Eat Your Tree!

OK, maybe don’t eat it, but…you can use your Christmas tree to flavor your food. That’s the message from Denmark, espoused in this NYT op-ed.

I don’t have much experience with Christmas trees, but it sounds like a neat idea. After all, spruce and fir needles seem very rosemary-ish. Why not deploy them as an herb to spice up veggies, seafood, meat or even butter (see the article’s recipe).

Wackier yet, the author suggests drying and processing needles into a powder. Mixing that evergreen essence into cookie dough just might make the perfect winter cookie. I wouldn’t bet on it, but I’m willing to give it a shot (especially if a tree-shaped cookie cutter is involved). Stay tuned…

Regardless of how those culinary ideas sound, you have to admit that the author’s logic is compelling:

Nature takes enormous time and effort to produce something that we use only briefly. Why don’t we make greater use of this living tree, as we make use of so many other kinds of plants on earth, by eating it?

Anyone have any experience using their Christmas tree in the kitchen?