Dandilions (by sarah)
Well we are pretty much burried under dandilions here the fields that surround us are just covered in the things so I thought why dont we do something useful with this little lot! So out came the herb books, the food for free books and the wine making books!
Since then (which was about a month ago) I have been drying the petals for wine, I have quiet alot now but it still wont make much wine. My plan is to steadily pick and dry them all throught the summer as I still get in so much pain when standing or picking etc... this way it doesnt matter if I cant pick enough to start the wine off strat away. Having said that I still hope to make a batch from fresh dandilion flowers so that we can compare the two wines when they are ready!
I had a few demijohns already thanks to dad! and then Babara has lent us the stuff that Ron (Al's step granddad) used to have for wine making - thisw basically includes everything we were missing including a big bucket that is graduated (has measurements on) with lid, and a corking machin!
I am very excited and cant wait to get going with this properly!
The leaves have made their way into many a salad we've been eating and now I am drying the roots to make a coffee substitute. I will also be drying the leaves as a herb in its own right and making tea from the leaves and roots - dried again. The main reason for the tea is that it is a dieretic that helps and is prescribed for people with gout and as poor mum has gout - not nice not pleasant and very painful - I thought it might help her!
So the dandilion problem is still a problem cos they are everywhere including blocking the doors to the little garage but I will be making much use of them:
Wine Herb Salard Root vegtable Tea Coffee
Pretty good for one plant that is seen as a weed!
Wines and Preserves | sarah | 
Sat 20th May 2006 10:56 am
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By Charlee, Mon 22nd May 2006 @ 8:13 am
And therin lies the reason why we need more people like you two. You really are doing a good show of perfection out there, keep up the good work!
By ella, Wed 31st May 2006 @ 2:27 pm
Wow! Dandilions are useful ... But you forogt about Dandilion and burdock! mmmmmm
By Sarah, Mon 5th Jun 2006 @ 12:12 am
hehe - that goes without saying!
By Jackie, Tue 15th Apr 2008 @ 8:36 pm
I am about to make my first batch of dandilion jelly. I live in Utah, so the dandilions are just now coming through. Why do they have to sit in boiling water for 12 hours? Do they ferment? Anyway I was glad to find you.
By Sarah, Wed 16th Apr 2008 @ 1:04 pm
I've never made dandilion jelly so I don't know what recipy you are using, if it is using the water the dandilion flowers have sat in for 12 hours in a later stage of the recipy it probably to infuse the nutrients from the petals into the water and also the taste. Oftern you boil things like haws and rose hips up and then drain the water off and it is the water and not the rose hips or haws that then go into the jelly.
The flowers are quiet delicate in taste so they probably need alot longer than most but 12 hours does seem abit extreme to me! Or are they being placed in boiling water that then cools down and they sort of just stew for twelve hours? Again boiling for so long may be to reduce the water and make a firmer jelly but without knowing what quantities you are using I just dont know.
If the water wasn't boiling then the flowers would start fermentation but they wont ferment wilst being boiled like that.
Sorry I cant be of more help
Sarah
p.s. I am interested in how it turns out 🙂
By Margareth Osju, Wed 14th Mar 2012 @ 8:03 pm
Nice blog. Thanks for the link. Here in Sweden I think it's forbidden to make wine from those flowers. As an photographer I love to capture those flowers as I like their bright yellow colors 🙂
Good luck with the wine. Some who made it, forbidden or not, they told me that is taste great. Cheers 🙂
By sarah, Fri 16th Mar 2012 @ 2:58 pm
It made a lovely wine 🙂 We have just moved so I'm a bit worried we wont be able to get hold of enough to make wine from again 🙁