I ask because I tried to do it once but it didn't work. Maybe because it was hard to collect enough dandelions.
What about your tryings?

Here is a recipe I have had for quite a while but have yet to try. Though I have tasted d.w. others have made on a few occasions.

"I'm a fire eater. Whoosh!!"
-D. Spaulding, DW.

DANDELION WINE (ingredients):
1 gallon of dandelion blossoms (washed)
1 gallon of hot water
juice of 1 lemon
3 oranges, peeled and sliced
4 lbs. sugar
a cake of yeast

Then allow to "brew" in a covered container
(glass, plastic, or ceramic rather than metal). Be sure it has a release valve or is loosely covered.
Allow at least 24 hrs. - or until bubbling ceases, in a room temperature environment.
You can "rack" (clear off residue) and allow to brew once more, though it will be less active the second time.

Filter (or allow to settle)in a cool dry and dark location. Aging is advised until the flavor reaches your personal preference.
Minimum 3 weeks to settle. 2 months total to age before bottling. Keep covered and at a constant cool temp. until bottled or jarred.

Sweetness and dryness is effected by additional water & sugar (second brewing can do this).

It is just about dandelion season - good luck!



[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 04-12-2002).]

All I know about it is there's a song "Dandelion Wine" on one of the Irish Rovers' more obscure albums, and that people have said that when made just wrong it turns into White Lightning!

fjpalumbo:
Thanks for recipe :-) By the way, people here make honey from dandelions. But I need to know recipe first.

dandelion: what is White Lighting?

White Lightning is Moonshine, more or less...Like grain alcohol, it's strong enough to put hair on the chest of just about anything with a pulse.

-Greg

HEY!!!
""""""""""Dandelion Wine Making"""""""""

It's getting to be that time of year again people.... sooner than you know...

(In Chicago here... we just had 5 inches of snow last night and early today...) It is 29 degrees as I type this....and Winter is here..... Under the snow are flower and plant buds, and Downtown Chicago, all the Planters have tulips growing. Hmmm!!
Yes, this is the crazy time of year in the Midwest.... (But I remember when I first moved to Los Angeles...18 {count them, eighteen) straight months of sunny weather and same temperature... I don't know if that was a record, but that long event almost drove me crazy.}

At least here, in Chicago, we had 82 degrees about 8 days ago, that lasted a couple days, and now this !!! It is, at the least ...refreshingly changeable weather...

When I was a kid, we did a thing where we collected Dandelion stalks and boiled them and then ate them. It was terrible, but none of us got sick.

As to weather, when I moved to North Texas, we had SIXTY (60) consecutive days of 100+ degree weather. That gets pretty old!

Dandelions in full glory 'way up north here. We have had that hot of weather, but never for longer than a week or two at a time.

Nice posts guys! So timely, too.

The Dandelions are still in serious hiding here. Snowing as I type -- on April 8th! So much for Global Warming.

Brilliant yellows on vast fields of deep green, in movement with subtle spring breezes. Ah, a ride through the countryside on a brilliant, blue skied morning, hawks gliding and searching. Soon, soon....you think?!

Dandelion Wine literature unit soon to begin. What fun!

[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 04-08-2003).]

Dandelion wine can be purchased from Breitenbach Amish Country Wines. Try the following: WWW.breitenbachwine.com
Only available in season, usualy about May to June.
I keep a bottle on my Bradbury book self, just in case!

[This message has been edited by patrask (edited 04-08-2003).]

[This message has been edited by patrask (edited 04-08-2003).]

An ONLINE Amish store? Now I've seen everything.

As Jay Leno remarked, "Perhaps there's some kind of water-driven computer we're unaware of."

Has anyone ever "eaten" dandelion greens?

Here you go:
Before they start to grow into any form or stemming flower (first week of their appearance), dig up the plant and gather in a basket or bag. You can do this with a common paring knife. Cut just above the root so as to get only the fresh greens growing above ground. (Try to capture the white heart of the plant that grows immediately below the surface (not the the root itself, however).

Gather enough for a salad. Soak the "mess of greens" in cold water for an hour or so. This adds moisture to the leaves and also softens them up a bit more. Drain off excessive water, then hand rinse all of the greens thoroughly in cold water one last time.

Place the greens in a large bowl, cut or separate leaves for easy in eating, add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, a twist or two of lemon, season with fresh ground pepper, and any other herbs to your liking. Consider a sprinkle of parmesian cheese, some fresh baked garlic bread on the side, and your favorite dinner beverage. Maybe a glass of dandelion wine!!

Also, with basically the same ingredients and preparations, you can quick sautee them much likes spinach or other green pan-prep veggies. They are a wealth of vitamins and iron.

(Note: Country or field dandelions are preferred as they will be growing clear of any lawn additives or eliminators!)

[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 04-08-2003).]

Mr. Dark: I missed your post on the consumption of the cooked green plant. Not so terrible if properly flavored. Though as a "kid" I guess, I may have thought otherwise, come to think of it!!

It was a cub scout thing. At that point, I knew nothing about Ray Bradbury. We had to cook and eat something in the wild (a vacant lot by our house). In the Cub Scout handbook had some reference that Dandelions weren't poisonous. So we gave it a shot. You're saying some salt might have helped?