Think your Christmas tree is only good for decorating? Think again. According to food experts, you can actually eat parts of it – doing both yourself and the environment a favour.
As January 6 – or Twelfth Night – approaches on Friday, the day when tradition suggests you take down all your decorations as the festive season is well and truly over, there’s no need to desperately shove your tree in the bin this year.
In 2023, we put our trees on the dinner table instead.
OK, to be fair you have to make sure you bought an organic one, but still – this hack will make you look at your pine/fir/spruce trees twice. As it turns out, the needles can be used for just about anything to provide a flavour of citrus and pine, while the wood can be used for gardens and cleaning in the kitchen.
According to the Observer, Julia Georgallis, baker and author of How to Eat Your Christmas Tree, said: “You can pretty much eat the whole thing. You can use the needles as you would rosemary or bay leaves, for flavour.”
John Williams, executive chef of the Ritz restaurant, backs up this advice, describing the pines as “fragrant and spicy”, and helpful to enhance the flavour of celeriac.
Chef of the restaurant Noma, Rene Redzepi, in Copenhagen, told the Observer that pine needles had been used in his food for 20 years. He said: “Think of it as rosemary – you can use it in just about anything.”
Pine needles are reportedly a source of Vitamin C, and can be used in anything from ice creams to gins, or even to pickle eggs.
The key is to wear gloves (particularly for spruce trees) when removing the needles and make sure you wash them very thoroughly before putting them anywhere near your food.
Georgallis said that the climate crisis has “made everyone a lot more aware of how they’re eating, what they’re eating, and how they buy and grow stuff”, although the growing interest in hobbies such as foraging and mixology has helped too.
Even the trunks can be used, and transformed into pine ash by putting parts of the tree in an oven to char it, before being blended to create a black powder to be used in the garden to increase soil fertility. Pine products can also be taken from living trees with needles crushed to flavour spirits like gin or vinegar, whether for cooking... or scrubbing your floors.
As TikTok influencer Armen Adamjan explained in a video that went viral over Christmas, the combination of pine needles and vinegar make for a “super awesome disinfectant” for household cleaning.
“Did you know if you cut off a few branches from your Christmas tree, chop them up a little bit, grab an airtight container, put the pine needles in it and then fill it up with some white vinegar. Close it and let it soak like that,” he said in the clip.
“Use it to clean anything in your house, while leaving a pleasant scent.”