Find out how to make Christmas tree cream (made with spruce, fir, or other edible conifer needles). This is a simple base recipe that can be used as an ingredient in a wide variety of other foods and drinks to add incredible, unique flavor.
Using and making Christmas tree cream (or milk)
Christmas tree cream & milk are base recipes we recommend in our How to Eat Your Christmas Tree Guide.
You can use these infusions as a base to add Christmas tree flavor to other recipes like pudding and custard, ice cream, eggnog, or any cream-based recipe where the unique rosemary-citrus flavors of edible conifer trees will work. You can also make Christmas tree whipped cream as a topping for other desserts.
On the beverage side of things, use Christmas tree cream or milk to make unforgettable eggnogs, hot chocolates, or even add a bit of holiday cheer to your morning cup of coffee.
Cream or milk?
Both Christmas tree cream and milk are made the same exact way, as we’ll detail below. The difference is as simple as the name implies: cream is used for one infusion and milk is used for the other. Regardless of which one you’re making, we recommend:
- using organic grass-fed dairy products,
- using the mature needles of edible conifer trees (see warnings below).
Safety warnings
We detail three warnings in our How to Eat Your Christmas Tree Guide that we’ll briefly outline again here (read the guide for more info):
- You should know what type of tree you’re planning to eat (especially when foraging) because there are poisonous evergreen species. For instance, yews are deadly poisonous, although yews are not used for Christmas trees or ornamentation in the US.
- Commercial Christmas trees may have synthetic pesticide residues on them. In some locations, organic Christmas trees are available. Synthetic pesticides are not permitted on organic farms.
- Like any food, some people may have sensitivities/allergies to edible conifer needles. Especially if you’re prone to food allergies, try a small amount to make sure you have no averse reactions before eating larger quantities.
What are the best conifer needles for Christmas tree cream and milk?
The types of edible conifers/Christmas trees that will make the best Christmas tree cream and milk are:
- spruces (Picea spp.)
- firs (Abies spp.)
- Douglass-fir, which is not a true fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
- hemlocks (Tsuga spp.)
Some species of pines (Pinus spp.) would also work in a pinch, but the trees listed above will work better. Keep in mind that each genus/species of edible conifer tree listed above has different, unique flavor characteristics.
To find out more about the various species of edible conifers plus how to ID, harvest, and process the needles, please give our How to Eat Your Christmas Tree Guide a read!
Regardless of which edible conifer species you use for this recipe, we’d recommend using fresh, green mature needles for best results.
Two ways to make Christmas tree cream and milk, depending on your preferences
Regardless of which infusion method you use below, we’ve found that a 1:4 ratio of fresh Christmas tree needles to cream/milk works best. Example: 1 cup of spruce needles to 4 cups cream.
Option 1. Cold infusion
Making Christmas tree cream or milk via a cold infusion process produces the most intense flavor (read: best), but it takes more time to make (3 days is ideal).
Here’s how:
- Put your needles and a quarter of your cream into a blender and blend until the cream thickens too much to continue blending. Then add another 1/4 of your cream and repeat the process until you’re out of cream. By then, you basically have unsweetened *whipped cream full of partly chopped up needles. (*Whole milk or lower fat milk options will not whip; they maintain a liquid form throughout the infusion process.)
- Put the mixture in a jar/container in your fridge, and stir for 30-60 seconds twice daily with a spoon. With cream, each time you stir, more of the tiny bubbles in the partially whipped cream are broken down helping to return the texture to more of a cream-like consistency. Stirring also helps extract more flavor from the needles with either cream or milk versions.
- Cream only – After three days, remove from fridge and place cream over low heat in a sauce pan for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly to make sure things don’t get too hot. You’re not trying to cook it; you’re simply trying to get the cream to the point where all those little bubbles collapse and you’re able to easily strain it through cheese cloth or a mesh strainer to remove the needles. You may need to strain multiple times to remove all the needles.
- Milk only – After three days, remove from fridge and strain through cheese cloth or a mesh strainer to remove the needles. You may need to strain multiple times to remove all the needles.
Once the needles are strained, you’ve got cold-infused Christmas tree cream or milk. Store in your fridge for later or use immediately.
Option 2. Hot infusion
Making Christmas tree cream or milk via a hot infusion process produces less intensely flavored cream/milk, but it takes way less time to make (~40 minutes total).
