Pine needle soda with ice, lemon, and herbs
Let’s make a natural Sprite using pine needles. This fizzy soda not only tastes so much better—citrusy with undertones of mint—but also provides a free blast of Vitamin C. Plus, you only need three ingredients. Learn more.
White Pine was an important staple for humans here for centuries. The needles are especially rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, and numerous other plant compounds and may have saved the lives of early European explorers. This cup of Pine Needle Soda has much more Vitamin C than a cup of orange juice!
Yes, White Pine Needles are Edible
Most pine needles are edible; we use White Pine needles because this tree is common across North American neighborhoods and parks; plus, white pine needles make the best-tasting drink in our books. The White Pine is easy to identify because it’s the only one with five needles per bunch. See how to identify white pine trees. (Don’t mistake pine for a yew or cypress or “fake” pine like the Norfolk Pine, as these needles are toxic.)
A few notes on the recipe below …
- Use a glass jar with a tight lid or glass container with flip-top to make this drink. Plastic can leach chemicals in sunlight.
- Do not eliminate or decrease the small amount of sugar. You need the sugar to feed the wild yeasts living on the needles (which they feed on to create the carbon dioxide bubbles).
- We’ve been asked about washing the pine needles. We just take them straight from the tree. You may immerse them in a large bowl of cool water if you’re concerned about dust, but be very gentle and do not overwash them, or you’ll kill the wild yeasts that you need to create the fizzy soda. Avoid hot water, which also kills wild yeasts.
Also: See our Pine Needle Tea recipe and more White Pine remedies!
Catherine Boeckmann
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Thank you for the informative message on white pine. Questions: Can you harvest the new pine tips and use in all these applications; tea, bath, vinegar? Would the amount used be different for say tea, ‘Sprite’ given these new tips?
I have Loblolly Pines growing in my yard. Texas foragers use Loblolly needles for tea. I am going to try them in this "soda" recipe, unless there is a reason why I shouldn't. It looks very refreshing. Thanks.
Can you make the soda during the winter time? Will the wild yeast be alive? I want to have my Plant Science Class try to make this. Thank you!
Yes! Pine needles can be gathered all year! The new growth in the spring can be less tough, but we harvest pine needles all year long, even in the wintertime, for a delicious tea. See this page as well for more information about foraging and identifying white pine.
Will blue spruce work?
All spruce tips are edible. We’ve never tried it in this recipe but based on using blue spruce in other dishes, we find it has the most intense flavor.
White needle pine is not in the south. The long leaf is an endangered species and is native here, but rarely seen. However, we planted one on our property "doing our part" and due to its health benefits. Will this recipe work with the long leaf pine?
Longleaf pine is not an endangered species. It is widely planted (thanks to many government programs spending your tax dollars - or those of your children and grandchildren - to subsidize it
Not sure what part of the South you’re in, but I’m in TN and white pines are not hard to find here!
Yes! The Long Leaf Pine is edible as a member of the pine family. It may not taste as good as white pine, but it’s very medicinal: antiseptic, diuretic, warming, expectorant, and rich in vitamin C. Use a generous amount - a loose half handful - chopped up and steeped in hot water for 10 minutes. The tea should taste sour and resinous.
Second to White Pine, we love Virginia Pine needles (Pinus virginiana) which is found south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama.
