How to extract bee bread from honeycombs at home: 6 ways and how to store

Perga is a valuable component for the manufacture of many preparations. Together with pollen, it is increasingly used in apitherapy for the treatment of various diseases. However, obtaining this substance is difficult. The task is complicated by the fact that it is very difficult to extract it from the frame without the use of auxiliary means. Based on this, a logical question arises, how to extract bee bread from honeycombs on your own at home.

Framed perga and peeled perga: pros and cons

Bee pollen can be framed, but most beekeepers prefer to peel it and then pack it.

Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages.

Pros of an unpeeled bee product:

• lower cost;
• frame - the main confirmation of the naturalness of raw materials.

Cons:

• Storage of such bee products requires more space;
• the frame is sometimes not completely filled.

Advantages of refined raw materials:

• ready for consumption or use for other purposes;
• easy to calculate optimal dose;
• opportunity to buy by weight.

Disadvantages of this type of product:

• wasting a lot of time and effort to extract substance from the frame;
• higher cost than framed bee bread.

When comparing both forms, it should be mentioned that the packaged product is used in the manufacture of drugs. And the substance in the frame cannot be used for this purpose until removed from the honeycomb.

Industrial methods for extracting bee bread

There are different options for industrial extraction of bee bread from honeycombs. But they are all based on the same principle - drying. Each of the procedures has its own characteristics.

Vacuum drying

Pergu is mined using special equipment. This procedure allows you to clean the combs as quickly and easily as possible, removing all the granules from them. Carry out such a process as follows:

1. The honeycombs are cooled, then cut into even-sized pieces.
2. Particles of the frames are placed in a special drying device, where the optimum temperature is set.
3. The device turns on and the process of evaporation of moisture from the cells starts.
4. At the end of the time allotted for drying, bee bread is easily removed from the frames.

Note. The vacuum method is the most time-consuming and expensive process. But at the same time, it is the fastest: it takes only 8-10 hours to process one batch of bee bread.

Convective drying

This technique allows you to pull bee bread out of hives that are stacked on top of each other. The method is expensive, so it is not advisable to use it in private small apiaries. Compared to vacuum drying, convective drying has a higher productivity.

Special equipment is used for the procedure. It has special chambers for placing honeycombs, which must first be cleaned of honey. The chamber door closes tightly, then the fan and heater turn on. Under the influence of hot air, water actively evaporates, and bee bread dries and is easily removed.

Natural drying

The simplest technique that allows you to get bee bread without much difficulty. Its advantage lies in the fact that during such a process large volumes of raw materials are processed. The combs are placed under a canopy in the fresh air, or they are placed in a room with good ventilation.

The only downside to natural drying is that it takes a long time. However, it is leveled by the previously described advantages of the technique, combined with the absence of the need for human intervention in this process.

How to get bee bread from honeycombs at home

If you have your own apiary, you just need to know the ways that you can use to independently extract bee bread from the frames. The following activities have worked well.

Freeze

There are several ways to freeze honeycombs for further bee bread. To get raw materials using the first method, follow these steps:

• wrap each frame in a separate plastic bag;
• put the product in the freezer and close it tightly;
• set the temperature no higher than -10 °C;
• leave the honeycombs for 3 hours.

After the specified time, remove the frame from the freezer, then immediately crush it with a wooden rod or other similar object. All you have to do is separate the granules from the wax by hand, and then package them for further storage.

The second freezing option requires the following steps:

1. Heat the knife on the fire, cut the honeycombs, then knead them with your fingers.
2. Fill the pot with cold water, lower the raw materials there.
3. After a certain time, the wax will begin to sink to the bottom of the container, and the bee bread, on the contrary, will rise to the surface of the liquid.
4. Drain the water, spread the resulting granules on a dry, clean cloth for further drying. It takes about a day.

The minus of the procedure under consideration, regardless of the variant of its implementation, is the loss of many nutrients and he althy substances by the product. In addition, manipulation is characterized by low labor productivity, so it is up to you to decide whether it is worth extracting bee bread from honeycombs using this technique.

Soaking

To obtain bee bread using this method, you must first prepare a deep container. There you will fold the frames with bee bread, and it is important that they fit in the container as a whole.

Next, fill the cells with cold water to such a level that all the cells are soaked. Leave the raw material in this form for several hours, then remove and allow the liquid to drain a little. Now all you have to do is manually extract the pellets from the frames.

Carry out the procedure carefully, slowly, so as not to damage the structure of the structures. It is also important that you can collect all the bee product particles without losing them. At the very end, you have to thoroughly dry the resulting raw material.

Comb soaking has its drawbacks. The main one is that while in the water, bee pollen loses a lot of nutrients and nutrients.

Natural drying

You can extract bee bread with your hands without a machine using the simplest, but at the same time popular and effective method. But keep in mind right away that you should not count on a quick result. It will take 2-3 months to dry the honeycombs.

To do this, you first need to decide where you will place the frames. It is good if you can allocate a separate room for this, where direct sunlight does not penetrate. The air temperature should not be lower than +20 … +25 °С.

Place raw materials in the room, close the door tightly and keep the room free of moisture or direct sunlight. Periodically check how the process of natural drying of bee bread is going.

Note. Experts recommend collecting honeycombs from bees, and then immediately send them to dry. Do not delay this process, otherwise the product may lose its useful qualities.

Further storage

Bee pollen can be used immediately in home medicine or prepared so that it retains its beneficial properties for a long time. Your main task is to protect the product from the appearance of mold on its surface. To do this, store raw materials should be at an air humidity not exceeding 75%. The optimal temperature in the room where the bee bread granules will be located ranges between 0 ° C and 15 ° C.

Remember that the substance should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Also, do not allow the room where the raw materials are located to become too stuffy. Excessive heat, like light, is the factor that causes the bee product to become unusable much faster.

Pergu can be mixed with honey. With this combination of substances, storage features change. Firstly, such a mixture must be kept in a glass jar, which is tightly closed with a lid.Secondly, in order for the mixture to retain its nutritional and beneficial properties for a long time, it must be put in the refrigerator or cellar.

Finally, there is such a thing as ground bee bread. It is a powdery substance obtained by grinding granules. You can do it yourself using a blender or coffee grinder. Then package the resulting mass in plastic containers with a lid or zip bags. You can store the product in the refrigerator or other dark cool place.

Perga is a valuable substance with a rich and varied composition. It is used in folk and official medicine due to a wide range of useful properties. But the process of its extraction is complicated, it is laborious and can be long in time.It should be approached scrupulously and responsibly, otherwise the product will lose its properties for which it is so highly valued.

Recommended