Would you COOK your Christmas tree? Chefs are excited about the unusual ingredient – crushing the pine needles for cocktails and pickling
- In the first week of January, households get rid of their Christmas trees
- Food writers and chefs shared how to use your tree in food and drink
- Pine needle uses include syrups, pickling, and infusing other ingredients
It’s often said that what goes up must come down – including the Christmas decorations that took hours to arrange and will no doubt take just as long to pack back into their boxes.
For many festive revelers, the first week of January brings with it the fear of having to deal with the Christmas tree as we begin the arduous task of taking down baubles and untying Christmas lights before moving the tree to the nearest bank.
However, for the environmentally conscious among us who don’t want to see our tree dumped on the compost, there are many ways to give your tree a new lease of life, such as: B. eating or drinking the pines.
A TikTok trend has seen people using branches from their Christmas trees to brew pine tea, boil pots of water with pre-washed pine leaves and twigs, and drink the broth — and many claim it even cures sore muscles.
Having trouble deciding what to do with the Christmas tree after taking it down? Some people turn their branches into food and drink and make concoctions like pine tea (stock image)
Speaking to the Observer, food writer Julia Georgallis said people could eat “pretty much the whole thing” when it comes to the Christmas tree – although there are a few more conventional recipes that chefs turn to.
She revealed that the pine leaves can be used in the same way as rosemary or bay leaves to add flavor to other ingredients.
However, there are many other uses for pine leaves for those who want to use up their Christmas tree in other ways – many people make celebratory drinks from the leaves.
Some online vendors have used the pine needles to make syrup – by adding the leaves to a pan with sugar and water and bringing them to a boil.
Food writers and chefs share how to breathe new life into your Christmas tree after December (stock image)
Bars and restaurants also use pine and pine syrup to create celebratory cocktails.
The Cambridge Gin Lab have created several pine needle celebratory drinks, including a frosted pine martini containing gin, rosemary syrup and vermouth, garnished with touches of the Christmas tree in a martini glass.
Julia, who has written a book called How to Eat Your Christmas Tree, is hosting a supper club in Leyton, east London, during the first week of January.
Their menu includes a pine nut fudge brownie served with pine nut brittle and white pine tea.
Another chef who has been using pinewood ingredients for nearly two decades is René Redzevi, who runs the Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark.
He told the weekend newspaper that he collects his own pine needles from the forest and can tell the taste of a younger tree from a more mature one.
Noting that the ingredient is incredibly versatile, he said it can be crushed to add to alcohol and vinegar – which can then be used to pickle vegetables.
However, he cautioned that it is important for people looking for pine needles to only look for organic trees that have been grown without pesticides.
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