Biodynamic Barb is Making Thyme to Thrive: RECIPE: Green Pine Cones Preserved in Syrup

Can you believe pine cones are edible? I stumbled on this recipe by accident: the larch tree in our yard was making these amazing light green pine cones and I wondered whether I could preserve the color. Sadly, they will eventually turn brown no matter what I do. However, I learned that I could preserve them in syrup, and eat them! I decided to try it.

There were only 5 cones on the larch tree so I checked the other pines on our property and one of them had a profusion of tiny green cones on every branch! I decided to use these to test the recipe. I gathered one cupful, which weighed 4 oz, so I made a half-recipe.

Honestly, they taste a bit weird! I haven't used them as suggested so I can't say yet whether I like them. Perhaps they'll be delicious with cheese or roasted vegetables.

Original recipe: Pine Cone Jam
Another recipe: Pine Cone Jam - what it is and how to use it
And a third recipe: Pine Cone Cider Jam

The original recipes are full of interesting tidbits that I will not repeat here so please read the originals.

Green Pine Cones Preserved in Syrup

Tiny green (immature) pine cones preserved in syrup.

Makes scant 1.5 cups

You WILL need rubbing alcohol to clean your pan, counter, utensils and hands! Pine resin is TENACIOUS!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of green (immature) pine cones collected in May-June (start checking in late April - our trees are already developing cones!). They may not be green in color, but they must be immature, sappy and green in the center when you dig your fingernail into them. Tiny cones are best.
2 cups water
1 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Blanch the pine cones: put them in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook at a gentle boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. A layer of resin will collect on the surface. Carefully scoop it off and discard (I removed it to a disposable bowl).

Drain the pine cones. I poured the water into the disposable bowl and then discarded it into the forest. I didn't want to pour it down the drain into our septic system. If the resin is that sticky, I didn't want to risk having it clog the septic drain field!

Make the jam/syrup: Return the pine cones to the pot and add the sugar and water. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and cool completely.

Bring to a boil again. Boil for 1 minute, turn off the heat and cool completely.

Repeat boiling and cooling three more times.

Test one cone. If the cone is now chewable and pleasantly sweet, and the liquid is dark and syrupy, they are done. If not, repeat the boil-cool steps until you like the consistency and taste.

My tiny cones were ready after 5 boils, but the liquid was not syrupy at all so I brought them to boil again and while the liquid was bubbling I removed the cones to the jars I would be storing them in. Once the liquid was syrupy, I turned off the heat and added the syrup to the jars. Next time, I may use a little more water and sugar so I'll have more syrup.

Let the jars cool on the counter, and store them in the fridge. If the syrup crystalizes, warm the jar in hot water.

How to use:

The candied cones can be served on a cheese plate/platter.
Pine cone syrup makes a soothing tea if you have a sore throat.
The candied cones can top savory appetizers, thumbprint cookies, and hand pies.
The syrup can be added to roasting root vegetables.
The syrup dissolved into sipping vinegar and topped with seltzer makes a refreshing shrub.

Here are my progress pictures:

This is ONE CUP of pine cones! You can see how small they are. I suffered many mosquito bites harvesting them, which is why I stopped after one cup. In the upper right corner is the cone that started it all - from our larch tree. Isn't it a gorgeous color!

One cup of tiny green pine cones.

I was hoping they wouldn't loose too much color, but they turned brown as soon as I par-boiled them:


green pine cones turning brown in boiling water

Removing the resin to a disposable bowl, so I didn't risk clogging our septic drain field:


Removing the resin to a disposable bowl.

Covering my induction cooktop with paper towels to protect the glass from splattering resin. If you don't have an induction cooktop, you should NOT do this! You'll set the paper, and possibly also your kitchen, on fire! You'll just have to clean the cooktop with rubbing alcohol:

Induction cooktop covered with paper towels to protect the glass from splattering resin.

After boiling and cooling 5 times, I felt the pine cones were done but the syrup wasn't thick enough. While the syrup was boiling down, I removed the pine cones with a small strainer and put them into the small jars I would be storing them in:

When the syrup was the right consistency, I added it to the jars. In the jars, you can't tell what color it is, but the residue in the pan was a light brown color:


Color of the syrup left in the saucepan.

I ended up with three barely full 1/2-cup (4 oz jars). I don't really care for these by themselves, but if I end up loving them when they're added to other dishes, I'll have to make more because I don't have much! I suppose I should harvest more cones before they're too mature to preserve....