Spruce Up Your Pine Needle Soda with These Wild Tips
Learn how to make pine needle soda using fresh spruce tips! A wild-fermented, fizzy forest drink with a citrusy twist and natural probiotics.
Print
Pin
Servings: 2 Servings
Calories: 90kcal
Equipment
- 1 funnel
Ingredients
- 1 cup spruce tips
- 3 tablespoon syrup (or sugar)
- 1 slice lime or lemon (optional)
- 1 slice candied ginger (or fresh, optional)
Instructions
- Add spruce tips to a bowl of cold water and swirl around to clean. Remove the brown sheaths that cover the tips and strain.
- Add spruce tips, lime slice, a slice of candied or fresh ginger, syrup, and 2 cups of water to a sterilized quart-sized mason jar.
- Use a cocktail muddler or similar object to smash the ingredients to release their oils and extracts. Cover with a coffee filter and keep in place with a rubber band, or use a fermenting lid and airlock.
- Place in a sunny window and stir daily until the mixture becomes fizzy and bubbly (about 4 days).
- Once the fermentation is active, strain and discard the solids. Pour soda into flip-top bottles using a strainer and funnel. Leave at least a one-inch headspace at the top.
- Ferment another day or two at room temperature, then refrigerate to halt fermentation. Enjoy chilled.
Notes
- One way to identify a spruce tree is by its papery cones. The cones always point down when mature.
- If you have access to a blue spruce, use it; the tips have an even better flavor!
- You can technically start the fermentation in a flip-top bottle; however, spruce tips are harder to fit into the opening of the bottle. For this reason, I recommend starting the fermentation in a mason jar, then transferring to a flip-top bottle before refrigerating to halt fermentation.
- If you find your fermentation is stuck (not progressing), especially when fermenting during cooler weather, try adding a pinch of either baker's yeast or champagne yeast for more reliable fermentation.
- Use young tips only—bright green and tender, usually harvested in early spring.
- Avoid brown, old, or resin-heavy needles (bitter and tough).
- Keep a sterilized container to avoid bacteria buildup or mold.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Sodium: 18mg | Sugar: 24g
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a review and a star rating!