Here’s how:
- Put your needles and a quarter of your cream into a blender and blend until the cream thickens too much to continue blending. Then add another 1/4 of your cream and repeat the process until you’re out of cream. By then, you basically have unsweetened whipped cream full of partly chopped up needles. (*Here again, with milk version, you can simply blend needles and milk together without them whipping.)
- Ladle the cream-needle mix into a saucepan over medium low heat (3 on our stovetop). (Milk version will pour out.) Stir or whisk every few minutes to prevent sticking and make sure the cream or milk doesn’t get too hot. You don’t want it boiling. You’re going for a relatively slow, low temperature infusion that doesn’t produce off flavors or too much bitter from the needles.
- After ~30 minutes, remove from heat and strain out needles through cheesecloth or mesh strainer. You may need to strain multiple times in order to remove all the needles.
Once the needles are strained, you’ve got hot-infused Christmas tree cream or milk. Store in your fridge or use immediately.
Three other important recipe notes:
1. Regardless of whether you utilize the cold- or hot-infusion method detailed above, if you start with 1 cup of cream or milk, you’ll likely end up with about 7/8 cup of strained cream/milk after the needles are removed.
If you have a recipe that calls for 1 cup of cream, simply top up your infused cream with a bit of fresh cream to make up the difference. Same with the milk version.
2. Yes, we do blind taste tests with our recipe trials (and errors) when trying to decide between different versions. One such taste test involved various iterations of our Christmas tree crème brûlée.
One version used cold-infused cream, the other used hot-infused cream. Otherwise, the two versions were identical. Results from the three tasters?
Two out of three liked the more intense flavor of the cold-infused cream version. One liked the milder/less intense flavor of the hot-infused version.
Make of this info (from a three-person blind taste testing) what you will. If you don’t have time to make a more intensely flavored cold-infused cream but you still want maximum flavor, perhaps you could go for a longer heat-infusion (45-60 minutes) on your cream to extract more flavor without also extracting unpleasant notes.
3. By itself (read: unsweetened) Christmas tree cream and milk are rather savory and a bit intense. They’re not supposed to be consumed as-is; they’re a base ingredient to be added to other recipes.
However, once sweetened and made into desserts or beverages, they’re quite magical as you’ll soon find out!
Recipe: Christmas tree cream or milk
Print
Christmas tree cream (made with conifer needles)
Turn your Christmas tree needles into Christmas tree cream to make outrageously flavorful puddings, custards, whipped cream and more.
-
1/4
cup
freshly harvested mature conifer needles
(fir, spruce, Douglas fir, or hemlock tree needles work best)
-
1
cup
organic cream / whipping cream
Option 1: For COLD-infused Christmas tree cream:
-
Add needles plus a quarter of your cream into a blender. Blend until the cream thickens too much to continue blending. Add another quarter of your cream and repeat the process until all cream is incorporated and has a whipped cream consistency. (*Milk will not thicken when blended, only cream.)
-
Ladle into a covered jar/container and place in your fridge for 3 days, stirring twice a day for 30-60 seconds with a spoon. This helps break down bubbles in cream and extract more flavor from needles. If making milk version, we still recommend stirring twice daily to aid flavor infusion.
-
CREAM ONLY - On Day 3, remove cream from fridge and place over low heat in a sauce pan for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly to make sure things don’t get too hot. You’re not trying to cook the cream, you just want it warm enough to return it to a liquid state so it strains easily. Strain heated cream through a cheese cloth or a mesh strainer to remove the needles. Repeat the straining process as-needed (or use a finer strainer) until all needles are removed.
MILK ONLY - On Day 3, remove milk from fridge and strain through cheese cloth or a mesh strainer to remove the needles. Repeat the straining process as-needed (or use a finer strainer) until all needles are removed.
Option 2: For HOT-infused Christmas tree cream:
-
Add needles plus a quarter of your cream into a blender. Blend until the cream *thickens too much to continue blending. Add another quarter of your cream and repeat the process until all cream is incorporated and has a whipped cream consistency. (*Milk version will not thicken or whip.)
