Good Morning, Darlings!

Spring is here in Atlanta. The dogwoods are exploding with blooms, the temps are rising and my winter clothes are all put away.  What to do when your lawn is littered with a zillion yellow dandelion flowers?  Make dandelion syrup, of course!

Honestly, this project started as a dare.  Crystal thought this would be a great use for the umpteen flowers in my yard.  You call them weeds, I call them flowers. The recipe takes two cups of petals. That’s about 365 dandelions. So out I went into the yard and faced the challenge.  Then I clipped the petals of all the flowers.  Crystal found a recipe online (which prompted all of this) and off I went.

Here is a link to the actual post that started this all. The blog is called Yummy Supper and it really is adorable. The author answered my numerous questions and then I was ready to go.

I have to admit, even if I never do this again, the sheer delight of running my hands through 2 cups of dandelion petals was one of my favorite experiences to date. They feel like nothing else. The petals are impossibly soft. It felt like…well, it felt like Spring.

With all my ingredients ready, I prepped the petals by boiling them in 6 cups of water and the juice of one lemon, with some lemon zest. They are then put up to sit in the fridge overnight.

Next day, time to prep your jelly jars and boil up the petal water with 6 cups of sugar. I added some orange blossom essence to punch up the flavor. You could probably find this in a Italian specialty store. I think that’s where mine came from.

Here is the original recipe from Yummy Supper:

INGREDIENTS

* 365 ripe yellow Dandelion flowers
* 6 cups water
* 6 cups sugar
* juice of one lemon
* 2 teaspoons Pectin (adjust pectin depending on how firm you like your jelly)

Find a protected patch of dandelions that have not been sprayed with pesticides. Pick 365 blossoms. Wash thoroughly. Snip off green base of each flower so that you have only petals for the jelly. Place petals in a large bowl or dutch oven.

Pour water into the pot with the dandelion petals. Add lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, let cool. Transfer dandelion petals and the liquids to a bowl, cover mixture with wax paper and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, return mixture to dutch oven. Add sugar. Bring to a vigorous boil and continue to boil for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to incorporate sugar. Remove from heat, let liquid cool to a manageable temperature. Strain out petals and discard. Add pectin, return liquid to a boil for another 5-10 minutes.

The jelly is ready to jar.

Now, I wanted to know how many jars it made. Miss Yummy Supper told me she wasn’t quite sure, but mine made 7 small mason jars.

Also, mine has been sitting in the fridge for five days and is still not jelly. I think if you want jelly, you should use the entire package of Pectin. The 2 teaspoons called for in this recipe will not set up and thus I now have dandelion syrup.

Don’t get me wrong, it is delicate and lovely – a nice substitution for honey. But if you are looking for jelly or jam, use that whole package of Pectin. Trust me.

But it does taste just like Spring should taste. So if you have some time (or need to keep the little ones busy), this is a sweet project.

It would make the darlingest hostess gifts for Easter!

Hoppity, hop to it, Bunnies!

xoxo, patti