Dandelion

Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale)

note* I describe how herbs have been used and can be used in your daily life and what medicinal effects they may have. If you or a loved one is ill please consult a doctor or healthcare professional.

“Meadow Gold”

The golden suns strewn over the meadows in spring. The flower that more than anyone

greets the spring. I cannot enough declare my love for this plant. Dandelion can adapt to the most hostile environment and still give us those bright yellow flowers that later turn into the most beautiful downy balls. Now you are thinking that one is completely mad, the down is connected to a seed and no toxin in the world will kill them all. So why even try!!! Have you like me ever tried to keep a vegetable patch where everything just thrives without any care whatsoever? No thought not, most veg need 24/7 care, yes a little exaggeration but still. Why not instead embrace the versatility of this little survivor and use the energy surrounding it?

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Dandelion has traditionally been used as a diuretic (mainly the leaves) and a herb for the digestive tract, liver, pancreas, blood pressure (root)(Bartram 1995).

Dandelion is one of those herbs that promotes all around health, it is said to cleanse the body or more specifically the plasma from toxins, it has diuretic properties and it aids digestion. It is also one of those herbs that make an excellent herbal tea with a taste fairly similar to regular tea, so quite simple to get used to.

An excellent mix for those with circulatory problems is Dandelion  together with Clivers and Marigold.

Flowers

The golden flowers make a fabulous wine, tasting a little bit like sherry but nicer since it is almost free to make and you made it yourself. Timing is a essential in making this exquisite wine, once the flowers are picked you will need to get things going pretty fast as they otherwise wilt very quickly. The first thing to do is therefor to get all the items together.

You will need:

• Fermentation bucket (these are readily available from specialist wine making shops or Amazon, when buying one of these I prefer the bigger ones, about 30litres. Some wines require a lot of space for herbs and fruit. Some herbs are only available for a short period so make hay whilst the sun shines). I also like a bucket instead of a demijohn as it is so much easier to clean.
• Alcohol meter, yes you will not need this til later but it is handy to know what you have actually made.
• Sugar 1.7kg or 3.4kg depending on quantity of wine you want to make.
• 3 or 6 lemons unwaxed organic if available.
• 1 or 2 oranges also preferably organic.
• 1/2-1 dl of raisins
• 4 or 8 litres of spring water or filtered.
• Finally 3 or 6 litres of Dandelion flowers, only the petals!! Be careful here too much stem and green bits will make the taste more bitter.

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Method:

Enjoy a fabulous day out! Bring a fabulous picnic and the whole family, or go on your own to rest your soul for a day. Pick a spot a little bit away from the hustle and bustle, you want your Dandelions as clean as possible. Try to pick only the yellow petals, this saves time later and you can leave the bits you don’t want to compost on the spot. Try to measure roughly how much flowers you have got, it is a good idea to bring a 1litre jug to pick the petals in.

Back home quickly rinse the petals and let them drip dry, put them in the bucket. Bring the water to boil and pour over the petals. Leave stand over night. Wash the lemons and oranges, slice them and put them in the bucket. Add the raisins and sugar. Stir to help the sugar dissolve. Put the lid on and fill the airlock. Now the waiting game begins!! Check the airlock for the fermenting process to begin! It should bubble! Also check so that the water in the airlock does not evaporate, you might need to top up from time to time. If the fermentation process does not start, add a little wine yeast, if you do not have any bakig yeast works as well. Some like to add yeast from the start but I prefer if i can get the fermentation going without this help, it is usually no problem if you use organic fruit and raisins.

When the fermentation process has finished which takes approximately 4 weeks its time for bottles. Use sterilized bottles, strain the wine and pour into the bottles, seal airtight. If you use cork, store your bottles lying down as this will keep the cork moist which in turn keeps the bottle sealed airtight!

Now wait! The wine needs to mature…. 2 years….. Well at least you now have your first addition to a wonderful herbal wine cellar with medicinal values..

Stem

The stem has a reputation as an old home remedy for the common wart. The fresh stems contain a white sap, the stems were rubbed on the wart several times a day. If it works? It is well worth a try!

Leaves

The leaves of Dandelion can be used in cooking similarly to Ruccola / Rocket, it adds taste and texture to your salad and has great medicinal value. You can also use the leaves as spinach and gently stirfry, preferably with a bit of ginger or nutmeg. Play around with some pine nuts for added taste, texture, looks and nutrients.

Roots

The roots make up a fabulous addition to any meal. Dig them up, especially good in late summer and autumn after some rain so that the root is saturated. Wash it thoroughly, some might want to peel it and boil til tender.  Add a knob of butter and enjoy!

The root can also be dried, lightly roasted, ground and used as coffee. Bartram suggests in his Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine that this would be an excellent choice for the elderly and frail to aid the control of blood pressure and congestive heart failure.

Links

Glorious weeds

Shop for Dandelion

References:

Bartram Thomas, 1995, Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine,