Dandelions are considered to be weeds, but the brightness of their color always makes me want to make use of these weeds to my advantage.
You do not have to go very far and sooner or later you are bound to come across a golden patch of dandelions.
Gather your dandelions (select from a site free from grazing animals, pesticides, herbicides and all but organic fertilizers) and place them in your creel or other suitable basket and journey on home ready to make your dandelion wine.
Recipe
1oz whole ginger
5 pints of dandelion flowers (stalks and leaves removed)
8 pints of boiling water
3lb sugar
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange
½ oz yeast
- Place the ginger and the dandelion flowers in the boiling water and allow them to stand for 4 days stirring from time to time.
- Strain the liquid after the 4 days through several thickness of fine muslin
- Stir in the sugar, fruit juices and the yeast.
- Keep in a warm cupboard or room (65 to 75 Fahrenheit) and allow it to ferment
- When you are sure that the fermentation is complete (bubbles have ceased) stir the wine. Keep it for 3 days and allow to settle.
- Strain the wine once more and pour it into a corked demi-john (not bottles)
- After 6 months of maturing pour it into bottles then keep for a further 4 months before enjoying your first bottle of home made dandelion wine.
- Dandelion wine is a light colored and textured wine enjoyable at any time.