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Don’t dispose of that Christmas tree today. You can eat it !

(13 Posts)
Grannynannywanny Fri 06-Jan-23 08:09:28

I heard a discussion on radio yesterday about the disposal of Christmas trees. I missed the start of the discussion but it was a cook/author recommending her recipes for cooking and eating the trees.

I’d never heard of the practice and curiosity sent me to google and it seems it’s not as weird as I thought. There are many articles on the subject.

Here are some recipes to try.

goodfoodireland.ie/blog/8-ways-to-eat-your-christmas-tree/

(I’m not sure it’ll work with my fibre optic tree)

OnwardandUpward Fri 06-Jan-23 09:07:50

Assuming it was not treated with any chemicals , for example, it might be safe.
I probably would not in case they are sprayed with something to stop the needles dropping.

Fleurpepper Fri 06-Jan-23 09:10:25

Saw a news item yesterday about trees being taken to an animal refuge to eat. Goats seemed to love them, but I did worry about the trees being treated with chemicals.

I love eating new spruce buds in the spring.

Sago Fri 06-Jan-23 09:11:42

I was lucky enough to dine at L’Enclume, we ate pine sap and pine needle infusions.
Delicious.

Redhead56 Fri 06-Jan-23 09:13:47

I heard the very same discussion on the radio too. It was very interesting but not surprising I have been eating honey from Greece flavoured with pine needles. It tastes similar to rosemary and I really like it and have been buying it for a few years. The idea of putting some with fish sounds nice too very Scandinavian definitely something I would try.

Grannynannywanny Fri 06-Jan-23 10:03:58

Yes Redhead56 I did wonder if it might be similar to rosemary.

Fleurpepper Fri 06-Jan-23 10:10:29

Redhead56

I heard the very same discussion on the radio too. It was very interesting but not surprising I have been eating honey from Greece flavoured with pine needles. It tastes similar to rosemary and I really like it and have been buying it for a few years. The idea of putting some with fish sounds nice too very Scandinavian definitely something I would try.

Spruce honey is not flavoured with pine needles, it is made from pine or more often, spruce, polen.

Fleurpepper Fri 06-Jan-23 10:12:09

As said above, it is mainly the tender new tips in Spring which are pleasant and full of goodness

www.nutriplanet.org/2014/05/5-reasons-to-eat-spruce-tips-8-ways-to-use-them/

M0nica Fri 06-Jan-23 20:40:20

What occurred to me was that it would take really long time to eat the tree, even if you had it at three meals a day, you would be lucky to have eaten it by Easter.

The odd couple of twigs perhaps, but the whole tree, forget it.

Ours will be recycled at the tip tomorrow.

Patsy70 Fri 06-Jan-23 20:52:06

MOnica 😂. However, I do love the idea of consuming the Christmas tree rather than taking it for recycling. I must admit to not actually having a Christmas tree indoors this year 😳 as they so much prefer to be outside. A twiggy thing for me in future!

Zoejory Fri 06-Jan-23 20:57:59

M0nica

What occurred to me was that it would take really long time to eat the tree, even if you had it at three meals a day, you would be lucky to have eaten it by Easter.

The odd couple of twigs perhaps, but the whole tree, forget it.

Ours will be recycled at the tip tomorrow.

Thank you for the laugh!

Doodle Fri 06-Jan-23 21:01:16

I’d like to see anyone eat my tree. It’s wire and plastic and has no nutritional qualities whatsoever. Don’t think the fairy on the top would be too pleased either. 😊

rubysong Fri 06-Jan-23 23:43:33

I heard somewhere that you can chop some pine twigs into a jar of white vinegar and after a few weeks strain it as pine disinfectant. (
Possibly Nancy Birtwhistle)