How To Clean, Bake, And Store Pine Cones

Do you know how to clean, bake, and store pine cones(sometimes spelled pinecones) so they can be used for cooking and heating in an emergency? What is the best emergency fuel to store? People ask me this all the time. We all have different budgets, cooking devices, and heating options. Some of us have tiny homes; others have medium-sized or large homes. Of course, we must evaluate our land and how much room we have to store and use the various fuel types available. Modern Uses for Pine Cones

Some of us have apartments or mobile homes with limited space for fuel storage and the challenge of using the fuels we have stored based on fire codes and hazards. We also must consider the storage life of the good fuels we want to store. There are also safety issues, such as how much we can store where we live. Life is all about storing the best emergency fuel that fits our living quarters and the budget we have available. I’m updating this post from a few years ago. Some readers have asked me about preparing and using pine cones.

Pine Cones on Golf Course

My husband plays golf and mentioned that the golf course has tons of FREE pine cones on the ground. I love the word FREE, so my husband and I went to the golf course one evening to gather some pine cones. Of course, the weather said it was going to snow that day. If you haven’t been to Southern Utah to see the beautiful red mountains, you probably have not seen the red dirt.

Yes, it is red, and it stains everything. It’s also like clay, so it’s sticky and clings to everything. I didn’t want my shoes covered with wet red dirt, so we hightailed it to the golf course before the storm arrived. The wind was blowing, so the weather felt freezing to me! Below, you can see how we gathered them with a 33-gallon black garbage bag.

Free Pine Cones

I took a collapsible garbage can and put a large black bag inside before we left to go to the golf course. We weren’t sure how much sap the pine cones would still have on them. Now, you might wonder, “Linda, why would you call pine cones one of the best emergency fuels?”

Here’s the deal: I am not a good fire starter. I have tried many gadgets to light a fire, but I still need Tinder or FREE pine cones. Don’t get me wrong, these pine cones are good for more than just starting the fire; they burn faster. I can also use these in my Kelly Kettle. When we had a fireplace in our home, Mark would often use some pine cones to help get the fire going faster than usual.

Pine cones are also great for my Volcano Stove or firepit. We couldn’t store a lot of wood in Southern Utah when we lived there because of the termites. Plus, after baking these pine cones, they are insect-free, and the sap is gone as part of “baking” them.

Preparing Pine Cones Before Cooking

As I mentioned above, sometimes the pine cones are covered with dirt and other debris that need to be cleaned off. You can take the pine cones and soak them in the sink or a large bowl with warm water and possibly a little soap to soften the dirt. I’ve heard of people using a cop of white vinegar in the water to help clean. Take a brush to clear off the visible dirt by gently scrubbing them. You might even find a few pine needles hiding from plain sight.

You’ll want to air-dry the pine cones once they’ve been cleaned. Check before drying them that you actually have clean pine cones so you don’t have baked-on dirt after the baking process.

My friend Lisa suggested baking the pine cones on cookie sheets covered by aluminum foil to bake in the oven. If there is a lot of sap, using the aluminum foil means you won’t have a lot of clean-up after baking them. It worked. I baked the pine cones at 200 degrees for 2 hours by making a single layer of the pine cones on the sheet. The baking process eliminates any sticky sap and removes any bugs that may be hiding in the core of the pine cone. Parchment paper MAY work on the baking sheet, but I felt the foil was my best option.

There was some nervousness while doing the first batch because I’d never baked pine cones, but I had no problems with baking them. I ensured I had zero pine cones hanging over the cookie sheet because I didn’t want any pine sap drips in my oven.

Baking The Pine Cones

Ready To Store Fuel

I am a bit of an organization fanatic. It could be that I’m even a little OCD; I don’t know. My wheat is stored with red Gamma lids, and I use yellow ones for my pasta. I made my emergency washing machines with green lids. Mark and I store my Kingsford charcoal in blue buckets with blue Gamma lids. My fire starter/best emergency fuel pine cones are stored in black buckets with black Gamma lids. I order all my black buckets and Gamma Lids from this group: Black Buckets with Gamma Lids.

Storing Pine Cones

Gamma Lids on Buckets

The Gamma lids are two-piece: the ring or band, as you would call it, and the fantastic screw-on lid itself. It would be best to have a rubber mallet and a cloth to carefully tap the “ring or band” on the bucket. These are 5-gallon buckets shown below.

