Jacobson became smitten with evergreens specifically after he did a training stint at noma, the Copenhagen restaurant famous for turning foraged food into high art.
"They use pine in a lot of different capacities. They use it like any other herb," he says.
The tender needle shoots and tips of the white fir "taste like tangerine," Jacobson says, and he uses them to brighten a stock with wild sorrel, goat cheese whey and lemon juice to be ladled over hamachi.
Jacobson also incorporates white fir and pine needles into butter, which he mashes into simple baked potatoes.
John Critchley, executive chef at Washington, D.C.'s Bourbon Steak, considers using pine needles a return to his roots. A native New Englander, he says it is still a common practice there to incorporate the forest on the plate.
"If you're a fan of mushrooms, the taste is very similar," he says. "It doesn't taste like you're eating sap or anything – it just gives you the aroma of the woods."
He covers glass jars of the shoots with cider or brown rice vinegar in early spring, allows them to sit all summer, then uses the vinegar to brighten his fall and winter dishes. He's currently using pine and spruce vinegar in a sauce with hedgehog mushrooms, which he adds to a seared tuna and black truffle ravioli dish.
If you want to try this at home, the recipe is super simple. Here it is, courtesy of Critchley.