Pine medicine

One of my most cherished ingredients for harvest inspired recipes is pine infused honey.  That aromatic sweet coupled with a spiciness that is to me, quite invigorating, takes me away to a place of organoleptic bliss. I could walk around as a pine scented mammal every day and be very happy and content.

I mentioned how I enjoy drizzling it over my pumpkin bread in one of my last blogs and some of you were interested in how to make it. I thought it would be fun to share with you some other uses of the pine tree as well as teaching you how to make the pine infused honey.

Pine infused honey definitely comes in handy for cold and flu season as it is an expectorant, which means it helps to expel mucous from your lungs. Although pine it is not one of the more popular herbs for this, it works nonetheless and the honey itself is also a gentle expectorant. Perfect medicine for kids and adults alike, and it tastes sooooo good! Oh the things you learn on this blog! I like to keep it interesting, if you hadn’t noticed.

Pine has an affinity for upper respiratory lung infections as it is highly antibacterial and as a lovely bonus it is a pretty darn good source of vitamin C. Vitamin C is water soluble, so I recommend making a nice tea out of it to slurp up those benefits. Food is medicine, right?

This tree is so very versatile and I personally use it in a variety of ways. Culinary, medicinal, therapeutic, cleaning and decor. If you are wondering how one goes about infusing pine needles into honey, you are in luck because it is super easy. The wonderful thing about pine is that they can all be used interchangeably, so fear not if you do not know the exact species of a particular pine tree.

Some pines are sweeter, some have more of a kick, and others may have too much pitch which gives it a turpentine taste, like you just swallowed floor cleaner. If you do stumble upon that kind of pine, harvest those needles and infuse them in some vinegar and your floors shall be squeaky clean in no time! So feel free to experiment with this magnificent evergreen.

Pine needle honey

-Pick a pine, any pine, and collect the fresh aromatic needles.

-Garb them. Garbing is a simple technique that involves clearing the plant material of any debris. See any bird poop? Wash the needles. Is there browning? Remove it. Any bugs? Set them free, or eat them, whatever floats your boat.

-Get a glass jar and pack in the needles but not too tightly to allow room for the honey.

-Pour in raw honey and stir really well making sure there are no pockets, then pour more honey in to top it off. Cap it.

-Let this infuse for three to six weeks and wallah!

-To strain you must embrace the fact that it is sometimes a sticky & messy process, but that’s half the fun! Place the jar in a sauce pot with a little warmed water and allow the honey to thin out a bit, then you can strain into another container.

I enjoy this over toast, in my decadent baklava recipe, in my teas or just by the spoonful because it tastes so good.

Written by Kate Randall

One of my most cherished ingredients for harvest inspired recipes is pine infused honey.  That aromatic sweet coupled with a spiciness that is to me, quite invigorating, takes me away to a place of organoleptic bliss. I could walk around as a pine scented mammal every day and be very happy and content.

I mentioned how I enjoy drizzling it over my pumpkin bread in one of my last blogs and some of you were interested in how to make it. I thought it would be fun to share with you some other uses of the pine tree as well as teaching you how to make the pine infused honey.

Pine infused honey definitely comes in handy for cold and flu season as it is an expectorant, which means it helps to expel mucous from your lungs. Although pine it is not one of the more popular herbs for this, it works nonetheless and the honey itself is also a gentle expectorant. Perfect medicine for kids and adults alike, and it tastes sooooo good! Oh the things you learn on this blog! I like to keep it interesting, if you hadn’t noticed.

Pine has an affinity for upper respiratory lung infections as it is highly antibacterial and as a lovely bonus it is a pretty darn good source of vitamin C. Vitamin C is water soluble, so I recommend making a nice tea out of it to slurp up those benefits. Food is medicine, right?

This tree is so very versatile and I personally use it in a variety of ways. Culinary, medicinal, therapeutic, cleaning and decor. If you are wondering how one goes about infusing pine needles into honey, you are in luck because it is super easy. The wonderful thing about pine is that they can all be used interchangeably, so fear not if you do not know the exact species of a particular pine tree.

Some pines are sweeter, some have more of a kick, and others may have too much pitch which gives it a turpentine taste, like you just swallowed floor cleaner. If you do stumble upon that kind of pine, harvest those needles and infuse them in some vinegar and your floors shall be squeaky clean in no time! So feel free to experiment with this magnificent evergreen.

Pine needle honey

-Pick a pine, any pine, and collect the fresh aromatic needles.

-Garb them. Garbing is a simple technique that involves clearing the plant material of any debris. See any bird poop? Wash the needles. Is there browning? Remove it. Any bugs? Set them free, or eat them, whatever floats your boat.

-Get a glass jar and pack in the needles but not too tightly to allow room for the honey.

-Pour in raw honey and stir really well making sure there are no pockets, then pour more honey in to top it off. Cap it.

-Let this infuse for three to six weeks and wallah!

-To strain you must embrace the fact that it is sometimes a sticky & messy process, but that’s half the fun! Place the jar in a sauce pot with a little warmed water and allow the honey to thin out a bit, then you can strain into another container.

I enjoy this over toast, in my decadent baklava recipe, in my teas or just by the spoonful because it tastes so good.

Written by Kate Randall