For years I’ve heard that pine noodles, the scraped cambium and inner bark of the white pine tree, are a survival food source. I first tried peeling these layers and boiling them. I couldn’t cook them long enough or chew them long enough to consider this food.
Next, I tried shaving the cambium and inner bark.
This time, I soaked the shredded pieces in water for several hours before I cooked them. The liquid, which I call pine noodle tea, is delicate, flavorful and easy to drink without sweetener.
I put the pine noodles and fresh water in a saucepan and boiled them, tasting them every half hour. After three hours I still found the most delicate shavings too chewy to swallow and spit out the pulp. Maybe I didn’t cook the pulp long enough or maybe the heat was too low or too high. I don’t know.
The cooked liquid was darker and stronger than the uncooked liquid, but with a bit of sweetener, I could drink it.
My inclination in a survival situation, would be to scrape the bark, soak or boil it and drink the liquid.