Dandelion Woes...

I saw our first few Dandelion blossoms on south facing slopes this weekend.. We should get plenty in the next few weeks.

I made several batches and entered some in our State Fair competition... Everyone here, including wine judges, seems to prefer a medium bodied wine made from the whole blosson (including the green cup like part)... The wine made fro the complete blosson took first place... Those made from just the petals did not even place...

I can't keep enough of the wine made from the complete blossom to meet my family's needs... Nobody wants to drink that made from just the petals after the taste the other stuff... It just sits in the rack....

That is the way it works with my family here in Anchorage and with our judges... Your mileage may vary

A.J. Rawls Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Hey, Next year, pick and freeze and then make when you have the time. You're absolutely right it is labor intensive, and the flowers are not around long, but I picked and froze depending on my availability and then made it when I had enough. Darlene

The first cup is the hardest. ;-) Once I get a good rythm going, it doesn't take me long at all. I never timed it but this year I picked 24 cups of dandelion petals. I did it over 2 days, and I'd guess that the 12 cups each day took about an hour and a half. Maybe 30 minutes to pick the flowers, and 60 minutes of pulling the petals off. I just hold the base (calyx) tightly in my left hand, and with right hand I bunch up the petals and twist off. If I ignore the few bits of green that get in with the petals, and don't worry over a few petals getting tossed away with the calyx, it does go really fast.

Next year I might time myself. Mabye I'll count how many flowers too - it would be fun to know, but I doubt if I can pay attention that long.

AJ.

What recipe do you use for the whole flower? That would be much easier to pick.

Rob

Try this the top one here:

And the motherlode of Dandelion:

well, I got back from my conference, and we've had rain, rain, rain. I look, and all I see are white fuzzy balls, ready and waiting for the wind to carry the dandelion seeds to prepare for next year's crop. And so I will also wait. So, about 340 days and counting. Sigh... ............................................................................ ............................................................................ ........................................................... Oh well, rhubarb's around the corner! and so are blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, elderberries, raspberries, pears, peaches, and.......concord grapes. I know it's not cabs, merlots, rieslings, but when in Michigan...

Rick

You're right. I just picked my first rhubarb from the garden. Right now it is cut up and in the freezer, waiting until I get enough to make a batch. I have an oregano plant which is really doing well to - so far I have two quarts of leaves frozen to try a batch of wine in about a week or so. Darlene G-town, Wisconsin USA

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Sigh.........! Had I known that before.. but first things first. I moved to the new house I've built, on january 4th, and planted in the meadow adjacent to the backgarden 170 Regent (red, Bordeaux-type) and 51 Léon Millot (red, Beaujolais-type); this fall 49 Birstaler Muskat (white) will follow. That means waiting for three years, mostly growing wood, and than growing grapes for a year, and than making wine and maturing for a few years, and than.......I bet you that my physician will tell me then that it's better for me if I stop drinking!!!!! And his name isn't even Murphy. So what do I do in the meantime? Making wine out of everything that doesn't move when I touch it. Dandelion was on the schedule for april this year. I picked I think a truckload of flowers, scissored frantically for over eleven hours!!! and added a bucket full of various enzymes, acids, inverted beetsugar and so on. I hated the wine at that moment. Never, never again. But, now, after just a few weeks 33 liter is resting and ripening in the basement. Maybe, next year... Now I have read this using the whole flower.......... YES!!!! That must be it. I'll try in september (second bloom). But first there are the elderflowers....... Almost out of parselywine you know. Carrotport just two or three bottles left (depends on whom you believe: my computer says three; my winecellar says two..) so I must have something that is ready within a few months. Elderflowerwine is. Ed

No flowers, no bees, no leaves on the trees; no wonder november.

"Rob M" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

In regard to these millions of recipes that I have been sent they keep mentioning that you should peel the orange very thinly. Would that mean you use a zester?

I am not sure what a Zester is.... I use a potato peeler....

Yep! A zester or a potatoe peeler or a knife, as long as you leave the zest (the white) alone. It is bitter, and you don't want that. Just take the coloured part of the skin. It contains the oil you do want. And a zester is easy to use... Good thinking. But first wash with hot water. Sometimes a wax is used to spray oranges and lemons after picking, and spraying residue could be present too. Remove that by washing.

Ed

"Rob M" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

Dandelions are finally in full bloom here in Anchorage... I started

I will start anothe 23L using whole blossoms only this weekend.

A. J. Rawls Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Disaster :-(

I racked into a 25L carboy, I decided at add 500ml of white grape concentrate and grabbed the wrong bottle and poured in 500ml of Wine Conditioner.

I guess I better start picking again... This disheartening

A.J.

Yikes. Got enough dandelions? That's a huge batch - I barely lasted picking for a one gallon. Hang in there. This is the first year, I decided not to make dandelion wine, but instead I made oregano wine. I'll make dandelion wine again next year, after I see how my dandelion wine has aged. I might make some changes in my recipe depending how it tastes. Darlene G'town Wisconsin USA

I hate it when that happens. I don't know where you are, but if you are not in the USA you could try running it through a still. Home distillation in the US is horribly illegal; they will take away your house!!! Just my tuppence. Bob

DON'T THROW IT AWAY (yelling very loud!) Please! Add 500 ml of white grape concentrate anyway. Throw half a liter out if necessary. Mature that wine, and keep us informed. The only way for one of us to experience waht happens when... We would all be grateful!! Ed

"A.J. Rawls" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Okay.. I added 250ml of White Grape concentrate and it is still fermenting. I will give it a few days and see if it continues to ferment. Iwill check specific gravity and TA tomorrow and get some baseline readings and keep a log from there. I picked 6 gallons of blossoms yesterday.

Later, A.J.

Thanks in advance. You know, you're probably making a wonderful "vin des dents de lion, as dandelion litteraly means. The audacious will receive their reward...... Fermenting 180 liters of elderflowerwine now... Smells great..

Dutch Ed

No flowers, no bees; no leaves on the trees; no wonder, november.

"A.J. Rawls" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Are there any issues with freezing dandelion petals or just throw them in an old margarine container and into the freezer?

Don