Honey Infused with Pollen

Abstract

The comprehensive result of the present invention contains raw honey, bee pollen, and/or manually collected pollen. The pollens are frozen to prevent spoilage. Upon collecting all of the desired pollens, the pollens are mixed together and thoroughly blended with raw honey to create a product, with extended shelf life, containing a known variety of pollens.

Claims

1. What we claim as our invention is a method for creating a product with extended shelf life that contains a variety of minimally processed pollens, including bee pollen as well as manually collected tree, grass, and shrub pollen using the following steps: (a) Collect pollen manually. To collect the pollen simply shake the pollen from the desired pollen producing plants, trees and shrubs into re-sealable bags. Measure and record moisture content in pollen. Label each bag of pollen with the pollen type, moisture content and the date collected. Place pollen bags in an airtight container and store in a freezer to maintain temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. (b) Collect bee pollen. To collect bee pollen place a pollen trap on a beehive. Measure and record moisture content in pollen. Label each bag of pollen with the pollen type, moisture content and the date collected. Place pollen bags in an airtight container and store in a freezer to maintain temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. (c) After the desired quantity and variety of pollens have been collected, mix pollens together. Calculate the total percent moisture of the pollen mixture. Measure and record the total weight of the pollen mixture. (d) Measure and record the moisture content of the raw unprocessed unfiltered honey that will be used for preserving the pollen. Calculate the amount of honey that should be added to the pollen to maintain an overall moisture level that will prevent spoilage. (e) Gently warm the amount of honey calculated in step (d) above being careful not to destroy the natural properties of the honey. (f) Blend a convenient amount of the warmed honey with a convenient amount of the pollen mixture from step (d). Blend until mixture becomes frothy. (g) Repeat step (f) until all of the pollen mixture has been blended into honey. (h) Mix all of the frothy pollen/honey mixtures into the warmed honey. (i) Store product in airtight containers.

2. What we claim as our invention is a method for creating a product with extended shelf life that contains a variety of pollens, pollens that cause allergies in mammals, including bee pollen as well as manually collected tree, grass, and shrub pollen using the following steps (a) Collect pollen manually throughout the year. Pollen from all known allergens is targeted (pine, oak, cedar, juniper, ragweed, and more) To collect the pollen simply shake the pollen from the allergy causing plants into re-sealable bags. Label each bag with the pollen type and the date collected. Store in airtight container in the freezer at temperatures not to exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A Dyson DC 35 Multi Floor vacuum can be used to suck lighter pollens from plants. (b) Collect bee pollen using a pollen trap on a beehive. (The most effective pollen traps are the Sundance pollen traps.) Position beehives in all areas from which bee pollen is desired. Turn pollen trap on for a 2-3 hours, collecting pollen immediately upon turning trap off to prevent spoilage. To prevent damaging/destroying beehive, collect pollen weekly to ensure that the hive retains enough pollen to remain healthy. The collected pollen should be labeled with location of collection, date collected and pollen source. The pollen should be stored in an airtight bag in a freezer and kept at a temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. (c) After the desired quantity and variety of pollen has been collected throughout the year, a product containing a mixture of pollens can be created by warming a convenient amount of raw unprocessed honey to between 90-97 degrees Fahrenheit. (i.e. the same temperature that bees typically maintain their hive temperature which ranges from about 90-97 degrees Fahrenheit). In a blender, combine the known amount of warm honey with a known amount of frozen pollen. The pollen should be completely submerged in the honey such that the blend can easily mix the 2 ingredients into a frothy substance. Use a single pollen type or multiple varieties depending on the desired pollen mixture. If a variety of pollen is required, measure desired amounts of each individual pollen into mixing bowl, stir the mixture such that the variety of pollens are evenly distributed. Blend the pollen and warmed honey on high cycle until mixture becomes frothy. (d) Adjust the ratio of honey to pollen by adding raw unprocessed unfiltered honey (honey temperature should be between 90-97 degrees Fahrenheit) to the frothy mixture. Add enough pollen to the honey such that the ratio of pollen to honey (by weight) should be between 0.017% and 0.025%. The raw, unfiltered, unprocessed honey will act as a preservative for the pollen yielding a product with a storage life of several years without requiring refrigeration. For optimum shelf life, a honey with a moisture content less than 17% should be used such that fermentation will not occur. Use a honey with a moisture content less than 18.4% to maintain USDA grade A standards. (e) Stir honey and the pollen mixture until ingredients are evenly distributed. Bottle the product and close with an airtight seal to prevent moisture from entering container. During the bottling process, the honey must be stirred every twenty minutes so that the distribution of the pollen particles remains consistent.