-
Ladle cream into a saucepan on medium low heat (3 on our stovetop) or pour in for milk version. Stir or whisk every few minutes to prevent sticking and make sure the cream/milk doesn’t get too hot. You don’t want it boiling. You’re aiming for a relatively slow, low temperature infusion that doesn’t cause the needles to produce off flavors or too much bitterness.
-
After about 30 minutes, remove from heat and strain out needles through cheesecloth or mesh strainer. (Or cook for another 5-10 minutes for more flavor intensity before straining.) Repeat straining process as-needed until all needles are removed, or do secondary straining through finer meshed strainer.
Now the fun begins – putting these flavorful ingredients to work in desserts and drinks. Enjoy!
KIGI,
Want to dig your fork deeper into edible conifers?
Start here: Tyrant Farms’ Edible Christmas Tree Guide
Base recipes:
Additional Christmas tree/edible conifer recipes:
We’d also like to recommend two books for other Christmas tree eaters and food explorers; each contains delicious recipes you can make with your Christmas tree:
24 Comments
lizzy
June 5, 2023 at 3:33 pmI took my duck to the emergency vet this weekend for bumblefoot, she didn’t have an infection but I did get some good advise. The avian vet there said not to use hydrogen peroxide or epsom salt because both can dry out their feet more. I was told to use A+D original ointment, it’s found in the baby section for diaper rash. It helps to keep the feet moisturized. Soak the feet in just some warm water and them massage the ointment into all the crack and crevices, I did this before bed time. The vet’s main emphasis was on the substrate though, grass and sand were her recommendations for best foot health, also plenty of shade to minimize the ground’s temperature.
lizzy
June 5, 2023 at 3:36 pmThe vet also said not to cover the feet when there is bumblefoot because it will trap bacteria leading to infection
Aaron von Frank
June 6, 2023 at 4:02 pmThanks for your input, Lizzy! There isn’t one single way to treat bumblefoot. Seasoned duck people we know all have slightly different methods. The method we’ve developed (with input from our avian vet) and used for over a decade to treat bumblefoot on our ducks has been 100% effective for us so far. We haven’t had any problems with wet feet or worsening infections during treatment with the “duck shoes” on, but we do have a warning/caution section in the article stating that we’ll temporarily cease treatment if there are multiple days of rain.
I do have to give some pushback on the grass and sand substrate recommendation from your vet. For anyone who raises ducks in a relatively confined area where rain is regular, their grass will soon disappear and be replaced by mud (that’s how ducks roll!). Sand would be quickly turned into a poopy mess as well. That’s why we recommend bedding (for people who have their ducks in a run by day) or finely ground mulch for people like us whose ducks live in a fairly large fenced back yard by day. People who think ducks are dirty and stinky are shocked when they see and smell our yard and duck living areas, because they are neither dirty nor stinky. Triple ground mulch is a major reason for that. Granted, even finely ground mulch can be a little rough on duck feet, but we’ve never had bumblefoot on any of our ducks that required veterinary care. Cases were either mild enough to heal up on their own or we treated them effectively at home.
Again, thanks for your comments and fingers crossed your duck’s bumblefoot clears up soon!
Mandee
August 13, 2021 at 12:29 pmHi there! Love your posts!!! So informative so thank you!
My one little Cayuga lady has what I believe is bumblefoot – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158980437535709&set=a.10150319453350709&type=3
I have been soaking every other day with epson salt and a drawling salve. She hasn’t let me keep shoes on so I’m going to try doing it at end of day when they go back into pen. I think my hubby was prescribed silvadene for a burn so maybe I’ll switch to that. Her foot is warm but honestly their feet always are warm. It’s been three weeks. Hasn’t gotten bigger.
I’m too scared to pull it out tho and risk more infection and an open wound. Will it fall out on its own?
Thanks for any guidance
Aaron von Frank
August 14, 2021 at 7:57 amHi Mandee! Thanks for your kind words. Yes, that’s definitely bumblefoot in your Cayuga. Good news: it’s not a very bad case of bumblefoot. If your duck is otherwise healthy, she’ll almost certainly be able to push the infection out on her own, especially with your TLC. Be patient – it may take 3-6+ weeks for the infection to push out. Hopefully, it will be on the lower end of that spectrum given your care regimen. Regardless, you definitely don’t want to do at-home surgery under the circumstances. FYI: it looks like there’s at least one spot on her flipper where she’s had a previous bumblefoot infection that healed (the toe on the opposite side), so you know what that looks like. Best of luck!
