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.
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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.