This article was originally published by SurvivalLife on www.survivallife.com
Can you eat dandelions? Contrary to popular belief, dandelions are more than just pesky weeds. These flowers have a unique blend of spicy, earthy, sweet, and bitter flavors, which you can enjoy as is or mix with other foods and drinks.
Can You Eat Dandelions? | What Health Buffs Should Know
Edible Parts of a Dandelion and How to Eat Them
1. Dandelion Petals
Dandelion petals have an extremely sweet, rich taste. They work great as a sweetener and can serve as an alternative to honey, sugar, or fruit concentrate.
When preparing them for consumption, make sure to use a pair of scissors to snip each petal off one by one. Don’t pinch with your fingers. Otherwise, you’ll crush the petals and end up wasting its precious juices.
Craving for some dandelion petal-infused treats? Here are some ways to incorporate dandelion petals into your daily meals and drinks:
Wine
If you’re into homemade spirits, try making your own dandelion wine. It has a sweet, mild taste that pairs well with chicken, light cheese, fish, shrimp, and lobster—think of white wine and food combinations.
Boil some dandelion petals, lemons, oranges, and raisins in champagne yeast in water for an hour until the ingredients combine. Afterward, let the mixture rest, then transfer to a clean, airtight bottle.
Tea
Use dandelion petals as an alternative sweetener to honey. Sweet dandelion petals would blend well with bitter, earthy options such as black tea, oolong tea, yellow tea, herbal tea, and chamomile tea.
Jelly
Tired of the same peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Spice up your snack time with a freshly made batch of dandelion jelly. It has a milder flavor than grape and strawberry jam that’s perfect who dislike excessively sweet treats.
Fritters
Swap out your go-to unhealthy snack options for some delicious, healthy, and guilt-free dandelion fritters. These fried petals have a sweet, addictive flavor, contain very few calories, and are very easy and simple to make.
Take the dandelion petals, submerge in cornflour, then fry in a pan of olive oil. For a deeper, richer burst of flavors, opt to mix in various herbs and spices into your cornstarch mixture.
Sorbet
The key to delicious dandelion sorbet is to make your own dandelion honey. Heat the crushed dandelion petals in a saucepan along with some lemon and honey for 30 minutes, let the mixture rest, then filter out the crushed petals using a clean cheesecloth.
Once the syrup is ready, simply pour the mixture over a scoop or two of shaved ice.
Pickled Flower Buds
Pickled dandelion buds make for a delicious, crunchy, and zesty afternoon snack. To make a batch, grab a bunch of capers, then stuff them in a mason jar filled with salt and vinegar brine for one to two weeks.
Pancakes and Cupcakes
Fold the dandelion petals into your pancake or cupcake mix before placing it in the oven. You can also opt to sprinkle a few raw petals on top along with maple syrup for a thicker, richer, and fuller flavor.
Ice Cream and Tea
A unique dessert you can try out is the ice cream and tea combo. Place a few scoops of vanilla ice cream in a small bowl, pour in enough tea to submerge the ice cream, sprinkle with some dandelion petals, then leave to cool in the refrigerator.
Soda
Pepsi mixed with lemon slices is okay, but if you’re looking for something new and unique, try dandelion-infused soda. Grab a can of your favorite ginger ale, transfer to a wide-rimmed glass, then sprinkle in some dried dandelion petals.
2. Dandelion Leaves
Dandelion leaves have a strong, spicy, and earthy taste that mixes well with heavy, savory foods and drinks. You can lighten the bitterness by blanching the leaves beforehand.
A good way to prepare dandelion leaves would be to mix them in with the following:
Salad
Mix in a few dandelion leaves with your favorite leafy greens for a richer, deeper, and earthy salad.
Pesto
The earthy, nutty flavor of pesto sauce blends well with the slightly bitter taste of dandelion leaves. You can use these leaves as a substitute for garnish options like basil and cilantro.
Sauteed or Braised
Braise or sautee the dandelion leaves for a deep, earthy one-ingredient side dish. This would pair well with heavy foods like steak cuts, pork, or chicken.
Spinach-Based Dishes
Dandelion leaves have a nutty, earthy flavor making them a good alternative to spinach.
Soup Dishes
Add a dash of dandelion leaves to your soup dish to create an extra layer of rich, bitter flavors. For best-tasting results, make sure to use either beef or chicken broth as your soup stock.
Greens and Eggs
Garnish your greens and eggs salad with a few dandelion leaves for that extra flavor depth.
3. Dandelion Roots
Dandelion roots have a chicory-like flavor that’s similar to coffee, but the former has more bitter notes and less overall depth. The bitterness may take quite a while to get used to.
Although, you can make this ingredient more mass-appealing and likable by utilizing the chicory-like flavor. Try the following food preparation techniques:
Boiling
Boil the dandelion roots before adding them to any dish or drink. This kills existing bacteria and gives the roots a soft, chewy texture.
Grounding With Coffee
Crush the dandelion roots then mix them in with your coffee beans. Just make sure to filter out the solid chunks of roots before actually drinking.
Raw Dandelion Salad Tossing
Toss your freshly boiled dandelion roots in with your favorite salad. Doing so would an entirely new layer of deep, earthy, and bitter flavors.
Decoction or Extraction
Decoction refers to the liquid extracted from boiling dandelion roots—as well as any type of herb.
Tincture
A dandelion tincture is commonly used in alternative medicine. Many people rely on these when treating water retention complications or urinary tract infections (UTI).
Leaf Infusion or Steeping
Slice the roots in two- to three-inch cuts, then steep them in a cup of hot tea.
Other Factors to Consider Before Harvesting Dandelions for Consumption
Safety and Cleanliness
Take precaution in harvesting dandelions from areas where the flowers may have been contaminated by chemicals, fertilizers, or animal feces and urine. You can’t easily wash these off.
The same rule applies to picking roadside dandelions. They might be free from chemicals or animal excrements, but dandelions exposed to heavy traffic will likely have heavy traces of fuel emissions.
Time of Harvesting
Harvest dandelions in the morning. Fresh, young buds that are yet to fully flower have the sweetest, richest depth of flavor, as compared to older dandelions that have already been exposed to various harmful elements.
Local Regulations
Since dandelions grow almost everywhere, one might think that they’re free for all. However, they’re not. There are even reports on people going to jail for simply picking a few dandelions in their neighborhood.
With that in mind, make sure to check on your local laws and regulations when it comes to picking dandelions. Guidelines vary from state to state, but generally, you should avoid harvesting dandelions growing on private property—unless you have permission from the owner, of course.
Check out this video by Bestie where they answer the question “can you eat dandelion stems, leaves, and petals” and explain what happens when you ingest these flowers:
Can you eat dandelions? The answer: yes! Add these delicious spicy, earthy flowers to your daily diet for a quick boost in vitamins A, B2, and K.
Note that we only listed some of the most popular ways to prepare dandelions for consumption. Feel free to explore other dandelion recipes. Generally, these flowers are just as versatile as any herb and would go well with everything from thick, juicy steak cuts to light, hearty servings of salad.
Can you eat dandelions? Share your thoughts about consuming dandelions for health and taste with us in the comments section below!
