Category: Foraging

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How to Make Dandelion Honey

Honey being poured into a dip dish

Benefits of Dandelion Honey

Dandelion honey is a fantastic addition to your food store and is a beneficial alternative to bees honey. Bees honey is also hugely beneficial but as will many foods, eating local is important as the local pollen will benefit your local allergy resistance and boost immunity. As dandelion honey is vegan it is suitable for most diets and will most definitely contain your local pollen. It’s very easy to make, but is a little more time consuming than some other foraging recipes. It was one of the first foraging recipes I tried and i was so pleased with the results.

The honey can be used in any recipe calling for honey so it is well worth giving this recipe a go to create your own store cupboard delight.

There are many benefits to eating dandelion flowers. The petals themselves are sweeter than the remaining plant which contains bitters. Whilst all the plant is edible, we are trying to capture the delicious and delicate flower flavours. There are some recipes which don’t ask for the removal of the greens so this can be down to personal preference.

I produce these posts out of the joy of sharing, but included are some affiliate links for some products I’d recommend to make this process easier for you.

Foraging your Dandelion

For the honey you will need about 20-30 dandelion flowers. Try to get these in the morning when they have just opened. Find a spot which is unlikely to have been used by dogs or other animals too.

Ingredients

  • 20-30 dandelion flower heads
  • 1 litre water
  • 200g sugar
  • sterilised glass Jars and lids

Method

Remove the flower heads and place in 1L of water in a saucepan. Depending on how much time you have and your palette, remove the green parts of the flower as these have bitters which can affect the end flavour.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the heat and then allow it to cool to let the flowers infuse with the water. This process will be drawing out all the flavours and nutritious compounds into your water. The infused liquid will be golden yellow when done.

Strain the flowers from the water. These flowers are still great to add to your company heap to reduce waste. Add 200g of sugar and heat to dissolve. Continue to heat and stir for around 50 minutes. The liquid should reduce leaving a golden dandelion vegan honey.

Pour the honey into sterilised jars and add the lid. Allow to cool and you have jars of delicious dandelion honey ready to go in your store cupboard. You can even make gifts for your friends and family. Here is a cute gift honey jar from kilner.

What next?

The syrup can be reduced further to make hard candies or even candy the dandelion flowers for a crunchy treat. It can also be used to sweeten other recipes as it is a honey substitute. This is a great vegan alternative and allows you to bring in local plants to benefit your home cooking.

Check out my other posts on the Benefits of dandelion.

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Dandelion Recipes

yellow dandelion flower

Getting started with dandelion recipes

When I was raised I was encouraged to stay away from dandelion. The clocks were tremendous fun to blow, but this was the bane of the lawn loving gardener. I now know the huge benefit dandelion holds and regard it as a star amongst the weeds. I wanted to share some beautiful dandelion recipes to get you started with this amazing plant.

Every part of the humble dandelion is edible and it can produce some beautiful dishes, enriched with medicinal and beneficial properties. Rich in Vitamins and antioxidants it is highly nutritious and as the whole plant can be used, can offer variety in the way it is prepared.

The post contains links to other sites. Many are just great links but there are some affiliate links too for products I’d recommend.

Medicinal parts: Root, leaves, flowers (basically all of it)

My Favourite recipes

Drinks and tinctures
a person holding a cup of hot tea
Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.com
  1. Dandelion Root Coffee

This is the first year I have harvested roots for this purpose. I am trying to reduce my caffeine intake but coffee is my guilty pleasure. Let me know how you get on with this recipe or if you make any variations!

2. Dandelion Root Tea

If you haven’t the time to go out and forage your dandelion roots, you can purchase it already prepared and roasted for you.

3. Dandelion wine (yes this right…wine!)

Dandelion wine is a traditional drink, easy to make and if brewed correctly will give you a wine with about 12-13% alcohol. Not bad for this humble weed.

