that can be sealed)

How to Make the Balsam Fir Syrup

The first step in making the Balsam Fir Syrup is to bring the 8 cups of water, 4 cups of granulated sugar, and 4 cups of light brown sugar to a boil over the stove. Keep these ingredients in a lidded pot while stirring regularly, until all of the sugar is absorbed.

Once this mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat on your stove. Then stir in the nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon sticks, ginger, salt, lemon juice, and the conifer needles. Once all of the ingredients are together, cover the pot again and leave it to cool.

We recommend steeping it as long as you possibly can. The longer the ingredients soak in the water/sugar mixture, the better and stronger it will taste. If you can, let it steep overnight.

Once you have steeped the ingredients, strain them through your mesh strainer and then bottle the finished syrup.

You can keep the jars of the syrup for months at a time. Make sure to keep the bottles in a cool, dry place and use as you please! Put a few tablespoons in your hot drinks or drizzle generously over food.

We hope you enjoy the recipe! What are you the most excited to put this syrup in?