I love dandelions! They are so good for you and your liver. The leaves can be used in a salad or dried to make a tea. I love their smells and colors, they are beautiful. Feel free to print this picture and frame it for your kitchen.
This page contains the following solutions.
Instead of getting rid of dandelions, use them. You can use the greens in salads. Dandelions can be used to make jelly and wine. Instead of contaminating the soil with pesticides, it would be much better to use what nature provides.
Dandelion blossoms can be batter-dipped and deep-fried. They taste a lot like mushrooms when prepared in this fashion and are a delightful treat.
Wash and chop dandelion. Cut bacon in pieces and fry crisp. Mix dry ingredients together. Add liquids and pour into skillet. Cook until thickened.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Spring has finally sprung in NE Ohio, overnight my yard is filled with dandelions. I remember many years ago the elder relatives making dandelion wine. Any good recipes out there to try? From what I remember was a fairly simple process. I do not use pesticides or chemicals and try to be very environmentally correct since we live on a lake.
Hi Peggy,
A fellow by the name of Jack Keller has a lot, excuse me, A LOT, of Dandelion Wine Recipes on his web site, something like 28-30 in all!!! He also has a lot of additional dandelion wine, and winemaking in general, information on the site. The address for his site is:
winemaking.jackkeller.net/
Here's to your luck in making this particular "liquid gold!!!"
Scott from Rogers, (NE) Ohio
Here's the one I use, from THE CANADIAN HOMESTEAD COOKBOOK by Jeanne Scargall
MAKES: 7 or 8 bottles
1 gallon dandelion flowers
1 gallon boiling water
3 oranges, chopped finely
3 lemons, chopped finely
3 lbs sugar
1 oz. yeast
*Pick flowers in the morning when fully open
*wash and discard bitter stems
*place in large pot or crock and cover with boiling water
*cover pot with cheesecloth and let stand 3 days, stirring twice a day
*remove flowers, squeezing the liquid from them into the pot.
Dandelion wine is wonderful, but if you have allergies, especially to pollen, watch out! I made it once, and my eyes swelled shut for two days!
www.backwoodshome.com/
just saw this & wanted to post it even if there is more than just recipes for wine - i saw one for dandilion soup !
6 cups dandelion petals
2 lbs. white granulated sugar
1 lb. light raisins
3 level tsps. acid blend
1 Campden tablet
1/2 tsp. yeast energizer
1 gal. hot water
Starting specific gravity should be 1.090 - 1.095, acid .60%
Use only dandelion petals. Cut up raisins and put all ingredients except wine yeast in primary fermentor. Pour gallon of HOT water over ingredients and stir to dissolve sugar. Cover with plastic sheet. Add yeast when must is cool (70-75' F)
Ferment for 3 days, strain, siphon into gallon jugs or carboy and attach fermentation lock. Rack in 3 weeks. Make sure all containers are topped up. Rack again in 3 months. When wine is clear and stable, bottle. To prevent oxidation add 1 antioxidant tablet per gallon, or 1 level teaspoon ascorbic acid per 6 gallons.
Age 6 months.
HI Peggy! I'm over in Niles and wanted to thank you for your post! When my grandmother was alive she lived in Champion and her neighbor made a fabulous dandelion wine that I always wanted to try to do.
Has anyone ever used dandelion greens in salad or other recipes?
By Raelene from Clarksville, TN
Dandelions should be used before they blossom, as they become bitter after that time. Cut off the roots. Pick the greens over carefully and wash them well in several waters.
Dandelion greens are very nutritious, and so good, you can buy seeds to grow special varieties. They are very good. Pick them before they blossom, and wash very well in several changes of water. Break them up, and put them in salads, or cook them like you would spinach. They are good mixed with other greens, or cooked in other dishes that call for greens. They are a little bitter, but I like that.
We grew up on a farm and my grandmother used to use them all the time... raw, steamed, boiled, etc. I was a child the first time I tasted them (raw) and I was not too fond of them (they were bitter). Years later (as an adult), I tried them (also, raw) and they weren't too bad.
I also forgot to mention, many people also use the flower, itself, for food. The most popular way I've heard to prepare the flowers are to wash, dry thoroughly and dip in deep-fry batter (you can make your own), then fry. Never tried them, but I hear they're pretty good.
During the depression my mother and I (I was about 7) would go out to the country area and pick dandelions. My father would stop the car on the main road. At home they would be thoroughly washed and she would make them with hot bacon dressing. Naturally this is before fertilizers etc. This brings back memories of 75 years ago. I believe she also ate them when she was a child in Croatia.
This is how my mom would prepare the greens too Doris..I can still remember her sending me out to pick the greens..I loved that bacon dressing!
This page contains a dandelion tea recipe. Dandelion tea has long been used as an herbal remedy. The tea can be made from flowers and roots. It has been found helpful for an upset stomach. There can be side effects so do your research.
Pick dandelions from your yard and use them to make this delicious bread. Avoid dandelions from areas where chemicals are used for weed or pest control.
One way to get rid of those pesky dandelions in your lawn is to eat them. The greens are chock full of vitamins and minerals. This page contains a dandelion greens and pomegranate vinaigrette recipe.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Dandelions should be used before they blossom, as they become bitter after that time. Cut off the roots. Pick the greens over carefully and wash them well in several waters. Place them in a kettle.