4. Dandelion tincture

Tinctures offer a concentrated dose of the benefits of plants. This link it to an alcohol free tincture. As dandelion is good for reducing inflammation, balancing blood glucose and lowering blood pressure this tincture could be hugely beneficial if you are not keep on the recipes. As always, before introducing any tincture or herbal remedy into your routine, check with your GP or medical herbalist.

Other dishes
quesadillas in bowl
Photo by Raduz on Pexels.com

5. Dandelion Honey Recipe (Vegan honey made from the flowers)

Harvest your dandelion flowers. This should ideally be done in the morning after the morning dew has evaporated. For this recipe you’ll need around 20 flower heads. I love making this recipe. It smells divine and captures the golden yellow of the flowers throughout. Don’t forget to compost your flower heads after they have been used.

6. Foragers salad

The leaves can be a little bitter, but as with all delicious dishes, a meal is all about balance. Taking this into consideration, there is no reason why the leaves cannot be pairs with the flowers to add some sweetness. If you are introducing dandelion leaves into your salads, its a good idea to pick a base leaf that you enjoy eating, then build up the dandelion leaves eat time so you become familiar with the flavour and figure out the right balance for you. Don’t forget your dressing!!

7. Creamy Dandelion Quesadillas

The link to this recipe cites spinach as the greens ingredient but as dandelion is a great substitute for spinach you can easily forage this part of the dish. With this in mind, think of all the other dishes you can incorporate the greens into.

Sweets
closeup of shortbread biscuits against white background
Photo by Terrance Barksdale on Pexels.com

8. Dandelion petal cookies

This is a vegan treat which is worth a try. delicious crumbly cookies. This particular recipes has a Kale drizzle. Why shouldn’t dessert be loaded with B vitamins?

9. Dandelion shortbread

As soon as I discovered this recipe I knew I had to try it. I made shortbread almost every weekend as a child so this recipe was a dream come true. The shortbreads look beautiful too with the yellow petals seen through the crumb.

10 Dandelion cupcakes

Who doesn’t love a cupcake and this recipe incorporates the beautiful dandelion into a sweet treat favourite.

This is just a small selection of recipes for dandelion and is intended as a taster for those of you that want to learn more about foraged foods. Dandelion is so common so identification is really easy. Just remember not to forage on areas which are commonly used for animal toilets.

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Foraging in November

Wood blewit mushroom cluster

November is a great month for foraging in the UK. It can be underestimated as most deciduous and annual species are dying back. The forests and hedgerows can look baron or bare. But if you look a little closer, you’ll find some late Autumn gems to bring home for a meal.

A note on foraging

As a forager, please be respectful of your environment and habitat. It is always best to secure permission from the landowner before foraging. There are some other rules

Some plant and mushroom species are protected so shouldn’t be picked. Wild flower bulbs should also be left in the ground.

Don’t pick a lone mushroom or plant. This isn’t because it is more likely to be deadly or harmful, but if it’s the only one, it could mean that it is needed in the environment to reproduce.

Take only what you need for you. This reduces waste and respects the environment.

Use the rule of thirds. If you’re picking for a larger dish or project, such as picking berries for preservation, take maximum 1/3 on offer. This leaves 1/3 for the wildlife and 1/3 for the next person.

This post is written to help people get more out of foraging. However, it does contain some affiliate links of recommended products.

November foraging finds

Bittercresses – as the name suggests bittercresses taste like… Cress! Bittercresses grow throughout the winter and can be used as a substitute for the easy grow seed crop you buy from the supermarket. The peppery taste makes it a great addition to a winter salad.

Slow berries – these rather tart berries have a large stone for the size of the berries. Many say that they are best picked after the first frost, although I’ve picked them sooner. Whilst eating straight from the blackthorn bush is possible, the most likely use is to infuse in alcohol to make slow gin or vodka.

Chanterelle mushrooms – chanterelle have false gills and can still be found as late as November. Whilst this mushroom is very common (and delicious) it is advised to check the species is edible before committing to a dish. Whilst the lookalikes might not cause more than a stomach upset, better to be safe than sorry.