Pine Needle Soda

I found a recipe for pine needle soda and decided to try it out with Eliza. We have a couple big white pines in the front yard so getting the pine needles was easy.

We picked 2 cups of pine needles, gently washed and strained them, then put them in a 1 liter flip top bottle with 4 tbsp of sugar and water.

We were very excited to try it with dinner on the third day. I put some ice and lemon slices in glasses, and popped the top.

Disaster! The soda exploded as if I had shaken the bottle. About 2/3 of the soda ended up on the table, the floor, and me. It was such a mess.

We did end up trying some of the soda. Unfortunately it lost most of its carbonation in the explosion. It had a light flavor, similar to birch beer. It would probably have been pretty good if it had kept its carbonation.

I think we’ll give it another try. I’ll have to research how to keep it from exploding when I open it though!