Now it’s time to recycle your Christmas tree. But Belgian authorities say you should never eat it.
The country’s federal food agency issued the unusual warning this week. rear suggestion From the climate-friendly city of Ghent.
If you’re looking to reduce food waste this holiday season, the city recently suggested on its website’s environment page that you could try making “delicious spruce needle butter” using leftover needles from your holiday tree.
“It’s a breeze,” the city’s post said. “That way, your Christmas tree won’t be 100 percent wasted.”
The city acknowledged that the bristly branches could pose a health risk. Yew, an evergreen tree, is a poisonous plant. Trees treated with pesticides or flame retardants are also dangerous.
Ghent believes Scandinavian cooks came up with the idea of picking coniferous trees, boiling and drying them to make flavored butter. “In Scandinavia, they’ve been doing it for a long time,” the city wrote.
It turns out that’s not entirely true. Scandinavian food historians have noted that it is far from a widespread tradition. And Belgium’s food agency immediately called on the public to oppose such gastronomic experiments.
“Christmas trees are not meant to be added to the food chain,” agency spokeswoman Hélène Bonte said in an email Wednesday.
Consumers may not know whether their wood contains flame retardants, she says. Pesticides pose a threat to Christmas trees because they are “often intensively treated.” Misidentification can be fatal, Bonte said, as eating yew “can have serious, even fatal, consequences.”
And while some evergreens may be used in cooking, not all of them are edible, she says. “There’s a difference between using needles from unspoiled nature and needles from trees grown specifically for Christmas or home decoration.”
Ghent then Edited the post Added information about pesticides to the website and changed “Eating Christmas Trees” to “Scandinavians Eat Christmas Trees.”
The claim surprised some people who know the region’s food best. “We don’t eat the Christmas trees we make ourselves,” says the curator. Food historian at the Green Museum in Auning, Denmark.
“I have a lot of old cookbooks published in Denmark,” she adds with a laugh. “I’ve never seen this before. It’s pretty new.”
Ghent’s climate change team answered questions. He said the city is focusing on green policies, constantly raising awareness about the consumption of evergreen trees.
“Our social media posts regarding the culinary uses of Christmas tree needles fit into the broader context of reuse, recycling, and the circular economy,” the company said in an email Wednesday.
Ghent’s suggestion isn’t the only creative approach to recycling holiday trees. Many holiday evergreen carcasses are thrown away along with garbage bags, but some find a useful and sustainable second life.
in uk and GermanyDrifting wood has been used as toys for zoo animals. In New York City, they are processed into wood chips and mulch to nourish trees in parks. Gardeners all over the world are replanting them. Birdwatchers use them as feeders. Craftsmen make bags and coasters.
However, snacks do not seem to be common. And the connection to Scandinavia is tenuous at best, food historians say.
“There’s this idea all over the world that we in Scandinavia eat absolutely everything that’s green,” Nina Bauer said. Danish food historian. “We just walk around in the forest and eat whatever we can.”
Yes, she said, many people go looking for ingredients. Some people use evergreen ingredients to infuse spirits or smoke other ingredients. Fine chefs at innovative restaurants like Norma also use evergreens for their ingredients, serving grilled reindeer hearts on fresh pine beds.
But Bauer had only heard stories about Danish home cooks eating their holiday trees during dire times, such as during World War II. Cookbooks from the time suggest that Christmas trees were sometimes used as tea in times of food shortages.
And she was clear about the region’s cuisine. “Eating the Christmas tree is not a tradition in Scandinavia.”
Koba Rickwald Contributed to the report.