Sandra Madden
August 10, 2021 at 3:49 pmCan bumblefoot resolve on its own?? This past weekend I discovered a large black spot on my duck’s heel pad and a small spot that I can’t tell if it’s bumblefoot or just scar tissue from losing the nail on small toe. I’ve been treating it with 2x daily epsom salt soaks and vetrimycin, with a gauze pad and vet wrap afterwards (shoes are on order). The big scab came off easily after the first soak with smooth scar tissue underneath, the little one just bleeds and re-forms (tried 3 times so far). The entire foot and lower leg are warm to the touch, compared the other one, even after soaking in cool water, but there’s no discoloration or any other sign of infection.
Since her bandage isn’t waterproof, I’ve been keeping her separated but near her friends. However, she’s not really eating either (not even mealworm treats). I’m not sure if it’s because of her foot or because she’s upset/depressed about being isolated. If there are no open wounds, can she hang out with the others and swim in their pools? Or does she need to stay isolated and maybe even see the vet?
Aaron von Frank
August 11, 2021 at 12:32 pmYes, bumblefoot *can* resolve on its own, as we know from personal experience – with caveats. For instance, since our ducks do a good bit of free-ranging, they’re more prone to bumblefoot, which happens when small cuts and scrapes get infected by certain strains of bacteria that are environmentally ubiquitous. 9 out of 10 times, we just monitor their “bumbles” and they resolve over the course of a month or so. However, sometimes they don’t resolve. It’s hard to say exactly when/why one case of bumblefoot will resolve and others won’t. Our guess is that it has to do with a combination of factors, namely:
1) how bad the initial cut and infection are (deeper and larger cuts/infections will be harder to heal on their own);
2) the overall health of the duck (healthier ducks will fight off bumblefoot more easily than less healthy ducks).
Since your duck’s entire leg feels warm to the touch, that likely indicates a deeper, more pervasive infection that warrants an analysis by an avian vet. It may require a course of antibiotics to prevent the infection from continuing further and/or entering her bloodstream. Or there may be some other unrelated injury or infection causing her leg to be warm (example: septic arthritis).
Since the bacteria that cause bumblefoot are literally everywhere, there’s no reason to isolate a duck with bumblefoot from others except immediately after topical antibiotics are first applied. Maybe try letting her back with her flock to see if that helps boost her spirits and appetite.
Again, unfortunately it sounds like you’ll need to get her leg evaluated by an avian vet to determine exactly what’s going on and how to address it. The sooner you can get her in for a visit, the better. Best of luck and please check back to let us know what your vet finds!
Kate
May 28, 2021 at 10:40 amFollow up question – is it ok if they splash around in their water bowls with the silver ointment on their foot? Is there any risk if they drink it?
Aaron von Frank
May 28, 2021 at 1:57 pmHi again, Kate! We like to give our girls about 30 minutes to let the medication/Silvadene sink in to the infected tissue prior to giving them access to a pool or any water source they could use to remove the medication. It’s generally not a great idea to administer oral antibiotics to animals or people unless they really need them (even in small doses) since it can kill beneficial bacteria in the GI system, cause dysbiosis, etc. If your ducks are splashing their treated feet in their water bowl shortly after the Silvadene is applied, it’s going to be really diluted down, but still not an ideal situation. So do try to keep them out of water until the cream has had time to absorb.
Kate
April 3, 2021 at 10:15 pmI wanted to share another source that we found in case it is helpful to others. https://crazy-k-farm.myshopify.com/collections/poultry/products/birdy-bootie-hand-made-in-the-usa
We ordered these with rush shipping and got them within the week. Now, if anyone has advice about how to keep my duck from ripping hers off I would appreciate it! Duct tape didn’t work 🙂
Feliciana Mitchell
January 13, 2021 at 7:44 pmHello,
I think my duck may have infected bumblefoot. How do I tell if it is infected? And do I treat it any different if it does?
Thanks!
