| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Aardvaak |
DandelionCan anyone please tell me if Dandelion's are edible and if so what part and what uses? |
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| sean |
Yep. All of it. There's an article here. 
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| Treacodactyl |
I was going to say 'in theory'. The leaves seem too bitter for my tastes and the I'm still waiting after three years for the wine I made from the flowers to be drinkable. I must get round to trying the roots in coffee.
There's far more info here, including a warning about potential problems: http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Taraxacum+officinale |
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| toggle |
there's a recipe for dandelion jam if you search the site.
mine refused to set this year though |
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| sean |
I think that the bitterness of the leaves depends on what your local clone is. | ||||||
| tahir |
What about blanching? | ||||||
| Treacodactyl |
I know you can buy various cultivars so I would expect you can find ones that are less bitter. We have so many growing in the garden I can't bring myself to buy seeds. I really should get round to trying to blanch a few again, last time I tried I think the plants got slugged and snailed.
Toggle, how did the jam taste? |
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| toggle |
kids liked it last year. I didn't really eat any. I'm not a big fan of eating the stuff, i just like cooking it.
Now, I have 2 bottles of dandelion syrup sitting in the cupboard. |
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| 2steps |
I've made dandelion jam before and it didn't set very well. Might make some more and use jam sugar | ||||||
| toggle |
this may explain my frantic search for pectin. | ||||||
| Jamanda |
Sean is going to see tomorrow - It did occur to me that they might only have it during peak jam making time. |
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| toggle |
thanks for looking for me.
I usually have some in the house, |
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| TAVASCAROW |
Endives, which the French love are just blanched cultivated dandelions.
I think the blanching removes some of the bitterness.  )
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| Jamanda |
Endives are Cichorium endivia. Dandelions are Taraxacum spp.
Same family though. |
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| Jamanda |
Is it just me or are a lot of people's avatars not showing? | ||||||
| toggle |
whose? i never had one. |
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| Penny |
That'll be just you then
We were thinking about what to do with them today - we're exceptionally good at growing them 
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| Jamanda |
Didn't you? That's why I can't remember it. Tavascarrow's has been an error message for a while and Aardvark is new and probably hasn't go round to getting one. So it's just me! |
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| Kinnopio |
I agree about the leaves, I really don't like 'em. But the dandelion wine I made was absolutely delicious. It's always been a firm favourite. |
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| toggle |
I have issues with them being irritating, when people go for animated crap. I haven't used once since i experienced a gaming board where everybody's sig and avatar was hentai. |
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| Jamanda |
No animated ones on here at all at the moment. | ||||||
| toggle |
grins. no oversized cocks either |
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| Jamanda |
No - But there's is Nick's most recent one....... | ||||||
| toggle |
at least he's got his knickers on |
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| Jamanda |
Well there is that - but it's of little comfort really. |
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| toggle |
it's an improvement on bad hentai | ||||||
| Jamanda |
I'll take your word for it 
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| toggle |
good choice.
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| cab |
Funny thing with dandelions, although they've got such lovely flowers they rarely cross pollinate, so the seeds are usually just progeny of the parent plant. If you find a tasty one, go back and nab the seeds later and sow them. You'll be unsurprised to learn that they're very easy to grow.
