Yes, You Can Eat Your Christmas Tree (But Only These Kinds)

When your parents told you to eat your greens, we're pretty sure they didn't include Christmas trees as an option, but surprisingly, some types of evergreens traditionally seen during the holidays have many culinary uses. We spoke with Julia Geogallis, author of "How to Eat Your Christmas Tree: Delicious, Innovative Recipes for Cooking with Trees" for tips on how to incorporate holiday greenery into your festive feasting and drinking. 

"Pine, fir and spruce, the most common types of Christmas trees, are all edible," she explains. "However, I have seen cedars and cypress used on occasion and these trees are poisonous." Geogallis went on to share that "the most delicious bits are the needles," but she notes that while they're not good eaten raw, pine needles can be safely brewed in tea. While this may sound odd, Geogallis elaborated on the idea, "I think of Christmas tree needles in the same way we might think of an herb like rosemary — used for flavor, but you wouldn't eat a sprig of rosemary as it doesn't have a great texture."

Julia Geogallis recommends foraging for these greens in the wild, and she warns against using trees sold at grocery stores and in parking lots. She explains that they're "often not grown to be eaten, they are sprayed with all kinds of chemicals, and I've even seen trees sprayed green to make them look 'more Christmassy,' which are also not suitable for eating. My only advice is to ask the person that you are buying your tree from, to use common sense and, like with all foraging, if in doubt, don't eat it!"

To avoid scratches while collecting needles from your tree, Geogallis recommends wearing gloves while cutting the branches and removing the needles with scissors. She also stresses the importance of thoroughly washing the needles before incorporating them into recipes. Nobody wants a spider in their food! 

Geogallis shared that once you've clipped and washed them, "Christmas tree needles are particularly good in pickles, cures, drinks and sauces — they are not good eaten raw or unprocessed." And beyond the needles, she notes that "pine nuts from pine trees are often overlooked, but they do also come from a Christmas tree!"

Julia Georgallis also spoke with Daily Meal about using your Christmas tree to make festive drinks. Cocktails can be made using simple syrup from trees and new shoots from a fir tree are the best type to use for simple syrup. The taste complements the botanical flavors of spirits such as gin or a smoky bourbon, but the syrup will also work in a mocktail by adding it to sparkling water. To make simple syrup, the tips of the branches (needles and stem) are steeped for up to 24 hours to allow the oils to infuse the syrup. Don't forget a sprig of fir for a festive garnish any pine-infused drinks!

Teas made from spruce or fir needles are easy to make. Georgallis suggests adding lemon or honey to the tea, and she often dries the needles and adds "other complementary herbs and flavors like juniper berries and citrus peel." Teas made from spruce and fir are very high in vitamin C, and spruce needles were used to make tea by indigenous people on the west coast.

Georgallis believes strongly in preserving trees in nature. On her website she shares her views on "inappropriately disposable" Christmas trees and the value of foraging. Julia told us, that foraging "means that we can feel festive and use the trees to celebrate Christmas in a slightly less invasive way!"