Spruce Tips

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pruce tips are a unique spice found in The Northern White Forests. Folk travel to the southernmost point of the forest every spring, to collect the new tips of the spruce tree. The country women spread the harvested tips on large thin sheets and sun-dry them until they are ready for processing. They then remove any thick stalks and separate the tips for quality. Some tips are ground into a fine powder. They also mix other tips with different northern spices for cooking. Folk also use spruce tips in making herbal teas and northern mead.

Once the tips are ready, women pack them and transport them to the local villages. Merchants buy the spruce and pack it into barges or ships to transport it to other regions of the Realm. The city of Uruk is the largest port of trade and most ships travel to Uruk for trading. Upon arrival, they then sell the spice to venders and then to the common folk.

The following are the most common uses for spruce tips:

• Marinated meats and game;
• Herbal teas;
• Northern honey mead;
• pickled vegetables and fruits;
• jams and chutneys;
• Solstice desserts;
• Decoration.

Folk use spruce tips during the winter solstice in festive meals and for decoration. Spruce is used to decorate the exterior of their homes as well as the interior. Scented oils that are mixed with spruce and lemon are used to fragrant the homes. It is common to see women and girls with ribbons in their hair and spruce tips clustered into crowns through their locks. Common folklore says that it is a sign of good fortune for couples who are to be wed in the spring, to share solstice desserts during festivities.

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Origin/Ancestry

The Northern White Forest

Geographic Distribution

• The Northern White Forests