Dandelion Jelly

I know, crazy right?  Well Maybe not sooo crazy.  I had heard several times growing up that dandelions were edible.  But Dandelions, really?  Have you ever picked a bunch of them and then accidentally put your fingers in your mouth?  Gross right. 

Well, apparently there is a proper time to pick dandelions which makes them less bitter.  The best time, just like with radish, is in the spring before the heat comes on.  So, finding only a couple dandelion volunteers this year in the yard, we set about popping off the heads everyday.  We began to fill a 1 gallon zip lock bag.  Once we had that bag entirely full we cut the yellow petals away from the green leaves of the flower head.  (Because it took us awhile to get enough flower heads we kept them in the freezer in the meantime.) 

Now that we had enough flower petals, (with as little green as possible), to equal 4 cups we were able to move to the next step.  4 cups boiled water poured over the flower petals.  Then we let that steep over night, at room temperature.  Once the "tea" had the chance to sit over night we poured it through a clean non-terry cloth towel.  We squeezed out the last of the "tea" into a measuring cup and then started the jelly process. 

This site has the recipe we used.   Dandelion Jelly.

Our jelly had a dark honey color, and tastes just the same.  No bitterness to the flavor.  It really does taste just like honey.  We were able to fill 2 1/2, half pint jars with this recipe.  It does not make a lot of jelly, but well worth it if you have the time, and patience.

I will definitely do this recipe again.