My mother dosed her family with generous amounts of dandelion greens as soon as she discovered their bright leaves poking up through the thatch of the back lawn.
One of nine children growing up during the Depression on a Vermont dairy farm, Mom regaled us with many stories of the wild-food foraging that supplemented the self-reliant family diet. Dandelions, the first fresh greens of spring, ranked high on her list of important foraged foods.
I inherited my mother’s dandelion fork, a simple wooden-handled tool with a steel shaft and a short, sharp fork at one end. Though sadly I misplaced the fork and bought a new one (much inferior), I continue her tradition.
Harvesting Dandelions
The trick to enjoying dandelion greens? Harvest them young with their underground crowns attached and clean them well. Choose a spot that hasn’t been sprayed or fertilized with agricultural chemicals or frequented by pets.
Harvest the spiky greens and their pale belowground crowns (which taste like artichoke hearts) as soon as you detect the tiny spiked leaves poking forth. Harvest the greens until the blossoms open (the unopened buds are yummy), after which the leaves become too bitter for most palates.
Angle your “weeding fork” down about an inch into the soil below the rosette of 3- to 6-inch greens, and sever the crown where it joins the root. Then pull the entire rosette from the ground. Shake it free of dirt and remove as many of last year’s slimy leaves as possible.
Digging up dandelions. Photo by Gregory Johnston/Shutterstock.
Cleaning Dandelions
Pay rigorous attention to cleaning the grit and debris from inside the tightly formed crown. Swish the greens around in a deep pan through several changes of water. Then cut open the crowns without severing the leaves and scrape debris from each rosette before submerging the greens for a final rinse.
Washed dandelion greens. Photo by 13smile/Shutterstock.
Cooking with Dandelions
Although I add the tiniest dandelion greens to fresh salads, I like them best cooked with a couple of onions. I sauté chopped onions (and maybe a little garlic) in a bit of olive oil until they become translucent, then add the greens with a little rinse water clinging to them and steam until the greens are soft.
I also add dandelions to a spring-tonic soup that could include young nettles, parsley, spinach, kale, and chard cooked in well-seasoned chicken broth.
Also, a strong tea of dandelion blossoms used as a hair rinse adds shine and highlights to blond hair.
See recipes for dandelion wine, dandelion jelly, and more.
Boiled dandelion greens. Photo by Julie Deshaies/Shutterstock.
Dandelion soup. Photo by minadezhda/Shutterstock.
In the Garden
The deep perennial taproots forage minerals and make them available for shallower-rooted crops. (Don’t let too many get started, though, and pull the blossoms off in the vegetable garden.)
In a lawn or field, the bright yellow flowers attract pollinators to the spring garden and provide an important early nectar source for many butterflies.
NOTE: Make sure that you can identify dandelions with certainty before you harvest them. If you’ve never eaten dandelions, prepare and eat a small amount before you begin harvesting in earnest. Never harvest dandelions from areas that have been treated with pesticides or other chemicals, such as a lawn.
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Dandelions
I have tried to establish dandelions on my property for years now....collect the seeds and disperse. However, none ever come up, even though they grow along the roadside where I live. Any suggestions?
dandelion wine
does anybody have a recipe for dandelion wine?, my Father told me once, that the best wine he ever had, was dandelion wine, and I can't find a recipe for it! I would love to make it for him and send it to him in Florida as he is retired now!
it just think you would be a great treat for him! for his 81 birthday! birthday is in August and if I start now I think I'll have enough time to ferment it and send it to him! I know that the wine he drank was from Jersey so I don't know if that would help, as far as the recipe? anyway any advice would be most appreciated thank you and God bless!
Dandelion wine
I follow Jackkeller.net. He had over 150 recipes, easy to follow. A wine blog. Very user friendly. Makes delicious wine.
used in pie!
I grew up making a pie with dandelions, nettles, milk-thistles, with some spinach (or silverbeet - whatever was available) ... made it as you would a spinach quiche! 'weed pie' was always present at Sunday lunch with homemade bread and cheese <3
picking dandelions for jelly
I picked 3 qt. of blossoms to make one batch of jelly for first time. my question, how do you get just the yellow petals without the green? I cut off the base of the blossom but still had lots of green left behind. my jelly did turn out wonderful but I was afraid the "dandelion water" was so dark and brownish that it would not taste or look good. what is the secret for getting only the yellow petals. thanks so much, my family is excited to try the jelly.
Processing dandelions
I did A LOT of this yesterday for the first time. I find what worked best for me is to take the green part (bottom) of the flower and roll it between my thumb and forefinger (giving it a good squeeze as I did). As I rolled and squeezed the base, the petals broke off inside and worked their way outward into a nice little puff of petals. Then you just grab that puff and it falls away from the green parts. Sooo much easier than the method I researched which suggested snipping each one with scissors.
Dandelion Fork For Foraging
Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I was wondering, could you point me in the direction of where I might find a dandelion fork tool or could you post a picture?
Dandelion
I was raised by my Grandparents in NH and every spring my gram would go out and pick dandelions. She would boil them and I would have mine with butter and vinegar. Yummy! I still go out in the spring and pick them first greens of the year.
Make sure it is a 'dandelion" ...
Is there some other plant that resembles it that should not be eaten? When you take the crown off, is that leaving the root to regenerate? Trying to understand 'wild' foods and what parts are/are not OK to eat and the correct method to fix for safety.
dandelions .
Hi and tank you so much for this articel.
I never try dandelions for eat or drink but iknow that they are good for helth and yes i will try for sure :)
blessings to theold farmer's almanac .
Dandelion Greens
Love them gently boiled/steamed and garnished with olive oil and salt. I drink the remaining broth or add it to soup. My grandfather, a European immigrant, would keep us supplied with the greens during the season when I was young. While I do harvest some from my property each spring, I've found a reliable supply available nearly year round at the local Hannaford grocery store here in Maine so can enjoy them more frequently than I ever dreamed possible.
dandelions
When I was growing up my Mom would blanch the geeens, cook bacon,chop the bacon and the greens ,and both to mashed potatoes !!! Yummm!
Pancakes
When my kids were young, we would occasionally have smiley pancakes. Just mix up you batter, make a smiley face by putting dandelion flowers in the skillet, sunny side down and cover with batter. When the bubbles start popping and the edges start to dry, flip them over. You'll have a golden brown pancake with a bright yellow smiley face. They taste great, too.
My family eats the flowers
My family eats the flowers too. Pick them leaving no stem. Soak in salt water for an hour or so, rinse, pat dry, roll in flour & fry in butter. Just had my first batch of the season the other day.
Dandelion greens are
Dandelion greens are delicious. My dear mother used to hunt for them each spring. We lived in Maine woods and lived off land. We was more healthy than, than today.
Well, Kay, I can report I've
Well, Kay, I can report I've located and harvest my first dandelion greens. Off to a great season of foraging!