Did you know you can make jelly from dandelions and it actually tastes good? It does. It tastes like a mild honey. I’ll bet pretty much everybody has dandelions growing somewhere in their yard, so if you have an abundance of dandelions, why not give this jelly a try?
This is one of those things that at first I turned my nose up at. Then I saw a recipe that said it tastes like honey, so my curiosity got the better of me and I just had to try it. I wasn’t disappointed.
Of course, you need to use dandelions that haven’t been sprayed with weed killer. You need nice clean ones. But go ahead and give this a try. I think you’ll be surprised at how good it is.
Dandelion Jelly
- 2 cups dandelion petals, clean and lightly packed ((Make sure your dandelions haven't been sprayed with weed killer or fertilizer.))
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 box powdered pectin
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Clean picked dandelion flowers in a sink of cold water. Remove from water and allow to dry. Cut the green part of the flower off and place the petals into a quart canning jar. (Cut close to the base and then remove any remaining green parts with your fingers. They should slide off pretty easily. It could make your jelly bitter if you leave the green part on.)
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Pour 4 cups of boiling water over the flower petals. Allow to cool, then place a lid on the jar and refrigerate for 24 hours.
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Strain the flowers well and squeeze out as much dandelion tea as possible.
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Pour 3 ½ to 4 cups of dandelion tea into a large pot. Add lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a boil.
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Add sugar and return to a boil while stirring. Boil the jelly for 2 minutes.
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Remove from heat and pour into sterilized canning jars. (I used 4-ounce jelly jars.) Process for 10 minutes in a water bath canner or according to your altitude.
Recipe adapted from Homestead Acres.
[…] year, my friend, Dawn Mikesell posted a blog on the Kitchen Kneads blog about dandelion jelly and that started my journey with dandelions. Dandelions are, yes, edible — the flower, the […]