‘I’ve become so obsessed with being out in the woods,’ Harriet Mansell laughs. ‘I’ve really dedicated my life to it. At primary school we were immersed in the woods and learnt that the hedgerow has a bounty to offer.’ It's a lesson which has certainly stayed with her; today, Harriet celebrates foraged produce at her Lyme Regis restaurant and wine bar Lilac, regularly venturing into the woods with her team to unearth its natural treasures. Her most cherished find comes from pine trees, the needles of which she weaves into everything from oils and vinegars to creams. And she is far from alone – chef Jackson Boxer pairs his pine oil with beeswax ice cream, Santiago Lastra peppers his menus with pine and René Redzepi, of three-star Noma in Copenhagen, has been singing pine's praises (likening it to rosemary) for years. Up in Northumberland, it's so prized by chef Cal Byerley that he even named his restaurant Pine after it.
Though talk of pine might conjure wintry – and, in particular, Christmassy – images, pine trees (a type of conifer, of which there are 600 species) are evergreen, holding onto their needles all year round. That availability makes them perfect for winter foraging, when there can be little else to gather. Though there are over 100 types of pine in the world, the most common in the UK is Scot's. ‘Where I live and, broadly speaking, a lot of places in the northern hemisphere, it grows throughout the year,’ Harriet says. ‘As a forageable item, it’s very accessible.’ But while it might be readily available, there is a knack to properly identifying it. ‘Even chefs can easily mistake pine for spruce or fir,’ Harriet agrees. ‘But you can recognise pine because the needles come out of the branch in bunches of two, three or five. Spruce and fir are in singular needles, spruce needles are also typically square and fir needles are flat.’
The risk? Stumbling on a yew tree, which contains a deadly toxin and needs to be avoided (yew needles are generally flat and have pale green or white bands on the underside). Spruce and fir, however, can be used in cooking – at Ollie Dabbous' HIDE, it's set to feature in an spruce and pear cider float for a New Year's menu. For its group executive chef Josh Angus, one of pine's strengths is the range of flavours to be found in different varieties. 'You can use pine in desserts infused into a parfait or ice cream, or you could use in savoury dishes in a cure, oil, gel or an essence,' he says. 'It gives a fresh grassy, herbal flavour to any dish. I also like to use pine in presentation for dishes – it looks visually stunning, but the aroma it gives off can also complete a dish."