In my quest this year to put up as much local food as possible I’ve been dabbling in some different food sources that I normally would not be interested in harvesting. Which in essence is different types of weeds! It’s been great fun finding new ways to use wild foods that are common to find. I’ve really been enjoying the stinging nettles but the dandelions started to bloom like crazy so it’s time to put up some dandelions!
There are a lot of different ways to use dandelions since the whole plant is edible. With the blossoms you can: eat them, batter & fry them, add to quick breads, dry for tea, pickle the unopened blossoms, or steep to make wine or jelly. The young leaves: are great in salads, can be made into pesto or dried for tea. If you dig up the roots you can: roast and eat them like parsnips or dark roast & grind for a coffee substitute. Plus I’m sure many other ways to enjoy dandelion! Did I miss any way you like to enjoy dandelions?
I’ve dried a little batch of leaves to store for tea but my first main project was to try dandelion jelly. Most of the posts online say that it has a mild honey flavor… sounds good to me!
Pretty dandelion petals!
Removing the petals from each blossom is a little time consuming but it’s one of those tedious activities that I enjoy doing. So I gathered up a pile of blossoms and sat down to pull out the petals. Some of them came out really easy and others not so much. I’ve read that if you pick them in the morning right before they open up the petals stick out above the green calyx and are easier to separate. ***My tip: go for the largest blossoms 
{Recipe: Dandelion Jelly}
Yield – 5.5 jelly jars
4 cups dandelion petals (removed from green calyx)
4 cups boiling water
1 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 tsp pectin (I use Pomona’s Pectin because it takes less sweetener)
4 tsp calcium water (comes with the pectin)
Place dandelion petals in a glass bowl and pour over the boiling water. Let steep overnight. In the morning strain off the petals and put the dandelion “tea” into a dutch oven (if you can’t get to the jelly right away you can place tea in the fridge).
Add lemon juice and calcium water to the dandelion tea and heat to a boil. Stir pectin into honey while you’re waiting for the dandelion tea to come to a boil, once the tea is at a boil add the honey. Cook for 2 minutes to dissolve the honey and bring back up to a boil. Ladle into sterile, hot canning jars. Put on lids & rings and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes (for 5k’ elevation). Let cool and check seals.
Turned out great!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I picked and boiled a lot of dandelions and have been trying to decided which jelly recipe to use. This is the first one I’ve seen with honey. Being a health person, I like that.
I like using honey too, not only because it’s a little bit healthier but also because it’s a local sweetener!
I’m glad I came across this recipe because I was looking for one that used Pomona’s Pectin. Thanks!
Love it! Am a huge dandelion fan!
Can you taste the Dandelions thought the honey flavor profiles? I am a beekeeper and love to use honey in any recipe I can, but if two flavor profiles are alike does it work?
Your recipe looks lovely and I am excited to try it.
The dandelion gives it a nice, light floral flavor… I think it works perfectly with the honey. It’s a very mild jelly.