A deliciously delightful dandelion dedication.
All these recipes can be created outdoors, over a campfire, with a little
preparation to ensure you have the right equipment at the ready.
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Contents
Dandelion Jam
Dandelion Marmalade
Dandelion fritters
Other recipes
Dandelion Jam
You would expect that I could give you a definitive jam recipe, guaranteed
to work every time. I can’t do that, but I can explain what we did and,
more importantly, what we did wrong. When working with children, I like
to believe that, it is definitely the process that is far more important than
the final product.
We arrived home from our mountain-biking-morphed-dandelioncollecting trip, with a large bagful of dandelion flowers, two expectant
children and a slightly dubious husband.
Having never made dandelion Jam before I had a look on the internet for
some dandelion jam recipes. Although a few different recipes came up,
none seemed thorough and missed bits that I thought important; such as
explaining what a setting point is.
Another problem I encountered was the recipes were American and the
amounts were described in ounces. It was also unclear as to the amount
of fruit pectin (gelling agent) required. I could see it was going to be a
case of trial and error.
It was decided we would make dandelion jam for us and dandelion
marmalade for the grandparents.
Dandelion Jam Recipe
Jam Jars 2 big/ 3 small
2 large cups of fresh PETALS.
2 cups of boiling water
1/4 cup well-strained, clear
lemon juice
4 cups sugar
liquid pectin - follow
instructions on the bottle or
packet.
Preparation: Ensure the jam
jars are clean and preferably
sterile for longevity.
I then put the jars in a bath to
keep them warm. ( The clean
dry jars were placed in a bowl
of hot water not allowing any
water inside the jars.)
Method
Cover the petals with boiling
water and allow to cool
naturally.
Strain the petals using a muslin
or coffee filter (we used a sieve
then a tea towel).
The liquid left is a dandelion
tea which can be drank neat.
In a pan combine the dandelion
tea, sugar and lemon juice. Stir
until the sugar has dissolved
Bring the solution to a full
rolling boil.
Add the liquid pectin, then
stirring constantly bring back to
a full boil.
Boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and fill the
warm jars. Then allow to cool.
I had to pop off to the shops to get a few things to set us off on our jam and marmalade making. Don’t forget the
pectin, don’t forget the pectin, don’t forget the pectin. (I found a bottle called (Certo) in the sugar section.)
When I returned home, the boys had been hard at work and just finished separating the petals from the green
stalks. Trim with scissors or gently twist the petals away from the rest of the flower head. You will get a few sepals
but minimize the amount of green you get in your petals
We then steeped the petals in boiling water and left them for approx ¾ of an hour outside to cool.
My son desperately wanted to cook the jam over a fire,
like he had done a year ago at his outdoor kindergarten.
Although it was a bright sunny day, it was very windy and
a jam making campfire was not possible. Luck was on our
side and I discovered a hob in the kitchen and said to the
boys, if we couldn’t have a fire then the hob would just
have to do. So it was agreed – jam cooking would happen
on the hob. We added the sugar and stirred it in,
watching as it dissolved. Taking photos was tricky as the
steam kept fogging up the lens!
While the jam was heating up, I sterilised the jam jars in a
separate pan of cold water and brought it to the boil. I
don’t think this is totally necessary, but they do need to
be as clean as possible for preserving. I then placed them
in a bowl of warm water to keep the jars warm for when
we added the jam.
After the sugar and dandelion liquid had boiled, we added
the fruit pectin and carefully ladled the mixture into jam
jars. This is what the instructions were on the pectin
bottle, however, the recipe said to boil after adding
pectin.
The jam was a deep honey colour, I had seen some
recipes suggesting to add food colouring but I couldn't see why this would be necessary.
We left it to cool!
DISASTER - When I looked at the cooled jam, it wasn’t a jam but a runny liquid. Oh no! I had no idea what had gone
wrong. I decided to reheat the liquid to a much higher heat, added more fruit pectin boiled a bit longer and re jarred it.
