Pine syrup (pine honey) from pine shoots

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   It is necessary to collect young pine shoots for making jam or pine honey in the spring, when these shoots have started to grow, but are not yet covered with young needles. It is best to do this in a young pine forest. Depending on the region, pine shoots are harvested in May – June. You should not just cut off the shoots from the tops of pine trees. Let the tree grow normally. We cut off the shoots on the side branches. It is not necessary to cut off all the shoots that you can reach.

2. Step 2:

   

   It is enough to take the tops of two or three lateral branches from each pine tree. Cut young shoots are cleaned of debris, remove the needles that have fallen. We transfer them to an enameled or stainless steel pan and fill it with water. We put a container for cooking pine honey on the stove, bring it to a boil and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes. Remove from the stove, cover with a lid. And we leave the broth for a day – to infuse.

3. Step 3:

   

   Our decoction has a pleasant pine resinous aroma and a slightly bitter taste. After a day, filter it through a fine sieve or gauze, add sugar and put it on fire. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 – 40 minutes. Until the moment when the pine honey begins to thicken. Add lemon juice or citric acid so that our culinary product does not get candied afterwards.

5. Step 4:

   

   It turned out not very thick syrup of a pleasant yellow color, resembling real honey. It has a very pleasant aroma of pine. Pour the pine honey into a clean jar and roll it up. Let's not forget that pine honey is primarily a medicine. It should be consumed in moderation – one tablespoon for an adult, one dessert (or two teaspoons) – for a child. Pine honey is used in the treatment of bronchopulmonary diseases, airborne infections, colds.

6. Step 5:

   

   It is also an excellent preventive tool that helps to avoid such health problems. The syrup from pine shoots (pine honey) is ready! For a more detailed recipe, see the video. Bon appetit!