For years I have wondered what dandelion wine tastes like. I watch a lot of British TV and it’s surprising how often dandelion wine comes up in the conversation. So this year I decided to do it. I found a recipe that says will make a deliciously dry wine.
www.thespruceeats.com/…
Ingredients
- 2 quarts dandelion flowers
- 1 gallon water (filtered)
- 3 lemons (juice and zest)
- 3 oranges (juice and zest)
- 1 1/2 pounds of sugar
- 3/4 pound golden raisins (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient (or 2 tablespoons cornmeal)
- 1 (5-gram) packet wine yeast or 1/2 teaspoon baking yeast
Step 1 : Gather the Ingredients
Step 2: Snip off most of the calyxes (green parts) from the base of the flowers and all of the stems.
It’s okay if a little of the green goes in, but too much will result in a bitter wine. Discard the calyxes and stems. Put the trimmed petals in a non-reactive vessel (no aluminum, copper, or iron).
This was tedious and took forever. I found that twisting the calyx off worked really well but boy did it make my hands cramp.
Step 3: Bring the water to a boil and pour it over the flower petals. Let the mixture sit for 2 hours.
This step smelled pretty terrible — kind of like rotting grass clippings.
Step 4: Place a colander lined with cheesecloth or butter muslin over a large, non-reactive pot and strain the dandelions, pressing gently on the flowers to extract as much of the liquid as possible.
Compost or discard the dandelion petals. I think I ran mine down the disposal.
Step 5: Place the pot over high heat and bring the strained dandelion infusion to a boil.
I chopped the golden raisins and zested and juiced the citrus fruits while the strained liquid came to a boil.
Step 6: Stir in the citrus juices and sugar, mixing to dissolve the sugar.
Step 7: Add the lemon and orange zest and the chopped raisins. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
It took hours to cool to room temperature.
Step 8: When the mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in the yeast nutrient or cornmeal, and the wine or baking yeast.
Step 9: Cover and leave at room temperature for 10 to 14 days, stirring 3 times each day.
I poured it into this large crockery bowl because I need my large stainless steel pot. I must admit it smelled a bit like lemon flavored Thera-flu.
My sister-in-law got me these great dish covers for Christmas. The largest one works perfectly since I have to remove it three times a day.
It’s now been a week and the slurry has started to ferment. It bubbles and definitely smells like fermented fruit. It’s a nice citrus-y smell. It makes a carbonated sound when the wooden spoon breaks the surface. This is what it looks like now. It has another week of sitting on the countertop.
To Be Continued…
So… What’s going on in my garden? I got another plant delivery. This included the white gold bleeding hearts, hart’s-tongue fern and more primroses. The bleeding hearts have been planted in the white shade garden. The fern is planted in the stumpery. I’ve started collecting native ferns. The primroses will eventually go in my front garden.
It’s going to be warm today so I will send the rest of the day power-washing my gigantic patio. It takes about a week to do it.
And while I was writing this some more plants were delivered. My mom bought some ferns for me for the stumpery. I think that garden will get my focus this summer.
Thanks for reading! What’s happening in your gardens?