By this time it was getting late the boys had gone to bed so after it had cooled for a while I popped it in the fridge and
went to bed
The following morning, the boys excitedly extracted the jars from the fridge to discover ....Yippee... THE JAM HAD SET!
Phew ‘What a Jammy recovery!’
This has currently become our favourite jam and the two jars that we eventually made, I don’t think, will last too long.
We all had lashings and
lashings of Dandelion Jam on
homemade bread for
breakfast!
My youngest son wanted to use the dandelion pulp to make something. He remembered last year, when he had
made the jam at kindergarten, that they had used the pulped petals paint with. I remember it was only faint but it
meant a lot to him. This time, he said he wanted to use the pulp to make a bed for his little wood hog. After a bit of
persuasion, he agreed to let them dry out first - which meant waiting until the next day. So the steeped and
squeezed dandelion petals were laid out to dry on a tray. Once they were dry, they made a lovely bed and food for
our pet wood hog. Then he got really cold and ended up, with the help of some PVA glue, with a snugly warm
dandelion petal coat. I wager there are not many pet wood hogs with one of those!
Dandelion Marmalade
A gorgeous looking, deep golden- orange
marmalade with extracts from dandelion
flowers, citrus fruits and apples. Finished
beautifully with delicate dandelion petals.
We had already prepared the petals using
the method previously described, putting
aside half for jam and the other half for
marmalade.
We squeezed the juice from the un-waxed
lemons and oranges. Then chopped up the
fruit. We used the lemon juice in the
marmalade making process and the orange
juice, we guzzled down as it was a
refreshing boost on this very busy day.
The marmalade recipe we used, did not
have added pectin so we needed the citrus
fruit skins plus chopped up apples to give
enough pectin to help the marmalade set.
(Citrus fruit skins have high pectin levels.)
After the fruit had been prepared we
measured out the ingredients and prepared
the jars.
After my jam fiasco I made sure the
marmalade boiled long enough to create a
sticky film on the spoon. When I was
satisfied it was sticky, I poured it into the
jars and was confident that the marmalade
would work where the jam had not.
By this time, the kids were in bed and I was
tired, so once the marmalade had cooled, I
popped the jars in the fridge and went to
bed feeling confident that my magnificent
looking marmalade would set.
Waking in the morning , imagine my utter
disappointment, when the marmalade with
its rich, golden, orange colour laced with
delicate dandelion petals was a very
beautiful- looking, sloppy liquid. 
Dandelion Marmalade – This recipe originates from the River
Cottage Gang but I can no longer find it on their website but if
you search for Dandelion Jam/marmalade it comes up on other
peoples sites
500g apples, cores and peel or windfall apples. Due to the
season, I used shop bought apples.
500g citrus fruit peel (unwaxed lemon, orange or grapefruit)
roughly chopped
50g dandelion petals plus 50g to finish
Granulated sugar (450g sugar for every 600ml juice.)
Put the apples, cores and peel, the citrus peel and 50g of
dandelion petals into a large saucepan. Add sufficient water to
cover (about 1.5 litres). Bring to simmer and cook slowly for 45
to 60 minutes – this softens the fruit and releases the valuable
pectin. Turn the fruit into a jelly bag or muslin and leave for
couple of hours or overnight to drip.
Preparing dandelion marmalade
Measure the strained liquid and weigh 450g sugar for every
600ml juice. Return the juice to the pan. Bring to the boil, then
add the sugar. Stir until dissolved then boil rapidly, without
stirring until setting point is reached (about 10 minutes). Stir in
the remaining dandelion petals.
Remove from the heat and stir, always going in the same
direction, until any surface bubbles (or scum) have disappeared
and the petals are well distributed. Pour into warm, clean jam
jars and seal immediately with metal lids.
Makes approx 3 pots of dandelion marmalade.
If the dandelion petals rise to the surface, wait until the jelly has
cooled a little and is beginning to set then give the jar a sharp
shake; you’ll find the petals will redistribute and stay put
throughout the jelly.
