Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Scots Pine along with all the Scots Pine containing recipes presented on this site, with 6 recipes in total.

These recipes, all contain Scots Pine as a major wild food ingredient.

Scots Pine, Pinus sylvestris, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orange-red bark. Pinus sylvestris is an evergreen coniferous tree growing up to 35 metres (115 feet) in height[4] and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in trunk diameter when mature,[5] exceptionally over 45 m (148 ft) tall and 1.7 m (5+1⁄2 ft) in trunk diameter on very productive sites. The tallest on record is a tree over 210 years old growing in Estonia which stands at 46.6 m (153 ft).[6] The lifespan is normally 150–300 years, with the oldest recorded specimens in Lapland, Northern Finland over 760 years.

The shoots are light brown, with a spirally arranged scale-like pattern. On mature trees the leaves ('needles') are a glaucous blue-green, often darker green to dark yellow-green in winter, 2.5–5 centimetres (1–2 inches) long and 1–2 millimetres (1⁄32–3⁄32 in) broad, produced in fascicles of two with a persistent grey 5–10 mm (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) basal sheath. On vigorous young trees the leaves can be twice as long, and occasionally occur in fascicles of three or four on the tips of strong shoots. Leaf persistence varies from two to four years in warmer climates, and up to nine years in subarctic regions. Seedlings up to one year old bear juvenile leaves; these are single (not in pairs), 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long, flattened, with a serrated margin.

During spring, the tips of the branches develop new growth elongations that turn into lime green tips that shed their papery cover. These Scots pine tips are both edible and tasty. They can be added sparingly to salads or boiled like a leaf green. They can also be used to flavour cakes, oils and vinegars. These spruce tips are a rich source of vitamin C and are useful in preventing scurvy in Northern latitudes where meat is the primary source of energy in the diet. In Northern Europe, spruce tips are a traditional flavouring for beer.

In my own culinary experimentation, I have found that young pine needles or pine leaf buds and fresh tips can be chopped and used in many recipes that call for rosemary. They work particularly well with chicken, lamb and goat meat.

As well as the young leaf tips, the young male catkins can be eaten raw or cooked. They can also be used as a flavouring for desserts, meads and honey. Pollen from the male catkins can also be gathered in spring by shaking. This can be stored and used as a flour substitute or as a thickener for stews and soups it can also be added to smoothies and waffle or pancake batters. The immature female cones can also be eaten when cooked. The central portion of the immature female cones, particularly, when roasted are sweet and syrupy and make an excellent snack or base for a dessert; they can also be used for preparing wine. The inner bark (cambium) of the tree, particularly near the base, is edible and can be dried and ground into a powder that's used as a thickener for soups and stews or which can be mixed with flour as an adulterant in preparing bread. It can also be sliced into thin slivers and when fried in flavoured oil (eg coconut, grapeseed) this makes a tasty snack. The bark can be seeped in water for its sugar and the water drunk.

Very young immature female pine cones make an excellent flavouring and can be substituted for juniper berries in many recipes (though they are more resinous in flavour). They can be used as a garnish for salads or can be added to beers and wines to give a refreshing, slightly-resinous, taste.

The seeds (pine kernels), extracted from the cones, can be eaten raw. They are rich in essential oils and have a pleasant, slightly resinous, flavour (but they are small and fiddly to handle). The young leaf shoot tips, when infused in boiling water, make a refreshing tea rich in vitamin C.

The pollen is also edible and like many pine species spruce male cones produce copious amounts of pollen. Just when the new growth of needles appear the male cones are produced. When ripe, these will produce clouds of pollen when disturbed. To collect, carefully place a plastic bag over a cone then tap to displace the pollen. This can be used in any recipe on this site that calls for pollen or it can be added to flour as an adulterant that ups the protein content.

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1999
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–12.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants, 2004
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland, 2011
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) — How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland, 2006
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles, 1983
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles, 1987
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms, 2006
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms, 2011
[12]. Bunker, F. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland, Second Edition, 2017
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia II — A Source Book of Edible Plants, 1998
[14]. Hartford, R. Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of Britain and Ireland: A Foraging and Photographic Identification Guide
(Note that the above book links are Amazon Affiliate links)