Yvette van Boven’s Pine Syrup
Know a cocktail connoisseur? She’ll flip over this homemade seasonal syrup. A fresh pine syrup is divine in sparkling wine and even better in a wintry Negroni or drizzled over a trifle. This recipe from Yvette van Boven, host of a popular cooking show in Holland, calls for fresh pine branches, from your Christmas tree, for example, and your choice of sugars. It’s one of 100 unique recipes in van Boven’s new book, “Home Made Christmas” (Abrams, $35). Pour the syrup into a pretty glass bottle, wrap and tuck some fresh pine in the ribbon; yvettevanboven.eu.
Yvette van Boven’s Pine Syrup
Makes 2cups
INGREDIENTS
About 7 ounces pine twigs, preferably new growth, but at Christmas we make do with ordinary branches 1 cup sugar (the flavor — cane, granulated, dark brown — determines the flavor of the syrup)
3 slices fresh ginger (optional)
Few drops freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
DIRECTIONS Rinse the pine branches and cut them into smaller pieces. Strip the needles off the branches — or leave them on. The resin taste from the branches is a little stronger than when you use only the needles. You can play around with that. I always use the entire branch.
Put the pine in a saucepan with the sugar, ginger (if using), and ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon water and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Cover the pan and allow to steep for a few hours, or preferably an evening or overnight. The longer it steeps, the stronger it will taste.
Strain the syrup through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Season it, if you wish, with a few drops of lemon juice, and keep it in a squeaky-clean jar or bottle in the fridge. It will keep for at least a month.
Warning: Use real pine branches, from your Christmas tree, for example. Do not use yew tree branches. If you’re not certain, Google images for yew. It’s a poisonous tree, but it looks like a dark green pine when you squint. The yew tree is the kind of shrub that clutters up boring old gardens, and is quite common, so be alert.
— From “Home Made Christmas” by Yvette van Boven