Pine needle tea and phloem chips.

Sol Invictus · 09-30-2008, 04:23 AM

So your on the run or hid deep off the grid. Your hungry and thirsty and yet your stuck inside a pine forest. For miles around all you can see is white pines and no wild life for you to gain a meal from. To make it worse, its styarted to snow.

So, what are you going to do?

Eat, drink and be merry is the answer. Heres how.

First off, you have your survival kit yes? good. Inside it should be at least a fire starting kit, an axe and a shelter tarp and your steel mug.

Time to get working.

First off build your fire but DO NOT LIGHT IT. A fire thats not warming you or cooking your food is just an IR signal to those who are watching out for you. Your under pine, your signatures minimal, so keep it that way.

Gather up some of that snow. We are going to melt it to give us some nice fresh water for our tea. Yes, I did say tea.

Now, go to the lowest branches that have the newest needles on, and take a good hand full from as near to the trunk as you can get. This handful of needles holds five times the vitamin C weight for weight than two oranges or lemons. So gather up enough for yourself and never take more than you need to feed yourself.

Light your fire, take a good slug of that snow and melt it down, and then, taking those needles, place them inside a spare sock or spare bit of material to make a DIY tea bag, make it ready and then place the 'tea bag' into the water. Bring it to a nice rolling boil for 15 minutes.

When times up, remove the 'tea bag', and sup up. Instant cure for scurvy right there.

Trust me its really nice stuff is that tea.

Now, we are refreshed, but still hungry. Well, lets make some fries. Taking your axe, pick a good healthy tree. Strip off a patch of bark maybe a quarter of the diameter of the trunk and cut it away. Now, you have the wood exposed, cut into it till you reach the 'inner' wood (very hard, very resiliant to cutting) and peel off your strip. this is the phloem, the nutrient carrying 'outer layer' that sits under the bark. Its sappy and messy work, but guess what? its superbly edible.

Right, you have your large strip of phloem, now cut off thin wide strips, make them as thin as you can, and take them to your fire. Place them into the edges of your fire until they are a nice crispy golden colour.

Take from the fire, and eat.

Very sweet tasting, very crispy and very good for you. If you don't let them burn, thse chips will be full of sappy sugary goodness.

From one tree comes your hunger and thirst cure with a medical benefit to boot.

09-30-2008, 04:23 AM	#1
Sol Invictus Banned Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 599	Pine needle tea and phloem chips. So your on the run or hid deep off the grid. Your hungry and thirsty and yet your stuck inside a pine forest. For miles around all you can see is white pines and no wild life for you to gain a meal from. To make it worse, its styarted to snow. So, what are you going to do? Eat, drink and be merry is the answer. Heres how. First off, you have your survival kit yes? good. Inside it should be at least a fire starting kit, an axe and a shelter tarp and your steel mug. Time to get working. First off build your fire but DO NOT LIGHT IT. A fire thats not warming you or cooking your food is just an IR signal to those who are watching out for you. Your under pine, your signatures minimal, so keep it that way. Gather up some of that snow. We are going to melt it to give us some nice fresh water for our tea. Yes, I did say tea. Now, go to the lowest branches that have the newest needles on, and take a good hand full from as near to the trunk as you can get. This handful of needles holds five times the vitamin C weight for weight than two oranges or lemons. So gather up enough for yourself and never take more than you need to feed yourself. Light your fire, take a good slug of that snow and melt it down, and then, taking those needles, place them inside a spare sock or spare bit of material to make a DIY tea bag, make it ready and then place the 'tea bag' into the water. Bring it to a nice rolling boil for 15 minutes. When times up, remove the 'tea bag', and sup up. Instant cure for scurvy right there. Trust me its really nice stuff is that tea. Now, we are refreshed, but still hungry. Well, lets make some fries. Taking your axe, pick a good healthy tree. Strip off a patch of bark maybe a quarter of the diameter of the trunk and cut it away. Now, you have the wood exposed, cut into it till you reach the 'inner' wood (very hard, very resiliant to cutting) and peel off your strip. this is the phloem, the nutrient carrying 'outer layer' that sits under the bark. Its sappy and messy work, but guess what? its superbly edible. Right, you have your large strip of phloem, now cut off thin wide strips, make them as thin as you can, and take them to your fire. Place them into the edges of your fire until they are a nice crispy golden colour. Take from the fire, and eat. Very sweet tasting, very crispy and very good for you. If you don't let them burn, thse chips will be full of sappy sugary goodness. From one tree comes your hunger and thirst cure with a medical benefit to boot.