# Pollen / "Bee bread" in other languages



## Bovis (Feb 21, 2021)

There must be several languages or at least language enthusiasts on the forum, so I want to ask about the terms split between:

Pollen in a flower Vs. Pollen in the comb(/on a bee)

As far as I know, all the slavonic languages have two terms i.e. pyltsa/perga, pyłek/pierzga, meanwhile, English just has Pollen or this "bee bread". This strikes me as a recent term to make up for the fact that the English speaking world hasn't historically had an interest in eating it. 

Am I wrong about "bee bread" being a relatively new coining in English? 

And how about in other languages? Which cultures have a history of eating comb-pollen/bee bread and is that reflected in their words for it?

I love the stuff, I think I'm starting to prefer it to honey.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Bovis, I actually harvest perga every year, here what I did this winter.








Human consumption pollen vs bee bread


I have been wanting to eat pollen for awhile now and realised I had some combs of bee bread left over from queen rearing in the freezer. I have been eating a chunk of this comb each day but I was just wondering is there less or more human health benefit to eating the bread or to eating pollen?




www.beesource.com





But also I just eat honey and perga straight without much hassles.
The old way.
This is what on the counter right now.


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## Bovis (Feb 21, 2021)

Nice technique. It looks like it must be very satisfying to put it through the mincer like that. Do you have a regular harvest period?

I've been lazy with it and more or less just mashed pollen frames with a fair amount of the wax left in, topped up with a honey layer.

How long is the longest you've kept it?


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Bovis said:


> Nice technique. It looks like it must be very satisfying to put it through the mincer like that. Do you have a regular harvest period?
> 
> I've been lazy with it and more or less just mashed pollen frames with a fair amount of the wax left in, topped up with a honey layer.
> 
> How long is the longest you've kept it?


I now found the best time to do the perga extraction is a cold winter day - outside.
The combs are very crunchy and fragile.
Of course you can harvest the combs at any time - on the spot OR beforehand, whatever works.

I have peanut butter jars in the fridge right now with the final product.
It is about ~50/50 honey/perga - looks like thick peanut butter.
Over time is separates some because honey is heavier and settles to the bottom.
I just recently added another layer of honey on the top again so to re-seal the perga.
Presumably we consume this paste until the next harvest time, the next winter now.
Well mixed and sealed with honey, I don't see why not store it for 1-2 years (longer in the freezer).

Previously I did not make paste but just kept the thrashed perga granules mixed with honey.
It is less work.
I also used immersion blender to directly grind/mix the granules with the honey. 
It works, but the blender is easily overloaded by such heavy work and overheats and shuts off.
The meat grinder is suitable OK but even it feels under stress.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

> Am I wrong about "bee bread" being a relatively new coining in English?


I find the term in some very old bee books.


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