My mother was raised during the Depression and said that due to the financial problems her family was having, they often ate dandelion greens. She said they were very bitter, but the recipe you gave, FJPalumbo, makes them sound very palatable. However, having just bought my first house last year and inheriting the lawn from Hell, I have been waging war with dandelions, and can't stand the sight of them, much less the thought of eating them. I'm willing to give Dandelion Wine a try though, as long as I don't have to make it, in honor of Ray!!

Tried them once, as a kid, in potato salad, didn't like them. Tasted bitter. Don't blame Grandpa Spaulding for preferring to drink, rather than eat, the plant. I've noted before the irony of my handle here, considering the amount of time I spend digging dandelions and the number of them I dig. If they actually were worth anything some of us could be getting rich.

[This message has been edited by dandelion (edited 04-09-2003).]

How strong is dandelion wine? alcohol content? interesting thought. I like all of your posts. Makes me want to go eat small weeds.

I'd be careful with the consumption of small weeds. . . it could lead to more of those spinning vortices you referenced in another post. Wouldn't want that! :-)

Since we're spinning off topic anyway, who-all remembers the immortal '70s song "Wildwood Weed" by Jim Stafford, the last verse of which goes,

All good things gotta come to an end,
And it's the same with the wildwood weed.
One day this feller from Washington came by,
And he spied and turned white as a sheet.
Then they dug and they burned,
And they burned and they dug,
And they killed all our cute little weeds.
Then they drove away,
We just smiled and waved ...
Sittin' there on that sack of seeds!

Sorry, it's been running through my head so much I just couldn't resist. Both "Wildwood Weed" and "Dandelion Wine" could serve as examples of "The Best Things in Life Are Free."

There was a variety of weed or wildflower that grew around the apartment complex where I grew up in Santa Ana, CA. My friends and I used to pull them up and chew on the stems--they had a nice sour bite to them.

heh, i like that Dark, weeds... oh the memories come flooding back. I like that kind of sald though.

I'd Settle For Some Ergotized Grains And Livestock.

Hey WritingReptile, I Also Grew Up In Orange County And For A Couple Of Years Lived In Santa Ana. I Lived On Walnut St. Right Next Door To The Harvest House Just Behind Santa Ana High School On The Side Where They Had The Animals Penned.

quote:

Originally posted by WritingReptile:
There was a variety of weed or wildflower that grew around the apartment complex where I grew up in Santa Ana, CA. My friends and I used to pull them up and chew on the stems--they had a nice sour bite to them.

I Believe We Called That "Piss Grass".

I think I'm going to order a bottle from the Amish store patrask linked. For obvious reasons, I've always wanted to taste it!

The dandelions are in full bloom in western PA, and I took some great photos of the dandelion fields out in the countryside yesterday. If anyone would like to see them, please email me!

Best,

Greg

Okay...so here it is mid-June...
Did anyone out there manage to actually wind up making 'Dandelion Wine'? Or...at least tried?
Hmm! I wonder if someone bottles it out there in the world of wine commerce?!

I still have a bottle sitting on my bookshelf, next to the Bradbury Collection, just in case Ray should ever come over, or, after reading "Dandelion Wine" again, an annual occurance, I just can't control myself and want to pop the cork and taste a better year!

patrask:
Come on.
Are you kidding?
Did you make the stuff yourself?
I found a place on the Web just yesterday that actually bottles Dandelion Wine. Labels, the whole bit.
Used to like May Wine, flavored with Woodruff, I remember. The most unusual taste. If you don't buy it in May, it's really difficult to locate...
Ray visit? I'd say the odds are leaning towards your favor. Bottle it, and 'he' might come...

Hmmmm.... So, no one here has actually tried making this themselves?? I've never even tasted it, but every year I think how I would like to try making some... and then I never get around to it. I don't know how well it would work, though--a few years ago my brother tried his hand at wine-making, and every single bottle exploded! What a terrible mess.(One of the bottles exploded in his car, no less. He said he was so glad that he wasn't pulled over by a cop at that time--he never drinks while driving, but the vehicle just reeked of alcohol, of course.)

octobercountry:

Actually I found a few bottlers of Dandelion Wine. Here's one distributor. This place seems to sell about everything. Find the word 'Dandelion' and click on it...
http://www.nywinecork.com