What is Bee Bread – Health Benefits and How to Harvest

In the hidden world of beehives, an extraordinary process occurs, converting pollen into a nutritional marvel known as bee bread. This transformation isn’t just a survival strategy; it’s a fermentation masterpiece that sparks curiosity and offers potential health rewards for humans.

Bee Bread

Pollen is essential for raising new bees in the hive as the nursebees consume pollen to produce brood food. Read more about the importance of pollen in a Honeybee Colony here.

Like nectar, fresh pollen will quickly spoil unless processed. The bees need to store pollen protein within the hive for use during times when fresh pollen is not readily available. Hence, honeybees will turn fresh pollen into Bee Bread through a process of lactic acid fermentation. Much pollen is protected by a hard cellulose shell. This shell makes it difficult for bees to easily digest raw pollen. When the pollen ferments the nutrients in it become available to the bees.

Pollen stored as bee bread within the hive over winter retains much of its nutritional value. There is little deterioration in quality. However, the same would not be true for fresh or unprocessed pollen stored for that length of time.

How do bees make bee bread?

The bees make the bee bread, perga, or ambrosia ‘The food of the Gods’, by packing pollen into cells. It is mixed with honey or nectar and bee saliva containing bacteria, yeasts and enzymes. The ratio is about 70% pollen, 25% honey or nectar and the rest bee saliva. This is sealed by a thin layer of honey. After this begins the process of fermentation which takes a few weeks. During fermentation the protein is broken down and its components become bioavailable.

Bee Bread Health Benefits

People consume bee bread for a number of different reasons. As with many other honeybee derivatives, bee bread has been consumed since ancient times. It is thought to have many health benefits. For example antibiotic and antioxidant properties as well as boosting the immune system and fighting off disease. Whereas we are still waiting for much of this to be proven scientifically, the anecdotal evidence is pointing towards the many health benefits of eating bee bread for reasons other than its nutritional value.

Bee bread is reported to help create a healthy intestinal flora and helping with digestion and detoxification. It can also aid in boosting the function of many internal organs including the liver and increasing longevity. it has also been attributed with increasing energy levels, decreasing fatigue, and stimulating libido and fertility. In the area of cancer, it is thought to help to lower the risk of cancer, aid in the effectiveness of chemotherapy and slowing down tumor growth. Because of these factors and its reported antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, bee bread is getting a lot of attention as a health food but also from a medical perspective for its possible medicinal uses.

Harvesting Bee Bread

Bee bread for human consumption is harvested in the autumn. The comb containing bee bread should be frozen straight away after harvesting. After a couple of days, the comb can be removed from the freezer and the bee bread removed from the comb, either manually or mechanically. It should then be picked over or cleaned. Clean and dry bee bread is then stored in an airtight glass jar in a cool, dark and dry place. Ideally in the fridge. Because bee bread is a fermented product it has a much longer shelf life than raw pollen. Up to 1-2 years. Bee bread has a similar fruity, earthy, slightly sweet taste as pollen, but with the extra sourness or tartness added by the fermentation. One of the words for bee bread, Perga, is Greek and means ‘earthy’.

When harvesting bee bread, it is advisable to take only what the bees can spare to make sure that they are not lacking in pollen or bee bread throughout the winter. There is often a good bit of pollen in the first super above the brood box. Unless you are leaving this box on over winter, the bee bread can be harvested from these. If you are harvesting bee bread to feed back to the bees, it can be kept frozen in the frames until needed. The frames can then be defrosted and inserted into colonies.

(This article is not intended as medical advice. For medical advice, contact your Doctor or GP)

Recommended reading: Pollen

Hanna Bäckmo

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn