It’s a Scandinavian thing, really it is! Drive down the road in Denmark during pine needle picking season and you’ll see Danes pulled off to the side of the road foraging pine needles. Seem strange? No stranger than juniper berries or rosemary! I got turned on to this delight several years ago when I attended my first Nordic Culinary conference in Seattle. I loved it and immediately my brain went to work on what I could do with it.
My first thought went to cocktails (of course it did)…it is a simple syrup, and my mind danced with baked good ideas (still working on that one), I even did a pork belly glazed with it (which was freaking good, but then again, it was pork belly).
Braised pork belly with pine needle syrup.
This is a very seasonal offering, you only pick the bright green freshly grown new pine needles. I like to pick mine at the cabin, it makes for easy foraging (yep, I am that lazy). There are side effects, when you pick the new growth you stunt the tree’s growth. I am careful to not pick all off of one tree or all on one side. We happen to have some young trees that are too close to our cabin, they need to be cut down for fire safety, in the mean time I happily stunt their growth.
Pick only the bright green fresh growth.
After that it’s just a matter of making a simple syrup and steeping the pine needles for 12 to 24 hours. I like to add crushed juniper berry or rosemary (sometime both) to mine for a more complex savory flavor.
- 1 cup organic granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 to 4 cups foraged pine needles, rinsed
- 1/4 cup crushed juniper berries (optional)
- 1 ounce rosemary sprigs (optional)
- In a medium saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add pine needles, juniper and/or rosemary if using. Turn off heat and let simmer 12 to 24 hours.
- Strain well in clean jars. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 3 months.
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