Even the sweetest dandelion has a bitter twang, but thats part of the charm. Mixed at this time of year with sweet lettuce leaves (delighted to find our first lettuce ready for a few cut and come again picks when I got back from holiday), chickweed, wild garlic, sorrel, whatever spring salad you have, and they're gorgeous. Or just tossed with lettuce and a dressing made with hot lardons of bacon, crouons and a little oil and vinegar, and you have a mavellous dish. |
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| colour it green |
is dandelion wine any good? | ||||||
| cab |
Love it or hate it kind of thing. Made with honey and some grape juice I think its good, but its easy to ruin if you don't get all the green bits (calyx) off the base of the flowers. I'd sooner down a pint of proper dandelion and burdock. |
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| colour it green |
i always think once you are making wine with grape juice or raisens.. you are actually making grape wine.... i tend to avoid those... | ||||||
| cab |
Well, yes, you could argue that its kind of like a grape wine. But my own approach is to try to make wines that are good, and for some ingredients you need a little more body, a little something extra to give some depth to the wine and extra nutrition for the yeast. So some flower wines I think need some grape juice, some benefit from being made as metheglins (herb flavoured meads). Few stand up alone as good wines without some help. You can certainly make a dandelion wine without any grape juice though, if thats to your tastes. Its okay, but I find it a little thin, and it tends to take a lot longer to mature into a drinkable brew. Don't stint on the flower heads, and get all the calyxes off. My Dad used to make it like that. |
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| toggle |
my friend's plot is growing another exceedingly healthy crop of flowers, so i'm going to pick them for wine this afternoon (or rather, I@m going to ahve the kids pick them for wine while himself and i plant out some squash and peas | ||||||
| cab |
If you have plenty of flowers, make sure to keep a few aside to sprinkle over a salad as a garnish. I like the little florets sprinkled over risotto, I think they add a subtle aroma and flavour. | ||||||
| colour it green |
thanks for the advice.. think i might give it a go.. nothing ventured nothing lost... oh wait.. nothing ventured nothing gained... |
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| toggle |
oh, i have plenty. 5-600 at a guess |
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| cab |
If you can find them, I think that coltsfoot flowers make an infinitely better mead/wine than dandelion. |
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| billy wiz |
I recently saw a program where there was a farm growing dandelions.
note - If you pick them make sure they are out of dog pee range. |
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| cab |
There is at least one 'cullinary' variety you can get, I think that Nickys Nursery used to have seeds, dunno if she still does. | ||||||
| Truffle |
A friend made dandelion flower and orange rind wine and it was one of the most delicious homebrew wines I've ever tried! Seriously, in my all time top 5
edit- no raisins were involved! |
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| cab |
Now that sounds like a spiffing idea. Truffle, do you know if he just used the zest or the whole rind? Did he leave it in there long? | ||||||
| Truffle |
I'll find out and text him now. It was deliciously light and fruity (I'm guessing no calyxes or pith)
edit- I should have recipe in a few days.. |
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| toggle |
i now have half a carrier bag full of dandelions to de-green tonight | ||||||
| colour it green |
its a tedious task I ended up with only 2 pints of flower heads.. had to make a little demijohn out of a bottle... |
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| toggle |
which recipe shall i use? | ||||||
| cinders |
I love pickled dandelion leaves,great in a cheese sandwich. Tried making syrup last year but not tried it yet.Garden is full of them and looks very pretty amongst the daisy | ||||||
| Truffle |
Got it!
This is one of the best wines homemade wines I've tried: "Dandelion Wine All in Metric Measurements 2 L Dandelions 1.5 Kilos sugar 4 Oranges 4.5 L water Yeast and Nutrient Flowers for this recipe should be picked in sunshine or at midday when they are fully opened. Measure the yellow heads, discarding as much green as possible (be prepared to have nicely stained fingers) without being too fussy. Bring the water to the boil as you are doing this. Two liters of flower heads weight about 450g. Pour the boiling water over the flowers and let them steep for two days. Don't exceed this time as the wine will go a bit funny smelling. After two days, boil the mixture for 10 minutes with the orange peel (no white pith) and strain through muslin on to sugar, stirring to dissolve it. When cool add the yeast, nutrient and juice from the oranges. Then put in to a demijohn. It should be ready to drink by Christmas if you make it in May. " I've never made it, but this recipe is from a friend who made a few years back and it was very good indeed! |
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| wildfoodie |
mmmm pickled dandelion leaves... sounds good- have you got a recipe
cinders? tonight we had asparagus and dandelion chinese style, very tasty. I've found that when you stir fry the leaves the bitterness becomes more palatable. Personally I wouldn't boil the leaves and find than a few embryonic leaves in a salad is about as much as I can handle raw. Its curious about the bitter flavour tho, the more I eat the more I like it. anyone else found this? |