Topic: Wild fennel pollen

[markfield rover]

I am thinking of giving this a whirl as James Wong puts it...saffrons stiffest competition..... Just sow the seeds you get from the supermarket and collect pollen.
Has anyone tried this? Is it just a life style thingy?
Cheers.

[Pescador]

What has this got to do with Wild Fennel pollen?


Edit, nothing, I've removed it.

[galina]

I am thinking of giving this a whirl as James Wong puts it...saffrons stiffest competition..... Just sow the seeds you get from the supermarket and collect pollen.
Has anyone tried this? Is it just a life style thingy?
Cheers.

No and I had never heard of it eithe,r Markfield rover.  And to my amazement I discovered that it is a commercial product, a new spice.
https://www.yumbles.com/global-harvest/fennel-pollen-spice.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiA3t-2BRCKivi-suDY24gBEiQAX1wiXG_IWARlJ9yZdCgLuwIt9mywUuhgGrX3rcTHI0LMW_gaAti38P8HAQ
Thank you for getting me up to date with all matters culinary      

[Pescador]

Still don't understand what London wine has got to do with fennel pollen!

[Silverleaf]

Spam, I suspect.

[galina]

Spam, I suspect.

Or a newbie getting it wrong perhaps?  Even if he is a Guardian journalist     

[Jayb]

Oooh, no I've not tried it, sounds interesting but this is the first I've heard of it. 

[markfield rover]

Thanks for the info galina ,as a large bag of seeds only costs 50p  I am going in.... So if it comes to anything I'll let you and Jayb know. The only note of caution is I think if someone has a skin reaction to parsnip foliage .
Have you tried Rosemary flowers? The taste fabulous.....and would work well on a carrot cake.

[squeezyjohn]

Even if it is James Wrong saying it - it seems like a good idea! 

I've been cutting down fennel flowers for years to stop it seeding all over the place - I have enough fennel seeds to last a lifetime - great idea to give this plant an extra use and maybe a cool new flavour.

[galina]

Thanks for the info galina ,as a large bag of seeds only costs 50p  I am going in.... So if it comes to anything I'll let you and Jayb know. The only note of caution is I think if someone has a skin reaction to parsnip foliage .
Have you tried Rosemary flowers? The taste fabulous.....and would work well on a carrot cake.

Markfield Rover,

Yes I do have a reaction to parsnip sap and sunshine afterwards, which brings me out in blisters.  Not noticed any adverse reaction dealing with my fennel.

The problem that I foresee is that you might need a lot to harvest a little and fennel are not that small.  Also how 'wild' does it have to be to taste good?  Does garden grown in the UK count or does it need Mediterranean type of sunshine?

Funny you should mention rosemary flowers.  Ours is in bloom at the moment.  Will taste today. 

My oregano on the other hand is very disappointing at this time of year.  There is new growth from the base of the plants, but it has hardly any smell or flavour.   I picked some for cooking and might as well not have bothered, whereas the bits I added to tomato sauce last year (which we are now eating from the freezer) come through strongly as well as the basil.

An interesting project and, yes please, would love to know how you get on.  I'll try and see what my fennel pollen tastes like too.  Won't cut off all the flowers.   

[galina]

http://www.healthysupplies.co.uk/bee-pollen-small-healthy.html

googling a bit further it appears that bee pollen is the next big thing in health food supplements or superfoods in general.  The mind boggles how they 'harvest' it.    

[martinburo]

The mind boggles how they 'harvest' it.

You put a receptacle just inside and under the entrance to the hive. The bees will drop some of the pollen they bring into the hive into the receptacle.

[galina]

Thanks Martinburo,

As easy as that!  I'm glad it is not cruel for the bees, apart from taking some of their food supply away.  Appreciate the explanation.