Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Dandelions are one of those so called “weeds” that so plague the modern lawn owner that the attempt to eradicate them has spawned a multi-billion dollar industry. Yet, our ancestors brought Dandelions to the New World to be used as food and medicine. I have written extensively in other books about the medicinal uses of Dandelion. It is worth noting here that Dandelions are likely the wild plant food of which I eat the most. Dandelions are generally regarded to be best in the spring, before the weather gets too hot and the summer sun too intense. I live on a north-western facing slope in the Appalachian mountains. Because I live in a cool, damp climate my dandelions flower and go to seed later and I have very good Dandelion greens spring-fall. In other regions, folks say they become too bitter to eat after the spring crop. Honestly though, I have enjoyed Dandelions out of season most everywhere I have been.
Every part of the Dandelion is edible. The roots are good for a medicinal tea or, roasted, a coffee substitute… but not enough like coffee to actually enjoy them, in my opinion. The stems are very bitter and be used to stimulate digestion. The unopened flower buds may be pickled as a caper substitute. The flowers are used to make syrup and wine. The greens though, are my favorite. Sure, you can just use them as a salad green, and they are usually no more bitter than radicchio or endive. That is, however, a bit bitter for many people’s taste. You get used to the bitterness of wild greens as you learn to forage. Our ancestors spent thousands of years breeding the bitterness out of such simple plants as the lettuce we now take for granted. Wild lettuce is much more bitter than Dandelions. That those who came before us took such care to develop cultivated greens is impressive when truly considered. But, in reducing the bitterness, they also reduced the nutrition. In tasty wild salad greens, we can find a great deal more nutrition; we only have to learn to work with and enjoy the flavor.
A wilted salad is a way of making Dandelion greens more palatable to the modern palate. Unless you are very used to eating the greens raw, I would recommend removing the stems from the leaves. Use only fresh, crisp, bright green leaves. They are best harvested in the morning on a dry day. Avoid those with bad spots or bug bites. Wash if necessary, but don’t bother drying them. Wilted salads don’t need to be dry.
Ingredients:
½ pound or more of freshly picked Dandelion greens
Several Ramp tops or some spring onions, chopped
Several pieces of bacon
Vinegar or dressing
Salt
Pepper
Protein toppings (meat, fish, eggs, cheese)
Instructions
Fry some bacon in a pan until it renders enough fat to use in cooking your greens.
Reserve the bacon
Add Dandelion Greens and green onion or Ramps to the pan
Toss in a dash of salt and pepper (cayenne or crushed red pepper is nice, too)
Stir and turn the greens in the hot fat until they are cooked and tender to your taste and tooth.
Plate and dress either with vinegar in which hot peppers have been pickled or a vinaigrette – I think a mustard vinaigrette works best.
Top with sliced bacon, boiled egg, anchovies or smoked sardines, grated cheese and/or whatever you like.
Dandelion Wine is easy to make and absolutely delicious. I always call it “sunshine in a bottle!” Well, actually a lot of people call it that, so I can’t take credit for coming up with the phrase. Start by picking a lot of fresh, undamaged Dandelion flowers. This recipe uses ½ gallon of dandelion flowers. So, if you have only a quart of flowers, cut all other ingredients in half. If you have a gallon of flowers, double everything. Again, they are best picked before noon on a dry day. But, where I live they usually are not dry until afternoon, so I pick them when I can. It is important to pick off all of the stem and white part where the stem joins the flower as this is bitter. That is the tedious part but it isn’t too bad – no worse than shelling beans. It is good to wash them in cold water by soaking them in a deep bowl or a clean sink to get off any little bugs or bits of dirt.
Bring a gallon of water to a boil in a large pot. Dump your clean flowers into the boiling water, cover and simmer for about a half hour. It is important to add some citrus to balance the acidity. I usually use lemons, but oranges, etc. are nice. I like to add citrus juice and zest – be careful not to include the white pith as citrus pith is extremely bitter. Let this simmer along with the dandelion flowers. It will not only give your wine a nice acidity, but a brighter yellow color and citrus aroma, which is very enjoyable. You can get very creative with your additions – rose petals (all white parts removed), rose hips, violet flowers, raspberries, strawberries, peach, pear, apple, fresh grape (etc. juice). You can add aromatic herbs… whatever you like, but if you use aromatic herbs, wait to add them until after the flowers have boiled, and leave the pot covered while the liquid cools so that the aromatic oils of the herbs do not evaporate.
Once the liquid cools to room temperature, strain out all of the solids and stir in 2-4 pounds of sugar. More sugar will make the wine sweeter and higher in alcohol. Don’t use too much sugar though, because the wine will reach its maximum level of alcohol before it can convert all the sugar and your wine will be too sweet. Add yeast (wine yeast is best, but even bread yeast will do.) Pour into a jug or other vessel that is just large enough without allowing too much air space. You can add some non-chlorinated water to top it off after fermentation settles down – for the first few days, it will bubble and foam strongly and will overflow (even become a wine fountain!) if the jug is too full. For that reason, I just cover the mouth of the jug with a tea towel secured with a rubber band to keep bugs out for the first few days. Once fermentation slows, top it off and use a fermentation airlock and rubber or cork bung to stop the jug. You can buy these at any brewing supply store or just order them online for a couple of bucks – even the cheap plastic ones will be good for several uses. The goal is simply to let the carbon dioxide gas out (so the jug doesn’t explode) without letting air in – I have come up with several DIY solutions to this problem, but airlocks are cheap and pretty much fool-proof.
After 1-2 months, the fermentation will have slowed to the point that the wine seems “still” or not bubbling. At this point, siphon or carefully pour the wine off of the lees (the yeast settled at the bottom). You can strain it through a couple of layers of cheese cloth or a coffee filter if you poured it and got too much of the lees with the wine. The wine will be good at this point, but will improve dramatically with at least a month of aging… don’t be surprised though if it is bubbly when you open a bottle. There will be some live yeast and sugar in there that will carbonate the wine if it is sealed. It is best to age your wine in a cool, dark place. The coolness will slow fermentation and that helps avoid exploding bottles. Darkness is essential, as sunlight will spoil the wine.
Dandelion Syrup is even easier. Start off the same way, preparing your flowers as for wine. Simmer with citrus. Cool. Strain. Add sugar and simmer down into syrup. I think a little mint added to each jar makes the syrup perfect. Without the mint, it tastes almost identical to honey! I have to credit Maria Treben, the Austrian herbalist for this concept. Her recipe was featured in several of her books and was a good bit more technical and involved than mine. But, she gave me the idea and I just began playing around with the ingredients until it came together to my taste. I encourage you do the same.
This article is an excerpt from
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Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast an Herbalist's Guide
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Disclaimer
The information on this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have "traditionally been used for." I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to read my blog you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything, ever.
