Balsam fir
Abies balsamea
Québec's Christmas tree hides blisters of liquid balsam beneath its bark, one of the purest scents of our forests.
Portrait
Balsam fir is the smell of December in Québec homes. Its flat needles are soft to the touch, with two white lines underneath, and they pull away without leaving a little peg, unlike spruce. The smooth grey bark is dotted with small bumps: blisters filled with clear balsam, the famous fir gum. Its cones stand upright and purple, and crumble apart on the tree in autumn rather than falling.
Harvest
Pricking a blister with a needle and catching the drop that beads out is something Laurentian children learn early. Étienne does it with a small vial and a great deal of patience, tree after tree, never emptying every blister on one trunk. This liquid resin, known as Canada balsam, was exported to Europe for generations as an optical cement for lenses and a varnish for watercolours, so clear is it.
In the workshop
Fresh balsam is the heart of several products in the shop. Diluted in oil it gives a green, sweet, almost fruity scent that recalls the forest floor after rain. The dried needles perfume pillows, bath salts and herbal teas with a tart conifer taste. Every bottle carries a little of Étienne's forest.
Our products are artisanal plant-based preparations. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
