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WOULD YOU COOK your Christmas tree? Chefs go crazy over the unusual ingredient: cutting pine needles for cocktails and pickling
- The first week of January sees households get rid of their Christmas trees
- Food writers and chefs revealed how you can use your tree in food and beverages.
- Uses for pine needles include syrups, pickles, and infusions of other ingredients.
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It’s often said that what goes up must come down, including Christmas decorations that took hours to put together and will no doubt take just as long to put back in their boxes.
For many festive revellers, the first week of January brings with it the dread of knowing the Christmas tree must be resolved as we begin the arduous task of removing the decorations and undoing the strings of Christmas lights before taking the tree to the nearest bank.
However, for the eco-friendly among us who don’t want to see their tree thrown into the compost, there are plenty of ways to give your tree new life, like eating or drinking the pine trees.
A TikTok trend shows people using branches from their Christmas trees to make pine needle tea, boiling pots of water containing pre-washed pine leaves and branches and drinking the broth, with many claiming it even heals sore muscles.
Having a hard time deciding what to do with the Christmas tree once you’ve taken it down? Some people are turning its branches into food and drink, making concoctions like pine tea (file image)
Talking with him Observerculinary writer Julia Georgallis said people could eat “pretty much anything” when it comes to the Christmas tree, though there are some more conventional recipes that chefs turn to.
She revealed that pine needles can be used in the same way as rosemary or bay leaves to infuse other ingredients with flavor.
However, there are many other uses for pine needles for those who wish to use their Christmas tree in different ways, and many people make festive drinks from the leaves.
Some online have used the pine needles to make syrup, adding the leaves to a pan of sugar and water and bringing to a boil.
Food writers and chefs have revealed how you can breathe new life into your Christmas tree after December (file image)
Bars and restaurants also use pine trees and pine syrup to create holiday-themed cocktails.
Cambridge Gin Lab has created several festive drinks using pine needles, including an icy pine martini, containing gin, rosemary syrup and vermouth, and garnished with a Christmas tree twist in a martini glass.
Julia, who has written a book called How to Eat Your Christmas Tree, will be hosting a nightclub in Leyton, east London, during the first week of January.
Their menu includes a pine nut brownie served with crispy pine nuts and white pine tea.
Another chef who has been using pine ingredients for the better part of two decades is René Redzevi, who runs the Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark.
He told the weekend paper that he looks for his own pine needles in the woods and can tell the difference in flavor between a younger tree and an older tree.
Noting that the ingredient is incredibly versatile, he said it can be crushed to put in alcohol and vinegar, which can then be used to pickle vegetables.
However, she cautioned that for people looking to hunt for pine needles, it’s important to look only for organic trees that have been grown without pesticides.
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