Spring has sprung & for many this means hours of intensive primping & prepping their gardens & lawns for the summer months. Before you begin pulling, chopping and spraying those weeds away, consider harvesting them! That's right there are several weeds that are edible, delicious, and nutritious. I myself would not typically choose to make a meal out of weeds, but I do enjoy making Dandelion jelly every spring, so if you'd like to try a bit yourself check out this tutorial!
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The pesky dandelion is one of the first weeds to begin popping up everywhere in the spring, and although most see those bright yellow blossoms as a big fat headache, I secretly get excited & keep my eyes peeled for prime picking spots. Dandelion leaves contain abundant vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, C and K, and are good sources of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese.The dandelion can actually be eaten from top to bottom.The leafs can be used in salads, the roots can be boiled or roasted, and of course the blossoms are used for teas, and jellies like this one.
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Thanks so much for the idea!! I changed a few things, but LOVED the idea!! And, the jelly tasted great too!
1. Replace it sugar with Honey or aguava nectars. Although these are healthier for you then granulated sugar, they really don't reduce ones "sugar" intake. Plus can only be effectively substituted by 50%. So it probably wouldn't be best for a diabetic.
2. You could try using the dandelion broth/tea as your "non sweetened fruit juice" in this recipe to make a sugar free refrigerator jelly. I would do 4 cups broth & 1/4 cup lemon juice though just to add some tartness to it. It can only be kept for about 1 month in the fridge.
3. If you want to can the jelly for longer storage. (so you can gift it later in the year) You can us SPLENDA as a replacement sweetener in canning. Once again I would replace 1/4 cup of the fruit juice in their recipe with lemon juice. It's also suggested to use a NO SUGAR NEEDED pectin when using splenda if you want it to set right. However those have Dextrose in them, which is sugar, so I would stick with the CERTO liquid pectin. It doesn't have the dextrose & I've had the best luck using it in my jellies.
One thing to keep in mind specifically with the dandelion jelly is that the broth/tea is pretty dark in color before adding all that white sugar. If you want to have a prettier color you can boil the petals for less time just until you have the color you want.
That being said...I've tampered with my own recipe for years to get the color, flavor, and texture I want. These ideas are all in theory, because I haven't tried any myself & may require some fine tuning. If I have time & resources to, I will test some out for you. Best of luck & let me know how things go!
I really love using the greens in a salad. To cut through the bitterness, I add bacon, a poached egg and garlic croutons.
Thanks for posting.
Question about the end of your instructions.
You said to bring the mixture to a rapid boil until it can not be stirred down. What do you mean not stirred down? I've never made a jam or jelly before, so maybe I'd know what this meant if I had.
You also said to then process in a 10 minute water bath. Is this submerging the closed, full jars, in water? Hot or cold? And why? Again, probably something I'd know if I had made jelly before.
P.S. If you don't have a water bath canner or have a glass stove top like me. Then you can make your own with any deep stock pot. Just tie a few of the regular sized canning bands together to act as a rack in the bottom & be sure it's deep enough to hold your jars + the 1" of water on top.
thanks for uploading it!