It's a boom year for cones this summer and I've been finding overburdened Norway Spruce treetops on the forest floor. Beating the critters to the cones has been my goal so I can make lots of this divine syrup.
Traditionally you pack young green cones in a crock with a natural sugar (maple, honey, etc.) and bury that mo'fo in the back yard for a year to ferment and develop but ain't-nobody-got-time-for-that!
I butt my jars up to my ever-running dehydrator and the radiant heat is developing them nicely on my counter. This one is a week old with a bit of molasses mixed in to skew the flavor profile. The spruce tastes very much like sugared grapefruit. Cedar is on deck to be chopped today. Their cones are much more floral and less citric smelling. I can't wait to see how it develops flavor-wise.
Anything (intentionally) steeping/developing in your cupboards or on your counter? Lacto-fm, 'booch or otherwise?