Where did it go wrong?
Once again I am not sure exactly but I
think next time I will cut the peel
smaller and also add the pips from the
citrus fruit as they contain pectin. I
could also allow it to drip for longer as
think I only waited about an hour and I
presume I did not extract enough of the
pectin. I will also follow the tip below to
double check I am at setting point.
TIP - SETTING POINT
The marmalade is ready when the
temperature reaches 105°C/220°f. If
you don't have a thermometer, chill a
saucer in the refrigerator for 15
minutes. Spoon a little of the
marmalade onto the cold saucer. Push
the flat edge of a knife against the edge
of the marmalade blob and if the
surface wrinkles it is beginning to set. If
it doesn't wrinkle, put the plate back in
the fridge and cook the marmalade for
another minute, then test again. Tip
from Win Fenton
Dandelion Flower Fritters
Make your fritters as soon as possible after picking
Recipe 1
Ingredients
 100g corn flour
 150g plain flour
 10g baking powder
 Enough iced soda water to
make batter
( the liquid should coat your finger.)
Method
1. In a bowl mix the different
flours together
2. Add iced soda water
gradually
3. Give the batter a brief stir do not over stir and don’t
worry about lumps
4. Dip ingredients immediately
into batter and deep fry in
hot oil
Recipe 2
Mix one egg and one cup of milk together.
Stir in a cup of flour (you can sweeten by adding a little syrup or honey.)
Gently warm some olive oil in a skillet, or dutch oven over the fire. Hold a dandelion head by the green base
of the flower petals and dip the petals into the batter. Twist in your finger tips until the dandelion flower is
covered.
Place it into the skillet, flower side down.
Carry on dipping the dandelion flowers and placing them in your oil, checking the first ones are not going too
brown. When they are lightly browned, flip them over and brown them on the other side.
Once the dandelion flower is brown on both sides, remove it from the oil and drain any excess by placing on a
paper towel.
To further sweeten you can sprinkle them with syrup, honey, jam, or powdered sugar.
For savory fritters try adding savory herbs to the batter before you cook them.
Try adding turmeric to colour the batter.
Other recipes
There are plenty of jam recipes on the internet, so take a look and find one you think can work for you. A few
are suggested below.
Dandelion Jelly with powdered Pectin
1.
Using stainless steel pan, boil the flowers in 2 quarts of spring water for 10 minutes, cool, and strain,
pressing the liquid out of the flowers gently, then restrain through a coffee filter.
2.
Measure 3 cups of the liquid, add the lemon juice, pectin. Optional: add 1 split vanilla bean.
3.
Put into a deep jelly kettle and bring to a rolling boil, then add sugar and stir to mix well.
4.
Stir and boil hard for 1½ minutes, or until mixture sheets from a wooden spoon, skim, carefully remove
vanilla pod, pour into hot clean half pint jam jars and seal.
5.
http://www.food.com/recipe/dandelion-jelly-90601
Dandelion Jelly with Liquid Pectin
Combine dandelion tea, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a full
rolling boil. Add liquid pectin and stirring constantly bring back to
a full boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and fill jars.
http://www.simplycanning.com/dandelion-jelly.html
Dandelion Marmalade
Inspired by the river cottage gang
http://www.sneakymagpie.com/food/dandelion-jam/
3½ cups dandelion tea
(Petals steeped in boiling water
and allowed to rest until fully
cooled)
7 cups sugar!
4 tbsp. lemon juice
2 pouches liquid pectin
Feeling adventurous - Pink Dandelion Wine http://www.almanac.com/recipe/pink-dandelion-wine
Salad recipes
http://www.thekitchn.com/ingredient-spotlight-dandelion-greens-173153
Foraging books are really helpful to gain ideas for using the natural resources around us and suggest useful cooking tips.
A couple of books are featured in the accompanying down load ‘The wonder of the Everyday’