Have you ever heard of dandelion honey? It tastes delicious! And best of all, you can easily make it yourself. Here are three recipes.
With its large, yellow flowers, dandelions can be found in large numbers in meadows, fields and gardens during the summer weeks. While some have long since discovered dandelion as food, for others it is primarily a weed. Many a delicacy can be conjured up from the plant native to this country. For example dandelion syrup, dandelion jelly or dandelion tea. However, dandelion honey, which is a purely plant-based product and meets the criteria of a vegan diet, is currently on the rise.
What is dandelion honey?
Dandelion honey is, as the name suggests, a sweet spread that can of course also be used as a sweetener. Therefore, it has two important things in common with the classic honey. However, it does not consist of nectar and pollen, but consists of sugar and dandelion aroma. The dandelion flavor is added to the spread in syrup form. Although the components are completely different, dandelion honey tastes similar to classic bee honey and also has a similar consistency.
The basis for a good dandelion honey are the dandelion blossoms. These can be collected in any meadow. In order to end up with a delicious dandelion honey, the flowers should be collected in areas with little traffic. The young and juicy flowers are particularly aromatic and recommended.
Important:
When collecting dandelions you should only remove the flower and not the whole plant. This is the only way to secure the dandelion population.
The special effect of dandelion honey
Dandelion honey is not only popular because of its taste, but also because of its effect. The dandelion plant naturally contains bitter substances. The bitter substances have a very positive effect on the digestive system and can help to regulate it. Dandelion honey also helps with the following ailments:
- Stomach problems
- Bronchitis
- Fever
- Heartburn
- Rheumatic complaints
The bitter substances increase the flow of saliva in the mouth, which is why taking dandelion honey can counteract heartburn. In addition to the bitter substances, the essential oils as well as the beta-carotene and various vitamins are the valuable ingredients of the dandelion. But dandelion honey can also promise relief for menopausal symptoms and impure skin.
Properties of Dandelion Honey
In addition to the he alth-promoting ingredients of dandelion honey, the natural product impresses with its intensely aromatic taste. The aroma is comparable to that of rapeseed honey. Typical is the large amount of glucose contained in the honey. Glucose is considered to be of particularly high quality because it can be absorbed by the body very quickly and serves as an important source of energy.
The strong, aromatic taste of the dandelion honey is noticeable even with the first spoonful. At the same time, it is pleasantly mild, making it an excellent spread for bread and rolls. Sometimes the dandelion honey also tastes a little bitter. This is due to the natural bitter substances. What is also striking is the intense color of the spread, which is reminiscent of the intensity of the flowers and is sometimes golden yellow, but also amber in many preparation variants.
3 Delicious Dandelion Honey Recipes
❍ Recipe 1 - Basic Dandelion Honey Recipe
Dandelion honey is difficult to produce, but you can easily make it yourself. The basis are:
Ingredients:
- 200 grams of fresh dandelion flowers
- 1 liter of water
- 1 kilogram of sugar
- half a lemon
Preparation:
❶ First of all, the dandelion flowers are placed in a pot with one liter of water. The mixture then remains covered for around 2 hours so that the flowers can soak in the water.
❷ Now bring the mixture to a boil. It is important that the water and flowers then cool down completely and then steep again overnight so that the dandelion can release its aroma into the liquid.
❸ The next morning you can finally drain the flowers. Now add sugar and lemon zest to the water and bring the mixture to the boil again.
Important: You should always use an untreated lemon so that no unnecessary harmful substances get into the honey.
❽ Before you fill the finished dandelion honey into jars, you should check the consistency. Just a little bit of honey for thisput on a plate. After cooling, the consistency can then be checked. If it is not yet what you want, the honey still has to simmer a little. Again, you should always check the consistency.
❍ Recipe 2 - Sugar free dandelion honey
Ingredients:
In the classic version, the dandelion honey is made with sugar. If you want to save calories, you can use thick juice and gelling agents instead of additional sugar. On the one hand, both together bring the necessary sweetness and, on the other hand, ensure a pleasant consistency, so that the spread can be spread very easily. We recommend using pectin as a gelling agent.
Preparation:
The preparation steps are the same as for the variant with sugar. Here, too, you should always check whether the consistency meets your own requirements.
❍ Recipe 3 - Aromatic dandelion honey with curcuma
The addition of turmeric gives the dandelion honey a special aroma. The list of ingredients is a bit longer here, but definitely worth it.
Ingredients:
- 3 hands of dandelion flowers, use of stems and buds possible
- a thumb-sized piece of ginger
- 1 kg cane sugar
- 2 tsp curcuma
- 2 organic lemons
- 1 liter of water
- 1 pinch of s alt
Preparation:
❶ The dandelion blossoms are best picked on a dry summer day. The same applies here: They should come from a meadow in a traffic-calmed area and not be picked directly on the side of the road.
❷ The dandelion is then placed in a saucepan with the ginger and water. To keep the flowers under water, you can weigh them down with a plate. Now the water with the additives has to steep for several hours before it is brought to the boil. After boiling, the mixture can be allowed to cool and sit overnight to allow as much flavor as possible to be released from the buds into the water.
❸ The brew must be filtered the next day. The easiest way to do this is with a clean tea towel. So that the valuable syrup is not lost, the cloth is squeezed out thoroughly. Now the brew must be boiled again, with the remaining ingredients being added. To refine the aroma, add a pinch of cinnamon and coriander.
By the way: Both the peel and the juice of the organic lemons are processed.
❹ After boiling, the brew has to continue cooking for a while. The stove for thisturn down. As soon as the brew starts to form threads, the dandelion honey has the ideal consistency. How long this takes depends mainly on the amount of water and sugar. It can take up to four hours. To be on the safe side, you should take a small sample before bottling.
Packing dandelion honey correctly
In order for the dandelion honey to be stored for a long time, it must be bottled correctly. It is best to use only sterilized glasses for this. It is important that the glasses are dry and not too cold. If the container is too cold, the dandelion honey will crystallize as soon as you pour it in.
Honey can be kept for a year if it is prepared correctly and stored in clean jars. During storage it should be protected from light and heat. But it must not be too cold either. The pantry at home is therefore ideal.