T’is the season of the abandoned Christmas trees. Every corner we turn in the city, spruce and pine dumped in the gutter to wither away, remind us of our merciless throw-away culture. We wrote about this last year when we found designer Fabien Cappello who give these unwanted creatures a new chance at life by transforming them into one-of-a-kind furniture. Again, looking for different ways to use and reuse evergreens, we came across this photo story by another favorite online and print magazine, Kinfolk, showing us that pine needles can in fact be used for food. Yes, you can eat your Christmas tree!*
The internet is full of recipes for tea, vinegar, infused sugar or honey and even marinades and grilled sardines, made with pine needles, which supposedly have a positive effect on colds, flues and countless other health benefits — and contain more vitamin C than oranges. We’re excited to try this out for ourselves!
*You can also forage pine needles from a park or forested area were you live, just make sure you properly clean the needles. Many sites recommend using fresh needles from a green white pine, but most pine needles are edible. Be sure to clean your needles before consuming and educate yourself about the type of pine needles you use.