3. What we claim as our invention is a method for creating a product with extended shelf life that contains a variety of pollens, pollens that cause allergies in mammals, including bee pollen as well as manually collected tree, grass, and shrub pollen using the following steps (a) Collect pollen manually throughout the year. Pollen from all known allergens is targeted (pine, oak, cedar, juniper, ragweed, and more) To collect the pollen simply shake the pollen from the allergy causing plants into re-sealable bags. Label each bag with the pollen type and the date collected. Store in airtight container in the freezer at temperatures not to exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A Dyson DC 35 Multi Floor vacuum can be used to suck lighter pollens from plants. (b) Collect bee pollen using a pollen trap on a beehive. (The most effective pollen traps are the Sundance pollen traps.) Position beehives in all areas from which bee pollen is desired. Turn pollen trap on for a 2-3 hours, collecting pollen immediately upon turning trap off to prevent spoilage. To prevent damaging/destroying beehive, collect pollen weekly to ensure that the hive retains enough pollen to remain healthy. The collected pollen should be labeled with location of collection, date, and pollen source. The pollen should be stored in an airtight bag in a freezer and kept at a temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. (c) After the desired quantity and variety of pollen has been collected throughout the year, a product containing a mixture of pollens can be created by gently warming 3 pounds of raw unprocessed honey to approximately 93 degrees Fahrenheit. (i.e. the same temperature that bees typically maintain their hive temperature which ranges from about 90-97 degrees Fahrenheit). In a blender, combine the warm honey with approximately 33 grams of frozen pollen. Use a single pollen type or multiple varieties depending on the desired pollen mixture. If a variety of pollen is desired, measure desired amounts of each individual pollen into mixing bowl, stir the mixture such that the variety of pollens are evenly distributed. (d) Blend the pollen and warmed honey on high cycle until mixture becomes frothy. Mix the blended ingredients with approximately 350 pounds of raw, unprocessed, unheated, unfiltered honey. The raw, unfiltered, unprocessed honey will act as a preservative for the pollen yielding a product with a storage life of several years without requiring refrigeration. Stir until the pollen mixture is evenly distributed. Bottle the product and close with an airtight seal to prevent moisture from entering container. During the bottling process, the honey must be stirred every twenty minutes so that the distribution of the pollen particles remains consistent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The method for creating a product with extended shelf life containing desired amounts and varieties of pollen described below. Pollens not necessarily collected by bees such as tree, grass and shrub pollen may be required in the product. If so, these pollens can be collected manually as described below. Other pollens that are collected by bees may be desired. Methods for collecting bee pollen are described below.

[0017] Method for manual collection of pollen: If a desired tree or grass pollen that is not necessarily collected by bees is required, the manual collection process can be use to obtain the pollen. If targeting a pollen mixture to help with allergy relief, pollens from pine, oak, cedar, juniper and ragweed should be targeted along with any other specific pollen desired. If targeting allergies, pollen should be collected from all seasons from as many allergy causing pollen sources as possible. Manual collection is achieved by shaking the pollen from desired pollen producing plants into re-sealable bags. Pour pollen into an airtight bag marked with the pollen type, moisture* content and collection date. Remove as much air from bag as possible. Store in airtight container in the freezer and kept at a temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. A Dyson DC 35 Multi Floor vacuum can be used to suck lighter pollens from plants.

