How to Make Pine Cone Syrup / Mugolio

Fermented Green Pine Cone Syrup / Mugolio has been a chef secret for years, and bottles of the real stuff can cost over 10-15$/oz. Maple syrup is often 25$/qt. This is basically a small batch of the traditional pine cone syrup made in the Italian Dolemite alps. A guy from Romania told me of a spruce tip equivalent where the jars are buried in the ground for a year (which is cool) but this method is faster and will be usable after no less than 30 days. Traditionally the young cones of Pinus mugo are used to make the syrup, but you can make a similar, great tasting product with all kinds of unripe conifer cones and I cover a few different ones in the video. I pick my young cones in early June in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but harvesting times will vary depending on when your spring is. I use the finished syrup in drinks, as a maple substitute, and for all-purpose cooking. The coolest part is that each different species of conifer cone will have a unique flavor. So far the only ones people have reported not liking to me has been from sub-alpine fir, although balsam fir cones make my fantastic syrup. If you’re interested, check the in-depth guide on my site as I only cover the basics here and it’s pretty fast (I don’t like to watch long videos). Link in comments for the in-depth walkthrough.