Spruce tip decoction
Young spruce tips boiled into a drink for coughs and colds.
Traditional use
- Time
- 20 minutes
- Makes
- 2 cups
In 1973 Nancy Turner and Marcus Bell described how the southern Kwakwaka'wakw drank an infusion of Sitka spruce buds for coughs and colds. Pitch with grease was also taken for coughs. In Europe you can use the pale green tips of Norway spruce, which appear in May.
Ingredients
- A handful of young, pale green spruce tips
- 500 ml water
- Honey to taste
Step by step
- Rinse the tips briefly.
- Bring them to the boil with the water and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Strain and drink warm, with a little honey.
Tips
- In Europe spruce tips are also boiled down with sugar into a syrup, so you can keep them all year.