For centuries we as a people have allowed an incredible resource to literally wash down the gutters every year, and it’s time we became better people in general by taking part in the use of sustainably sourced, hand processed tree pollen! The use of seasonal pollen dates back to the early spring of 1805, when intrepid explorer Guy Manfred lost his way after an opossum ate his travel journal. Low on food and desperate, Manfred gathered pollen that had congealed on the surface of a stream for sustenance. He found he could shape it into cakes that when allowed to dry it would harden into a form similar to drywall spackling. He survived on pollen cakes for three months before stumbling onto the young town of Camden, which had been 3 miles away. For the rest of his life, Manfred continued to harvest and sell pollen as a sign of appreciation.
Since then, use of tree pollen for sustenance has all about vanished, a trade lost to time. Well, here at Beidler Forest we’re bringing back the tradition by offering locally gleaned pollen straight from Four Holes Swamp! Tree pollen, traditionally sourced from both oak and pine trees, is readily abundant and the entire family can enjoy the process of collecting to bottling this golden gem of a resource. Or, you can simply buy it from us! We're not sure what the health benefits, if any, there are for consuming tree pollen, but we hope that like us you're also excited to find out!
How it's Made
Here’s a few of the fifty two steps in tree pollen processing, just a primer to get you started!
Step 1 - Sourcing - Pollen floats readily, and when it falls en massed into a waterway it tends to collect against barriers into large floating mats that have the consistency of mustard. Photo: Richard Covey
Step 2 - Gleaning - By collecting pollen at night, the traditional way, we’ve discovered that it decreases the insect content by 8%! Wow! Photo: Richard Covey
When we asked workers how the pollen smelled before, during, and after collection, the response was, “Not great.” Photo: Richard Covey
Step 3 – Rising – Once collected the pollen is allowed to “rise.” Being lighter than water, the pollen will collect at the top and start to congeal into a pungent paste! Photo: Richard Covey
Steps 4-9 - Straining – Now that the pollen has thickened, it’s poured through sieves of various grades to remove all impurities, like leaves, sticks, insects, and other things we couldn’t identify! Photo: Richard Covey
Step 15 – Coagulating – Once again the strained pollen is added to water in a big vat, and allowed to sit (while covered, you wouldn’t believe the number of flies that try to get in there) for about a week. Photo: Richard Covey
Step 26 – Filtering – Since pollen is so small, the sieves can’t catch it, however, coffee filters can! Pollen is scooped into coffee filters and allowed to sit overnight, leaving behind a thick, yellow-ish paste of the highest quality. Photo: Richard Covey
Step 37 – Crumbling – The now dried pollen is taken off the heat racks and broken apart. Not all of it crumbles readily, which can be a problem! Photo: Richard Covey
Step 38 – Grinding – Larger pieces of hardened pollen are placed into a glass cup and ground down with the use of a random bottle found in the swamp, this is referred to as the “Skibidian Process.” Photo: Richard Covey
Step 51 – Packaging – Once the pollen is as fine as it will ever be, it’s carefully poured into bottles so that none of it lifts up into the air. Once a label is slapped onto this baby it’ll be ready to delight your senses beyond your comprehension! You’ll be pining for more! Photo: Richard Covey
Photo: Richard Covey
