Harvest and Preparation of Pine Edibles

Thats right - the one thing I have kabillions of in my Personal Space - Pine Trees.  Loblolly Pines, to be exact, which isn't exactly optimal, but it grows well in sandy soil, withstands drought well, and provides year-round nutrients.

There are four food sources that the Loblolly Pine provides:

1.  Needles for making tea (although a quite bitter tea, it is full of Vitamin C).

2.  Nuts.  Not the same size pine cone nuts you see with other Pines up north, but they can be collected and are a good protein source.

3.  Inner Bark.  Again, not as tasty as some of it's cousins, and the slight turpentine taste takes a little getting used to, but it is edible.

4.  Pollen.  Not the most plentiful, but it is possible to harvest pollen to make flour.

Pine Needle Tea  NOTE:  DO NOT drink this if you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant, as it may cause miscarriage!

1.  Gather a handfull of fresh green needles.
2.  Dice the needles as fine as possible.
3.  Take the finely chopped needles and put into a cup of boiling water and let boil for a couple of minutes.
4.  The water should turn a light yellow color.  To reduce the semi-bitter taste, add honey if available.


Inner Bark.  There is some difference of opinion as to whether you can eat the inner bark of a Loblolly Pine, like you can with other pines.  While the inner bark is not as tasty as you might find with other Pines, you can eat it.  NOTE:  when cutting, NEVER completely girdle the tree, or you will kill it.

1.  Look first at mature trees.
2.  Drive knife tip through the outer bark with a strong stick.  Carve a decent sized rectangle through the outer layer.  The rectangle should be about 6 - 8 inches by approximately 4 inches.
3.  Peel away the outer bark, making sure to peel off the tender cambium layer (the inner bark) that comes with it.
4.  Scrape or cut away the inner bark.
5.  Can be prepared 3 ways:
     a.  Boiling.  Slice into thin pieces and boil until tender.  Not best tasting doing it this way...
     b.  Frying.  Slice into slivers and fry in oil/butter until medium brown and crispy.  Tastes like potato chips with salt!
     c.  Drying and pounding into flour.


Pine Nuts.  Loblolly nuts are in the cones.  They are very small, but edible.  Gather nuts from late-season cones.  The best time to harvest cone nuts is from September through October.


Pollen.  In spring, pollen from small male cones can be shaken and eaten raw or mixed 50/50 with wheat to make flour or to use as a thickener.  Collecting the pollen can be a big use of calories with little to show for it.