Pollen Honey Fudge

I was really excited to make this recipe from my new favorite blogger, Forager Chef. I almost missed cattail pollen season, but last week while doing my regular walk around Lake Hiawatha, I spied the cattails and went in for a closer look. Sure enough, the tops were emitting yellow powder. I feel hesitant to collect pollen from plants so near the golf course or roads, cattails being useful for removing toxins in the environment by absorbing them, but I'd been cataloging a few locations on some hikes around the city that felt a bit more remote. So that night I headed out to one spot, and another the following day. That 2nd day was windier, and I only got about a tablespoon of pollen, despite some of the cattail shoots just opening and turning yellow. When people say it is a short harvesting season, they are right! 

I got about a cup of pollen from both trips, a low return on two hours of time, but enough to do something with. I consoled myself that first attempts at anything have lower yields, and now I am more aware of what I am looking for. 

So! This pollen fudge - it totally highlights the pollen. It's so yellow! I had to add a little more pollen than Forager Chef suggested, but that might be because I loosely measured my honey and may have been a little off. In any case, his recipe follows, which he says was inspired by Chinese and Iraqi pollen confections. His recipe links to this YouTube video of Pine Tree Flower Cake made by a woman in China, which is totally stunning. I watched more of her videos - no wonder she has millions of views! I found this fudge tasty, unlike anything else I've eaten, and a nice post dinner bite. I found I wanted a little crunch, so I tried rolling one in shredded coconut (good), and will try another in some crushed roasted nuts.

My one cup of cattail pollen.

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons pine or cattail pollen (previously frozen to sterilize it)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or coconut oil for a vegan version
• 4 teaspoons mild honey
• Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, working with a fork until it just comes together, then switch to your hands and knead to a soft mass.
• Gauge the texture of the fudge, if it seems to soft to work with, add some more pollen.
• Chill the “fudge” to make it stiffen if it gets too soft on you. I like to form them, then chill to hold their shape. Just imagine you’re working with PlayDoh
• Shape the fudge into truffles, or another shape, dust with powdered dried pine needles, chopped fresh spruce tips, or more pollen as for truffles, and serve as a small sweet after a meal.