Still eating Christmas leftovers? Why not try your tree?

Are you one of the thousands of households in the West with a Christmas tree sitting outside waiting to be picked up? You might want to think abut bringing it back in - and having it for dinner.

Weeks after turkey sandwiches and turkey curry, your tree could be the ultimate Christmas leftover. At least, that's what Lauren Davies and Julia Georgallis think - and they've just hosted a dinner party 'flavoured by fir'.

Lauren and Julia's menu included:

  • Spruce-cured salmon with spruce pickles.

  • Spruce-flavoured ice-cream

  • A cheese course with a spruce jelly.

But - the crucial question - what does it taste like? Does it taste like pine air freshener?

Why not try it yourself? A word of warning before you start - the pair say budding chefs should keep away from yews, which are known to be poisonous, and can be identified from the way the needles grow in a spiral around the branch and from small red berries in the winter.

Here's Lauren and Julia's recipe for making a simple syrup from your spruce.

  • Cut the newest branches off, i.e. those that have the youngest needles

  • Give them a little wash to make sure there are no dirt or insects, then cut the needles off as close to the branch or twig as possible

  • Slice some lemons: you need one lemon for every heaped tablespoon of sugar

  • Add 4 tablespoons of water and 2 heaped tablespoons of sugar

  • Once the solution is boiling grab a handful of the needles and add them to the pan to infuse

  • Finally, strain and serve with fizzy water or gin.

The syrup must be strained and can then be served with fizzy water or gin. Credit: ITV West Country.

You can see the whole syrup-making process here:

Credit: ITV West Country