Store Pine Cones with Other Fuel

Kingsford Charcoal Story

I have to tell you this story about Kingsford Charcoal. We picked up two bags of this charcoal to complete my blue bucket storage project, which I finished with blue Gamma lids. I wanted them all packed and ready for when I might need them. Please picture me at my local grocery store. I ran to get my husband’s weekly allotment of bananas for his morning breakfast cereal.

Skip The Lighter Fuel Charcoal

While I was there, I picked up some Kingsford charcoal that was manufactured without the chemicals. Please note that charcoal without lighter fluid chemicals can be stored indefinitely in a waterproof/airtight container. I store my oak hardwood lump charcoal in red buckets with red Gamma lids. I want several types of fuel for different emergencies.

When I was ready to pay at the checkout counter, the clerk (about 60ish) asked me if I knew why Kingsford Charcoal was called Kingsford. I said I didn’t know. He showed me the bag where they tell a little story behind the name.

Oh my gosh! I couldn’t stop smiling because I had never heard the story and hadn’t seen part of it on the outside of the bag. We have a gas barbecue, and I only buy charcoal for a party or camping up in the mountains.

I wonder if the Boy Scouts or their leaders know about this story. I’m just thinking out loud about the name of the charcoal. This statement is straight from the Kingsford bag, and I quote: “The History Of The Original Charcoal: Back in 1920, Kingsford Charcoal repurposed wood scraps from the production of Ford Model T’s into charcoal briquets.

Made in the USA. Today, Kingsford remains the leading manufacturer of charcoal in the U.S., annually turning 1 million tons of real wood scraps into the authentic charcoal briquets America loves.”

Charcoal briquettes vs Lump charcoal:

What is briquette charcoal?

Charcoal has been pressed into similar sizes with round, uniform shapes. This is what we usually think of as BBQ fuel.

What is lump charcoal?

It’s generally charred wood fuel that is not formed into uniform shapes. It’s natural tree lumber that is burned in a kiln.

Which has more ashes: lump charcoal or briquettes?

Briquettes have more ashes because they are pressed into forms, and the lump charcoal is naturally charred tree lumber via a kiln.

Which product has more consistent heat?

Briquettes because they are uniform in size, therefore heating more evenly.

How does the price compare between the two?

This can vary widely because some lump charcoal can be made out of wood from pine trees, pecan, oak, or whatever wood is natural for the area where it is being sold. Some woods are more expensive, depending on where you purchase them and their availability.

They are typically more expensive than briquettes. Note that the charcoal made from softwoods tends to burn faster, and the harder woods tend to burn slower and longer, so plan based on what you will be cooking and the desired results.

Cooking With A Butane Stove:

We still open a window to let some fresh air in just to be safe when using a butane stove. I used to use these stoves in classes where I taught food storage-type classes or emergency cooking classes. Mark and I also used this stove for six weeks, along with our solar Sun Oven, when we were waiting for our gas stove to be installed in the kitchen. We’re so glad we replaced our glass-top electric stove.

I’ve always preferred cooking with natural gas because you can control the heat more consistently and because it tends to be less expensive to use. Also, I haven’t found a glass-top stove to accommodate the heat generated during my annual canning. Some may be engineered that way, but I haven’t found one.

It’s been fun cooking with gas again. Once the harvest season is here, we’ll discuss proper canning techniques later this year and how to make the most of the fruit and vegetable crops we’ve grown in our garden or those found in our local stores or farmers’ markets. The gas stove makes it possible to can and pressure cook, which I couldn’t do with the old glass top. Butane Stove and Butane Fuel

Can I use the cleaned pine cones to do my holiday crafting?

Holiday decorations like Christmas tree ornaments made from pine cones can turn out beautiful. Pine cone crafts can also include wreaths, garlands, and home decor additions by placing them in bowls, baskets, or metal tubs. The process of cleaning and baking them makes for a safer decor product for indoor use since you don’t have to worry about insects. Fresh pine cones off the tree can smell wonderful, but you do have to concern yourself with bugs.

I have some pine cone wreaths I put out every year during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I love DIY craft projects, including those using pine cones.

Final Word

Please store pine cones if you can access them for FREE! May God bless this world, Linda