We just love this recipe of dandelion honey. It´s a sweet syrup that tastes just like honey but completely vegan and you can make it all by yourself. When spring starts to show and all the dandelions starts to pop up we just knew we had to make some dandelion honey. Dandelions is one of those flowers that either you think they are so beautiful with their yellow bright pretty flower or you just see them as a flower that’s messing up your lawn.
Either way you can make lovely honey from them and you can actually eat the whole plant. But more about that another time. Well I am one of those people who just love the flowers and even more I love foraging things from nature and making delicious things out of it.
- Dandelion is a diuretic that helps the kidneys clear out waste, salt and excess water by increasing urine production.
- Rich in nutrients and filled with antioxidants – which can help against premature aging, cancer and other diseases caused by oxidative stress.
- Studies on animals found that dandelion root and leaves reduce cholesterol levels.
- Research also shows that dandelion extract boosts the immune system and fights microbes.
- Dandelion can also help the digestive system according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Fresh or dried dandelion can stimulate the appetite and regulate the stomach while the root can act as a mild laxative.
The dandelion also absorbs minerals from the soil, which means that the plant also has a high content of minerals. The leaves contain plenty of vitamin C which is needed for our immune system and which also acts as an antioxidant in the body. Antioxidants help protect the body’s cells from free radicals that otherwise attack the body’s cells and cause their high – fat membranes to turn rancid. The root of dandelion contains about 25% carbohydrates and is in other words a good source of this nutrient.
Vegan Dandelion Honey / Syrup with ginger and lemon
Ingredients
- 5 dl Dandelion heads
- 5 dl Water
- 1 liter Sugar
- 5 cm grated ginger (optional)
- 1 Lemon and zest (optional)
Instructions
- Start with picking the dandelion flowers
- Either you can pick off all the yellow little leaves from the flowers and make the honey on them or you can boil the whole flowers. The latter gives a little pruner honey while the former is a little more work.
- Boil the flowers with all the water in a pot and let simmer for 20 minutes. Here you can add the ginger and lemon to taste.
- Then let the liquid stand and pull out some more of that lovely honey taste until it has cooled before you strain it through a juice strainer and pour the juice back into the saucepan.
- Add in the sugar and let boil until the honey has a honey like consistency. It takes around 30 minutes to an hour. Note that it becomes thicker when it cooles down so be mind full of this when boiling. You can test it's consistency. Just pop a plate in the freezer and then take the honey and put a little bit on the cold plate.
- Pour in to a sterilized jar and pop in the fridge.
