May 30, 2017

Dandelion Syrup - Because Dandelions are no Weed!

As I have mentioned before Dandelion should not be considered a weed, it has many health benefits and the different parts of the Dandelion can be a tasty addition in your cooking or baking.

picture collage to promote Dandelion Syrup with Dandelion flower heads and a bottle of Dandelion syrup


Today I share with you our Dandelion syrup recipe which I have been making for the past 4 years every spring. We eat it with pancakes instead of maple syrup and I also use the dandelion syrup in cooking and baking. I like to add a table spoon of it so my bread dough as a starter help for the yeast or sour dough. It also adds a little extra flavour to the bread.  Dandelion syrup is also said to be a cough remedy if combined with ginger and used one teaspoon per day. But I have not tried this yet as we usually use thyme extract from our trusted pharmacy as a cough remedy which works wonders for my boys and they love taking it.

To make the dandelion syrup I send my boys out in the garden every spring with a bowl each and tell them collect me as many fully opened yellow Dandelion flower heads as you can.  This is this years result!

dandelion flowerheads after collecting for dandelion syrup

Once those bowels are filled with flowers we all sit down and pluck off just the yellow bits of the flower.
little boy plucking dandelion flower heads for dandelion syrup

plate full of plucked dandelion flowers for dandelion syrup

Next I browse them off with cold water and then put them in a sauce pan for every 3 cups of yellow Dandelion tips ( loosely filled into cup not squashed) you add  4 cups of water.

Bring to boil and then let cool down and let stand at room temp (18-22C) for 12-18h.
Pour boiling water into the bottles and caps which you want to use for storing the dandelion syrup. This is to sterilise them. Next discard water in caps and pour either vodka, rum or any other drinkable high percent alcohol into the lids to sterilise them. That little amount of alcohol I pour into dandelion liquid, just to not waste it, it isn't really part of the recipe, it is more an ongoing joke between me and my husband, that I am not wasting his good stuff just because I want to sterilise my caps. Once you have all this prepared pour the dandelion-water-mix through a  tight meshed sieve into another pot. Make sure all dandelion flower bits are caught by the sieve and are discarded onto your compost pile. Bring the remaining dandelion infused water to a boil and add for every 4 cups of it 500 grams of raw brown sugar and the juice and zest of one organic lemon.
zested lemon for dandelion syrup

Leave at mild boil with no lid for at least 10 mins stirring it most of the time.
Fill into your sterilised bottles screw lids on and store in fridge for up to a year!

bottles of dandelion syrup

a bottle of homemade dandelion syrup decorated with a dandelion flower


The dandelion syrup is a versatile addition to your food. A bottle will go a long way, similar to maple syrup or golden syrup. It is a great substitute for sweetening with something other than the usual sugar, maple syrup or honey. Especially in the vegan kitchen where the cook is also thinking green and doesn't want to use maple syrup or rice syrup for various reasons (making and transport would be two major ones coming to my mind) this is a great addition to the pantry. Nearly anyone with a backyard has Dandelions, they are easy to spot and identify. There isn't really much where you can go wrong and if you are new to foraging, this one would make a great start. 

What was your first foraging experience? Mine were Blueberries and wild garlic both in an old forrest. 

I hope you enjoye this recipe.

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16 comments:

  1. Well isn't this interesting!! My mom loves eating dandelion solely because it's healthy - otherwise it's gross, lol. Way too bitter. However, I doubt the syrup is bitter!

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  2. I like this idea! I love using what I can from my own yard... especially what others consider weeds. :)

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    1. I am the same! We have a good laugh here, because I go and collect a few bits before the lawn gets cut. Others would consider our "lawn" a big patch of weeds, me not so much

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  3. Mmm, this sounds really delicious. I've had a dandelion salad years ago when I was in Italy, but I've never tasted the syrup. I could use this in many things including cocktails :)

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    1. Oh, Cocktails! you are putting some ideas in my head there ...

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  4. I like dandelion tea but didn't know you can make syrup!

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    1. I didn't either until years ago a friend gave me a leaflet with the recipe and I got adventurous and was pleasantly surprised

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  5. I am used to cutting these in my backyard,putting them on a waffle sounds like a trip!

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  6. This is such a great idea! I never realized all its benefits.

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  8. I had no idea dandelions are edible. I would love to try the syrup.

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