In April or May, if you look closely at these coniferous trees that proliferate on the Coast, you’ll notice that the needles aren’t all the same color. You’ll want to gather the potent new growth at the end of the branches, which is much softer and brighter green. 

Alone, spruce tips can be too strong to eat in a salad. Instead, stuff just a few in a bottle of apple cider vinegar, wait a week, and voilà! You have a simple dressing. Pack tips into a jar with lots of sugar to make an infused syrup for tea or cocktails. 

You’ll find Sitka spruce all over the Coast, but investigate the Siuslaw National Forest at elevations under 1,500 feet for plentiful stands.

Ideas for using Spruce Tips:

• Add chopped spruce tips to homemade vinaigrettes
• Toss a little into your favorite smoothies
• Add to roasted vegetables, fish, or meat
• Make spruce tip syrup and add to sparkling water or cocktails
• Chop spruce tips and add to baked goods like shortbread or scones

Though some people dry spruce tips for later use in tea and homemade cough syrups, I think since mature spruce works for these purposes, it makes more sense to enjoy spruce tips fresh in spruce tip recipes.

Note that when you make spruce tip syrup or vinegar, you get two spruce tip recipes for one. When you strain the spruce tips, keep both the spruce-infused liquid and the tips. Pickled spruce tips can be used as a tasty vegetable or garnish, while sweetened ones can be used in dessert recipes or dried to make spruce tip candy.