Sunday, May 1, 2011

It's time to make Dandelion Honey! Little girls gather baskets full of them out under a warm sun.




You need about 250 grams of dandelion flower to make this recipe. That means about one basketful. So, in order to get this...



You need to do this!

We cut off the stems and the thickest green part of the head. You can easily leave a bit of green on... perfectionists should NOT make this otherwise you will go stark raving mad!



In a large pot, drop your 250 grams of dandelion.

Add:

2.5 liters of water
the juice from 3 oranges and 2 lemons

And cook for 1.5 hours. Strain with cheesecloth.

Pour back into your washed-out pot, add 1:1 sugar and cook for one hour. Before boiling, I add fruit pectin to help thicken things up a bit.

After it's been boiling long enough (and you've had your feet up on the couch with a glass of strawberry wine ... waiting) pour it into sterilized jars and Voilà!

19 comments:

penny said...

Allison, you make it sound so easy and delectable.. thanks to your sweet little helpers.

As a child my girlfriend and I picked dandelions and her grandfather made dandelion wine. I remember the bee stings.. vividly!

be well, be happy
Pam

Liesl said...

Hope the strawberry wine is on it's way! That looks delicious. When you said perfectionists should not be doing this,I envisioned Monk (from the tv series) trying to seperate yellow and green there....!

From Beyond My Kitchen Window said...

This is so unbelievable. I have never heard of dandelion honey. The color is gorgeous and the process direct and simple. I am new to canning (last summer) and can't wait to start again this year. I wish I could trust the dandelions around my area but I am scared they may have lawn chemicals and pesticides. My lawn does get them and I almost wish I went out and picked some before my lawn obsessed husband sprayed them with weed kill. Give a shout out to your helper, I bet she made the whole process just a little more fun!!!

Dawn said...

Oh My Goodness
Oh My Goodness!!!
I did NOT know you could do this!!!!
I'm so happy I am almost in tears! Who knew you could do something so wonderful with that pretty little (weed) flower:))))
THANK YOU!!!!
Am actually looking forward to dandelion season:) Woot!:))

Judy said...

I just saw our first dandelion yesterday...I'm definitely going to try this, it looks so yummy.

Changes in the wind said...

Now if we could just taste it:)Looks wondersful.

TexWisGirl said...

i, like pam above, helped pick the dandelions for my dad so he could make his dandelion wine. i'm assuming this tastes a lot sweeter. :)

TexWisGirl said...

oh, and i loved your comment on liesl's site today about traveling to africa, athens, texas, santa fe and rural america in a few clicks... so true!

Inger said...

I need some honey for my throat right now. This looks delicious and not even that difficult to make. But no dandelions grown in our canyon.--Inger

LBB said...

I super excited about this!! Showed this post to the girls & I kid you not...they have a bucket & are out to pick some to make this right now. I had know idea you could make this!! THANK YOU!! We'll make some today :) And I read in the comments ..wine too? I'm so glad I didn't mow the lawn yet!! :)

Out on the prairie said...

MMMM I have never heard of this.

Teté M. Jorge said...

Hey! How cool and... delicious!
A warm hug from Brazilian sunnyday!
Love.

Meg said...

Yay! Oh, how I've waiting for this post, so curious as to how you made it! Well that sounds easy enough. I hope next year we have enough dandelions!

Randy said...

That sounds different. I never knew you could make honey out of dandelions. I learned something new today!

Nancy said...

Okay, I'm definitely doing this. Looks delish.

Joe said...

Interesting. I've never heard of making Dandelion Honey. My Great Grandmother made wine out of Dandelions but I don't think she made an honey.

Carole Barkett said...

This sounds so interesting, how do you use it? Just like regular honey?

Michael Rowland said...

Looks interesting, I'll try it when our dandilions come out in a couple of weeks,,,M

Lakota [Faith Hope and Charity Shopping] said...

Wow, finally an excuse for my disgrace of a lawn! Never heard of this but it definitely sounds worth a try. Can I ask how much this makes (roughly)?