Harvesting Tree Snot

Harvesting Tree Snot

Look, this man is collecting tree snot. But this sticky, gelatinous thing is quite special. It’s called Karaya Gum, or Snow Swallow.

Harvested from the Bangar tree, this sap flows when the tree is wounded. Once the tree is tapped, locals use these clever makeshift containers—half of a plastic bottle—to collect the precious sap.
The best quality gum is collected during summer. As the weather gets warmer the yield increases. The gum collected during the monsoons has low viscosity.

A tree of about 2 m girth with two blazes yields 2 to 5 kg of gum in a year depending upon the locality, size and vigour of the tee and method of tapping.

Both manual and mechanical methods are used to remove sand, dirt and other types of foreign matter. Gum karaya is also granulated and powdered. These granulated gum karayas are used principally as bulk laxatives. In Chinese cuisine, they process it and make it a substitute for bird's nest soup.

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