Dandelion Syrup

My first attempt at Dandelion was a success! I've eaten it several times at a friends and love it on waffles. You can use it like you would use any maple flavored syrup. The recipe I used has lemon juice in it so it gives a citrus flavor along with a the slightly nutty flavor of the dandelion itself. 

Tonight we are having cocktails made with the syrup. 

2 shots of syrup

1 shot of good vodka

put in shaker with ice and shake 

serve in a martini glass with a sugared rim. 

Oh so YUMMY! 

Basic recipe:

100 dandelion flowers, or 1 and 1/2 cups petals

1 cup sweetener (see above)
3 cups water
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

1. Remove the petals from the sepal (the sepal consists of the small tight leaves that extend from the stem and grasp the flower). This takes a while to get the hang of, but gets much quicker as you go along. Be sure to not allow any green into the petals, it will add bitterness to the syrup.

2. Place the petals in a medium pot and cover with 3 cups water and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat, cover and let sit overnight.

3. Strain dandelion water into a bowl, pressing on the flowers with the back of a spoon to extract all the liquid.

4. Return water to pot and add sweetener, and lemon juice if using, and simmer over low heat until thickened.

5. Allow to cool, and pour into a clean jar or bottle. Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes about 2 cups

As you can see I made a much larger batch and I let mine set for 2 days before I strained it and cooked it. It's such a lovely golden color that just makes you smile.

I am fortunate enough to have enough dandelions in my yard to make several gallons of syrup.LOL! My next batch will probably go into the freezer before adding the sugar. That way I can have a little bit of summer in the cold dreary winter months :)