Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Pine Cone Jam


May was pine cone jam month, in our kitchen.


You use immature, green pine cones. I collected cones mostly from exotic Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii). The cones of native pitch pine (Pinus rigida) are very sharp and rough on the fingers. The black pine cones are much easier to gather.


See? Green inside.


It's a fragrant process, after the first boil (you pour that water off, to remove some resin, before cooking in sugar-syrup).


My recipe for pine cone jam is next door, at 66 Square Feet (Food).


After the process is complete and the mixture is cool, the texture is taffy-like.


And tastes completely wonderful.

29 comments:

  1. Wow, I've never heard of pine cone jam. So just to clarify, you don't want the resin, you pour it off to get rid of it. Then boil just the cones with the sugar water. Correct?

    I have a smidge of pine honey left from a visit to Turkey and I imagine this tastes similar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, what is called 'pine honey' sometimes is this precise mix...confusing. Not honey from bees. Is yours hive honey? The boiling does not get rid of all the resin, but tones it down. I have done boiled and unboiled and prefer the boiled version.

      Delete
    2. Can i use harder green cones?

      Delete
    3. These are hard. Do you mean large ones?

      Delete
    4. For larger cones we pick damaged ones. we keep them clean dry and shadow 4 days and then make jam of it. Otherwise you cannot get the sticky essence..

      Delete
    5. Oh, that's interesting That is not my experience, at all.

      Delete
  2. Well, they do say you learn something new everyday! I am not sure if I fancy trying this, not least because I suspect the pine cones here in the UK may not be suitable. Can you describe the flavour? Unfortunately, all that comes to mind is that it may taste of disinfectant! Thank you for sharing this interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why would your pines not be suitable? The flavor is hard to describe - tart, sweet, slightly resinous. Certainly not like disinfectant.

      Delete
    2. Please do your research. You'll miss out on all sorts if you don't!

      Delete
  3. Hmm? You "tilt off" the resin down your kitchen sink drain? Do you then pour boiling water down the drain so as to not have a clogged sink? But then, I'm guessing it eventually cools along the pipes to clog somewhere else, for someone else? Ever since our landlord charged us extra for a clogged drain over 10 years ago, I've been extra diligent in keeping sticky stuff, oils, and various solid matter (despite a garbage disposal) from washing down the pipes. I keep non-recyclable containers handy for such purposed, like non-plastic coffee canisters.

    The mention of pine cones particularly caught my attention, because a posted photo of Monterey pine pollen on my blog ended up earning me some money. I gave permission of my photo to use in a book, and then the book got translated into several languages. Who knew!?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oof. In chime with Diane O'Connell, have you never heard of Pine-Sol? It had a distinctive smell that reminds me of wet, gross floor mops. My mom used this commercial cleaning agent in the U.S.A. back in the 1980's, but I've never used it as an adult and apparently the original mix has changed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Link for you (you don't have to publish this - I was simply curious to know what my mother used as a kid, so I looked it up): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_oil / https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_oil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gosh, you do have a lot to say. Ray o'sunshine.

      I know Pine Sol. I have even used it. It fascinates me that someone who has never made pine jam, never eaten pine jam, never seen pine jam, knows for certain that pine jam must smell like Pine Sol. It doesn't, even remotely.

      Take a deep breath. Exhale.

      Delete
  6. In other news. ..
    This is incredible. Never heard of it. Thank you for introducing this to the rest of us.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Marie, we have a Christmas tree farm and are thinking of trying this jam. How long does the jam keep and does it need to be refrigerated? thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jeanette - mine has been shelf-stable for a year-plus. And when I say 'jam'- be aware that the cooking syrup (what I call pine 'honey') - can crystalize. It's sturdy stuff. Feel free to email me with questions - myviljoen(at)gmail (dot) com

      Delete
  8. Can you use any type of pine cones?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, as long as they are immature. What do you have?

      Delete
    2. The only green cones I can find right now are white spruce cones. They are still fairly small, about 1-2 inches. They are quit different to pine cones. Will they work?

      Delete
    3. Fir and spruce work very well. As long as they are green (as in resinous and immature).

      Delete
  9. Hello. So nice to see this jam recipe. I’m Russian and my dad used to make Pine cone syrup by cutting up the green pine cones and covering them in a jar with sugar. Putting them in the sun for a few weeks, till they gave juice and the sugar turned to syrup. Some folks add alcohol. It can keep for years. ���� I am curious if you would ever use Cypress cones for the jam~ they are aromatic and not poisonous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lovely story, Vera. Thank you! I actually have some pine cones doing the syrup-extraction right now. It's been two weeks and there is a tiny amount beginning to form. I have used green bald cypress cones for syrup, before (using your dad's method) - it turned out well.

      Delete
  10. I can't understand what is it. I had a bottle in my house, I took it for "Honey" to my surprise this black syrup thick liquid is something different.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So you read the whole post and you still don't know what it is? :-)

      Delete
  11. Accidentally stumbled on your post while searching how to identify evergreen cones. I love the idea and will be looking around for pine trees to revisit in the spring! Thank you for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. So excited to try this. I would be gathering right now if it weren't dark! Thank you for this idea.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I found some immature cones on a Norway spruce. Do spruce cones work as well? Thanks! 😊

    ReplyDelete

Comments on posts older than 48 hours are moderated (for spam control) . Yours will be seen! Unless you are a troll. Serial trollers are banned.