It took 1/2 hour to pick the dandelions. Tuesday eating from your yard tip~Dandelions are a treasure trove of potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin A,C,K and B6. The flowers, leaves and roots are edible. The green parts are bitter, but the yellow of the flower is not. I throw several young dandelion leaves in my daily salad. The bitter of the leaves stimulates bile which helps cleanse your liver and digest your meal. The leaves can also be wilted in stir fries etc. The roasted dandelion root smells like chocolate chip cookies baking. The ground roasted root is used as a coffee substitute or extender or added to hot chocolate. But the flowers are the crowning glory making the best syrup you have ever tasted. I’ll post the directions with the photos. You can also add the flowers to cookies, muffins, egg dishes, or spreads. Oh and we can’t forget dandelion wine!
Dandelion Syrup
Equal parts dandelion flowers (only the yellow no green), water and raw sugar. First take the yellow petals out of green holding them. Bring the petals and water to a boil, then take off heat and cover for 8 hours. Strain the liquid and add the sugar heat gently until it thickens like honey or maple syrup.
It took an hour watching 60 minutes to take the petals out. I got 2 cups from the colander of flowers.
I split the flower and push out the yellow petals. You don’t want any green parts in your syrup.
Dandelion petals in water getting ready to boil.
8 hours later the petals strained out and formed into a ball. Measure the liquid and add an equal amount of raw cane sugar. Slowly heat the mixture until it thickens up. This can take an hour or more.
The finished dandelion syrup ready to cover our pancakes with joy!
