10 Things You Can Do with Dandelions (Part 2)

 

 Welcome to Part 2 of 10 Things You Can Do With Dandelions.

If you missed part one, I would encourage you to take a look back by visiting the above link.

Among the other five dandelion recipes, you will also find a list of potential health benefits on the previous post. If you weren't aware, the plant can be a remedy for all sorts of ailments. I have only attempted a couple of these recipes so far, like adding the greens to a salad, but I have plans to try more.

I had no clue that so many different things could be done with dandelions. It was rather difficult to trim down my extensive list for these posts. You'll be pleased to know that nothing in this mash-up is too complicated or time consuming, although simpler recipes can be found in part 1. I'm hoping that this will be a useful starting point for anyone who might be interested in putting these prevalent plants to good use.

!WARNING! Dandelions should only be harvested from areas that you know haven't been contaminated by pesticides or fertilizers, since digesting those substances can be toxic or lethal! Gathering dandelions from busy roadsides is also not a good idea due to the fear of contamination, so it's better to avoid them altogether. The best place to harvest would be your own yard or that of a friend. 

 

6. Dandelion Fritters
Gather only dandelion flowers for this recipe. Ideally, you would want to harvest them and go straight to cooking, so attempt this when you have time to complete.

For the batter, mix one egg and a cup of milk. Add one cup of flour to the mix to complete the batter. Heat just enough oil to cover fritters on medium.

Once heated, dip the flowers in the batter by holding the green bract. Be sure to cover the flower head. Drop into the skillet, flower side down. Proceed with covering the flower heads in batter and dropping them into the oil. After the bottoms are a light brown, turn the flowers over and brown the green base. When brown on both sides, remove from the pan and allow the excess oil to be absorbed by a paper towel.

To make a sweeter fritter honey or maple syrup can be added to the batter or used as a dipping sauce.


Fritter Variation: The flower heads could alternatively be removed from the green base, leaving only the petals (and white fuzzies). Add to the batter instead of dipping and use batter as you would to make pancakes.

7. Dandelion Aperitif (liqueur)
Pick dandelion flowers on a bright, sunny day. Place flowers in a large jar with a ½ cup of sugar and lemon peel. Cover with 100 proof vodka, and after appropriately 2 or 3 weeks, you will strain the flowers from the liquid. Bottle into a clean glass  bottle that has a tight cork or top. Afterward, you are left with a delightful concoction that will serve as a lovely reminder of summertime.


8. Dandelion Jelly
Ingredients:

• 2 cups dandelion blossoms, separated from leave and bracts
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 ¼ teaspoons pectin

Preparation:
Boil flowers in water on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Strain petals from liquid. Return to pot, and bring to a boil. Add sugar, lemon juice and pectin (follow instructions on pectin label). Boil and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon, skimming the foam, until the top surface becomes blobby and glasslike (2 or more minutes).

The rest of this recipe involves canning techniques that would require an entire post of its own that I have no clue about, yet! We are looking to explore methods of canning that don't require extra equipment.

9. Dandelion Coffee
Later summer dandelion roots are best for this purpose as they are bigger. Once cleaned and dried off, put on a cooking sheet and heat in an oven at 200 degrees for an hour or so. From here, the roots can go straight into a grinder, and prepared just as you would your normal coffee.


10. Dandelion Wine
This is a link to the wine we are currently attempting to make:
http://www.ashtreepublishing.com/Book_Healing_Wise_Recipe_Dandywine.htm

And, here are two other resources with different recipes for the adventurous:
http://www.gardenguides.com/1394-dandelion-wine.html (I would like to try this one next)
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/dandelio.asp (This website has multiple recipes to try out)

 I know that the thought of eating dandelions isn't appealing to everyone, but you can't deny that some of  these recipes sound pretty tasty! Besides, they are low in calories and provide a good source of Vitamins A, C and E, and contain healthy amounts of Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Folate, Dietary Fiber and Potassium, plus many others.

 By no means is this meant to be a comprehensive list of ALL that can be done with dandelions, it's merely a compilation of the recipes and ideas I found to be the most interesting. To leave a comment, please scroll back to the top of this post as the link can be found below the title.

If you are interested in seeing the other 5 recipes, here's a link to Part 1:

http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2010/04/10-things-you-can-do-with-dandelions.html

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