alder catkins fail

I keep reading that alder catkins are edible, if bitter. Or that they remind someone of cattails or something. Well, I don't much mind bitter, and I had a few branches come down, so I thought I'd try them.
I think I have alnus rubra but it might be rhombifolia. Anyway, I use it mostly for medicine (tincture) but I love foraging food. As I was cutting up the branches I tediously removed the little clusters of catkins.
I got a big bagful before I remembered that this is experimental.
I took them home & tasted one raw. Not so good, kinda dry and astringent.
So despite some sources saying they are more bitter cooked, I boiled up a quart or two.
I tasted them a couple of times. They seemed to be improving. Less bitter, less dry. After a while I decided they had stopped improving so I left them to cool. I nibbled a few, rather enjoying them, though they did taste a little medicinal.
When the pot cooled, there was a layer of resin on top of the water. It was holding the catkins together in a clump.
I have set aside the boiled catkins that didn't have too much resin on them. I am going to see whether they make a decent soup thickener.
BUT I have ruined my saucepan! I can't get the resin off it. Don't try this at home, or at least use a big tin can instead of your good saucepan!
I plan to boil another batch after first removing them from the twigs. I suspect most of the resin came from the twigs. But I'm going to have to scrounge a tomato can first.

Sorry, you ruined your saucepan.

You might try scrubbing it with baking soda then add about a tablespoon or two of white vinegar.  The vinegar will cause a chemical reaction with the baking soda and be really foamy.

Maybe this will remove the resin.

Just in case anyone is wondering, here's a followup.
Yes, the twigs have much more resin, but the catkins alone have enough resin to wreck your cooking implements.
I cleaned some carefully and boiled them up in water in a milk carton & got small globs (as opposed to the previous large globs) of resin that hardened in place & got stiff.