What is this plant I saw for sale at a Romanian farmer's market?

Question

I was at an agricultural market in Baia Mare, Romania and several vendors were selling this plant that looks like the tips of a pine tree. I didn't ask for a name and didn't handle it, so I can't tell you much beyond that each cluster of needles was about the size of a finger. Here's a picture:

Answer 1

That actually are tips of trees, probably spruce¹. It’s this year’s new growth and a very seasonal product. The tips are harvested when the are (about) fully grown, but still light green and soft.

I can’t say for sure what the local customers would use them for, but one of the common uses in my area of the world is to make “honey”, i.e. a syrup by either layering the tips with sugar and let the sugar draw out the aromatic compounds or alternatively make a “tea” that’s them preserved with plenty of sugar and boiled down to a syrup. It’s both a honey substitute (it does resemble fir honey) and a folk medicine against colds and coughing. Other extracts are made with alcohol instead (or in combination with) sugar to create a liqueur, again served both for medical and culinary purposes.

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¹ This is not a botanical id. Various members of the genus Picea (spruce) and Abies (fir) are used, usually whatever grows locally and has a pleasant taste.

Answer 2

I'm French, and I happen to know someone that uses this kind of spruce tips to make alcohol.

It's well-known in the Alps region of France. People tend to use these things to make "sapinette" (which means "small spruce"), a liquor appreciated by many peoples. They let the spruce tips infuse in a alcohol that was prepared in advance. The actual choice of which alcohol to infuse it in is vast, ranging from pharmaceutical alcohol to very tasty stuff and depend on what you prefer.

As for the final result, it most likely has a taste very close to spruce honey. People may like it or not (I personally enjoy it a lot). Its final concentration of alcohol is around 35 to 40 percent (again, depending on which alcohol you chose).

The dedicated page on the french Wikipedia indicates that the alcohol originated from Pontalier at the 20th century.

Take a look at the comments on this page. I learnt there that spruce tips can be used against throat pain and as a replacement for hops in beer.

Answer 3

They are called 'fir tree buds' ("muguri de brad") - young tips of branches. they are used to make a syrup that is believed to have health properties - antibiotic, antiseptic, metabolism stimulator, etc. (pic taken from this link: https://www.realitatea.net/sirop-muguri-de-brad_1939056.html )