Dandelion Jelly

So apparently those lovely little yellow weeds called dandelion can have many uses. After doing some research I found out that during the great depression many people ate dandelion greens (the green part of the dandelion) to help supplement some nutritional needs that couldn't get due to lack of food. 

I also found out thanks to a friend that you can batter and fry the top of dandelions and eat them as well. She said it was similar to how you would pan-fry mushrooms. Not only that but the internet had tones of other recipes that could be used to batter and fry them as well.

As for myself, I decided to go with turning them into jelly. It was a long but easy process that any well-seasoned canner should be able to do with ease. However, I am not a well-seasoned canner. Thank God my mom is!

So to start off your going to want to send your kids out to pick dandelions. (It's ok don't feel bad they like picking those weeds anyway and blowing the seeds all over the place while they do it). Now, keep in mind that the area you pick in isn't so close to a road, an area where pets use the bathroom, or any type of pesticide or fertilizer has been used. No one wants to eat that stuff. 

After your kids pick you dandelions (make sure they got enough to have at least 2 cups worth of petals) you must harvest the petals. It's a really simple process, you gently pull the petals and little bit of greenback, take some scissor and cut just enough of the bottom off the whole top of the flower falls apart in your hand. After that remove as much of the green as you can. If not your jelly could turn out bitter. (I have never tested this put many people say the green makes the jelly bitter). 

After you get two cups of petals you take 4 cups of boiling water and pour it over the petals in a container with a lid or some type of cover. Once cool put the container into the frigid and let sit 24 hours. (After making this a few times now I would suggest doing 4 and 1/4 cup water. We found that after the overnight step we were always short some tea. The shortness did not affect the process other than the amount of jelly we had though)

When petals have seeped for 24 hours it is time to get your canning pot and jar read. While they are in the sanitizing bath you can start the jelly making process. You take at 3 and 1/4 to 4 cup of the tea you made (note: the tea will have a grass smell to it but it will go away after you cook it) and put in a pot with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, (so half to the whole lemon depending on the size) and one pouch of pectin powder and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil add 4 cups of sugar (note: this jelly is very sweet, now I have not tried it yet, but if you do not like very sweet jelly you may won't cut back on the sugar). Stir well and let return to boil. Let it boil for 1 to 2 minutes. 

When the jelly is done cooking it is time to put it in the jars. Once all jars are filled and lids put on put them in a canning bath and let boil for 10 minutes (Or according to your altitudes). When 10 minutes up pull the jars out and let cool. (I like to let them cool overnight). After that enjoy. We really like ours on beer bread. N

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