Fresh pollen spoils within hours. What happens after the tray is emptied determines whether the product is usable.

Two routes

• Drying: Keeps at room temperature, easy to transport and sell
• Freezing: Retains nutritional value better, but requires a cold chain to the customer

The choice depends on the sales route, not on preference.

The drying temperature

This is the decisive point. Drying too warm destroys part of the nutritional value that gives the product its worth.

Dry low and slow, with air circulation rather than heat. Drying in full sun is inadvisable: too hot, and the light degrades the pigments.

Dry enough

The pollen is dry enough when a granule breaks rather than deforms under pressure.

If moisture remains, mould develops. Mouldy pollen cannot be sorted and cannot be salvaged — when in doubt, do not use it.

Sorting

After drying, bee parts, wax fragments and debris are removed:

• Blower: Light material is blown away; fast and effective
• Sieving: Separates by size
• Hand sorting: Slow but precise, suitable for small quantities

Storage

• Airtight, dark and cool
• Away from smells; pollen takes them up
• Dried pollen draws moisture from the air; the seal matters more than the temperature

Quality

What determines quality is the variety of plants. Pollen from one source gives an incomplete protein package; mixed pollen is worth more, to the bees and to the customer.

Recording

Note per batch: which apiary, which period, harvest date and drying method. That is the basis for an origin claim and for tracing the source if something is wrong.