This seems like a good idea, if you can store pine needles so they retain their potency you can make pine needle tea.
I wonder what plants can be stored for months that will retain their vitamin C.
If you really needed to I assume you could take a live pine needle tree grown in a barrel of dirt with you.
How about salt-cured lemon or lime, as it’s used in contemporary Moroccan cuisine?
I’d go with a super concentrated syrup of kalamansi lime juice and honey. Chock full of vitamin c and the honey acts as both a sweetener and a preservative. Shelf stable for at least a year without refrigeration.
But they are a new world vegetable, not available in Europe at that time.
Common, but only for the rich – it was expensive. For poor people, it only appeared at the Christmas holidays, as fruitcake.
Would probably work, but pine trees were not that common in england (they preferred planting oaks that could be used for ships’ masts). Also. pine needles don’t taste very good.
But they are a new world vegetable, not available in Europe at that time.
Common, but only for the rich – it was expensive. For poor people, it only appeared at the Christmas holidays, as fruitcake.
Would probably work, but pine trees were not that common in england (they preferred planting oaks that could be used for ships’ masts). Also. pine needles don’t taste very go
The lemons actually worked successfully, to mostly avoid scurvy on British ships. The system fell over when the Brits switched from using imported European lemons to using True British Lime Juice. The limes had low C to start with, and boiling the juice destroyed what was left, so, unlike the 'krouts, the limeys kept getting scurvy until long voyages were made impossible by the introduction of steam.
Pine needle tea is actually pretty good.
I took a food and nutrition science class and ships stocked limes to prevent scurvy. Apparently a lime a day was enough. It is probably due to the hard shell of the lime which makes it easier to preserve whereas a red pepper which is high in vitamin C - I would guess it doesn’t preserve as well? Go with the limes.
However, if you are responsible for a ship and you really want to be certain they remain healthy, it will be well worth your investment to give the ship crew more than just one lime. Give them at least 2 limes and probably a good supply of canned vegetables and potatoes and salt. Potatoes with salt (not too much or too little) will help keep their muscles from cramping. There is much more to a productive healthy crew than just limes. Other fruits like lemons and things like dried roasted sunflower seeds will help keep them healthy as well and probably don’t go bad quickly either.