[0018] Method for collecting bee pollen: Collect bee pollen using a pollen trap on a beehive. (The most effective pollen traps are the Sundance pollen trap.) Position beehives in all areas from which bee pollen is desired. Turn pollen trap on for a 2-3 hours, collecting pollen immediately upon turning trap off to prevent spoilage. To prevent damaging/destroying beehive, collect pollen weekly to ensure that the hive retains enough pollen to remain healthy (or collect from multiple hives such that one hive is not continually deprived of pollen). Pour pollen into an airtight bag marked with the most likely pollen type, moisture* content and collection date. Remove as much air from bag as possible. The pollen should be stored in an airtight container in a freezer and kept at a temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. [0019] *The moisture content of the pollen is only an issue if the infused honey is required to have a large amount of wet pollen mixed with a high moisture honey. An equation to calculate resulting moisture content of the infused honey as a function of the required percentage of pollen, the moisture content of the pollen, and the moisture content of the honey prior to infusion is given below

ihm=(pm*pp+hm)/(pp+1)+hm where [0020] ihm is the percent infused honey moisture [0021] pm is the percent pollen moisture [0022] pp is the percent pollen [0023] hm is the percent honey moisture

[0024] Typically pollen measures between 4% and 10%..sup.1 Moisture content of honey ranges from about 13% to 25%. If large amounts of pollen are to be infused into honey, the moisture of the honey to be infused should be as low as possible. The moisture content of orange blossom honey is typically between 15% and 16%. Honeys produced in desert areas such as New Mexico wildflowers can have moisture contents as low as 13%. .sup.1http://www.virtual.unal.edu.co/cursos/ciencias/2018415/und2/pdf/1determination_water.pdf

[0025] After the desired quantity and variety of pollen has been collected and a low moisture honey has been created by bees, a product containing a mixture of pollens with a nearly infinite shelf life can be created.

[0026] The following describes in detail the method for creating a product targeting allergy relief: [0027] (a) After the desired quantity and variety of pollen has been collected throughout the year, a product containing a mixture of pollens can be created by warming a convenient amount of raw unprocessed honey to between 90-97 degrees Fahrenheit. (i.e. the same temperature that bees typically maintain their hive temperature which ranges from about 90-97 degrees Fahrenheit). In a blender, combine the known amount of warm honey with an amount of frozen pollen equal to about 2-3% of the total weight of warmed honey. Record the pollen weight. Use a single pollen type or multiple varieties depending on the desired pollen mixture. If a variety of pollen is required, measure desired amounts of each individual pollen into mixing bowl, stir the mixture such that the variety of pollens are evenly distributed. Blend the pollen and warmed honey on high cycle until mixture becomes frothy. [0028] (b) Using the pollen weight recorded in step (a) calculate how much additional honey must be added to the pollen such that the ratio of pollen to honey is between 0.017% and 0.025%. Warm the calculated amount of honey to between 90-97 degrees Fahrenheit. The ratio of pollen to honey (by weight) should be between 0.017% and 0.025%. The raw, unfiltered, unprocessed honey will act as a preservative for the pollen yielding a product with a storage life of several years without requiring refrigeration. For optimum shelf life, a honey with a moisture content less than 17% should be used such that fermentation will not occur. Use a honey with a moisture content less than 18.4% to maintain USDA grade A standards. [0029] (c) Stir honey and the pollen mixture until ingredients are evenly distributed. Bottle the product and close with an airtight seal to prevent moisture from entering container. During the bottling process, the honey must be stirred every twenty minutes so that the distribution of the pollen particles remains consistent.

[0030] The following describes in detail how to create a product targeting a nutritional supplement: [0031] (a) After the desired quantity and variety of pollens have been collected, mix pollens together making a note of the weight and moisture content of all pollens added. Calculate the total percent moisture of the pollen mixture. Calculate the total weight of the pollen mixture. [0032] (b) Measure the moisture content of the raw unprocessed unfiltered honey that will be used for preserving the pollen. Calculate the amount of honey that should be added to the pollen to maintain an overall moisture level below 18.6% to meet the USDA standard for grade A honey and minimize the risk of fermentation or below 17.1% to reduce the risk of fermentation to nearly zero. [0033] (c) Warm the amount of honey calculated in step (b) to a temperature between 90-97 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir honey every 20 minutes while warming to prevent burning the honey. Honey can be warmed with a temperature controlled warming band or in a refrigerator that has been modified to produce heat instead of cold. [0034] (d) Blend a convenient amount of the warmed honey with a convenient amount of the pollen mixture from step (c). Use enough honey such that the pollen is completely immersed and blender can easily mix contents into a frothy substance. [0035] (e) Repeat step (d) until all of the pollen has been blended into honey. [0036] (f) Mix all of the frothy pollen/honey mixtures into the warmed honey. [0037] (g) Store product in airtight containers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0038] No drawing.