Aaron von Frank
January 14, 2021 at 10:42 amHi Feliciana! All bumblefoot is technically an infection, even if it is only a small spot and has not spread to other tissue or bone. Are you saying that you think the bumblefoot infection in your duck has spread beyond an isolated spot? If so, you may need to get your duck to a vet asap, especially if the infection has reached the bone. Indications for that level of infection are: swollen joints, duck unable to walk and/or limping, and the area feeling hot to the touch. For bumblefoot infections that serious, immediate treatment with antibiotics are almost certainly going to be necessary to save the duck’s life. Best of luck and let us know if you have any questions.
Feliciana Mitchell
January 13, 2021 at 7:09 pmThank you! I hope this works and helps for my duck who has bad bumblefoot that is infected
Feliciana Mitchell
January 13, 2021 at 7:11 pmP.s do you have any good suggestions for infected bumblefoot?
Jayne
October 15, 2020 at 2:42 pmThank you so much! This was a very helpful and informative post! We have a chicken with bumble foot right now, and if I hadn’t read this post, I would’ve had no clue what it was or what to do! Thank you so much for this information, and hopefully it will help our chicken!
Aaron von Frank
October 15, 2020 at 10:19 pmGlad to hear this, Jayne! Hope your chicken’s bumblefoot clears up soon with proper care.
Elizabeth
October 11, 2020 at 9:02 amAny idea how to treat a bad case of bumblefoot in a duck? Is Penicillin ok for ducks? Is their something else i should use?
Aaron von Frank
October 11, 2020 at 3:25 pmHi Elizabeth! If you’re dealing with a bad infection, we highly recommend taking your duck to an avian vet for treatment as it can be life-threatening in severe cases. Since we’re not vets, we’re hesitant to suggest penicillin injections or dosage quantities. You also have to be extremely careful giving a duck injections since a novice could puncture an air sac, causing serious problems. Again, best left to a vet or someone who has been shown where/how to do it by their vet. Best of luck to you and your duck in getting over bumblefoot.
Elaine
October 3, 2020 at 3:15 pmHello! Thank you for sharing so many great duck resources and recommendations. I’m building out my ducks first aid kit while also going through the first-time Bumblefoot issue. Do you have a secondary recommendation for the duck shoes? It looks like the Party Fowl site has a significant several week queue. I’ll likely order a pair through them, however trying to find something quicker as well. Thanks again!
Aaron von Frank
October 5, 2020 at 10:14 pmHi Elaine! Sorry, we don’t know of another source for duck shoes. We ordered some new pairs from Party Fowl back in August and are still waiting. I think that’s pretty typical. In our case, we don’t need them, they’re just backup for when we do need them and our old ones are worn out or lost. In your case, here’s a possible backup solution (assuming you don’t want to try to stitch together your own neoprene duck shoes): apply the medication to the bumblefoot just before you coop them at night. A lot of the medication will come off in the bedding, but hopefully enough will absorb to be effective. Hope this helps and best of luck with your duck’s bumblefoot. Oh, and one thing we’ve noticed is that 9 out of 10 times our ducks are able to fend off bumblefoot untreated — especially so when they’re not laying eggs and their bodies can put more energy into the fight. So don’t be too stressed if you’re dealing with a mild case.
Kate
April 3, 2021 at 10:13 pmI wanted to share another source that we found in case it is helpful to others. https://crazy-k-farm.myshopify.com/collections/poultry/products/birdy-bootie-hand-made-in-the-usa
We ordered these with rush shipping and got them within the week. Now, if anyone has advice about how to keep my duck from ripping hers off I would appreciate it! Duct tape didn’t work 🙂
Aaron von Frank
April 4, 2021 at 9:02 amHa! Thanks for sharing your duck shoe source. We’ve found vet wrap to be excellent for keeping duck shoes on. You can wrap it over the top of the shoe and their ankles – not too tight so you don’t cut off circulation.
Tristiane Masterson-Miller
September 30, 2020 at 11:48 amHi there, we are dealing with bumblefoot for the first time, thanks for the informative article! One question, do you let the ducks swim with the duck shoe on? We have been keeping ours out of of their pond but it limits their free range area quite a lot and I know swimming is good for their legs and feet. Thank you!
Aaron von Frank
September 30, 2020 at 11:02 pmYes, our ducks are able to swim (and walk) just fine with their shoes on. Do note that we apply medication + shoes to their feet at night just before putting them in their coop so that it has plenty of time to absorb in a dry environment and not get washed off. Best of luck treating your duck’s bumblefoot!