Thursday, April 30, 2009

Dandelion Syrup

We made dandelion syrup this week for a pick me up to a very rainy day. It is very easy to make, but a little time consuming. You need to put at least 12 hours aside to let the dandelion tops steep and then need 2 hours to simmer the syrup. Perfect activity for a chilly and rainy spring day.


For dandelion syrup you need about 250 dandelion tops (give or take a few),1 lemon, 4 C water, and 2 pounds of sugar (I love organic cane sugar for this).

Put the dandelion tops in 4 C water, bring the water to a boil then cover and simmer for an hour. Let cool and place in the refrigerator overnight for the dandelions to continue to steep in the water.
The next day strain the tops from the water. Mix the water with 2 lbs of sugar and the freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon. Simmer for about 2 hours, until the water evaporates. This is how the water looks when the lemon and sugar have been added.

After 2 hours, a froth should form on the surface of the syrup (see photo below). Take the syrup off of the heat and let cool. It should thicken as it cools.

After cooling, your syrup should look like this. Cane sugar tends to create a pretty amber color when made into a syrup, I've never tried it with processed sugar, the color may be different.


The Little Ladies could eat it by the spoonfuls! It has a very earthy sweet taste.


Araina licked her spoon clean. Tomorrow we will put the dandelion syrup on homemade waffles for breakfast.

You could follow this same recipe but replace the dandelions with violets or mint or any other herb you have handy. Ohhhh, rose petal syrup would be tasty too. For more dandelion fun visit dandelion octopus, beautiful pollinators, and dandelion prints.

39 comments:

Toni said...

that sounds so yummy, and tasty, I think my neighbor has about 250 dandelions in her field maybe I can get the kids to gather them.Wild violet syrup sounds wonderful too.

Erin said...

Oh thanks for the recipe and the great pics to go with it. We are gonna try this tomorrow!
Peace.

Anonymous said...

That's so cool! And yummy sounding/looking, too :-)

Cinnamon Swirl said...

great idea. i've been picking dandelion heads last weekend to make so wine but I'm definetaly trying to make syrup this weekend. thanx for the recipe.

Unknown said...

Yum :)

MamaWestWind said...

Yum! You're making me crave pancakes & dandelion syrup!

Joy said...

Yum! Our horse fields are teeming with dandelions so I might have to send the kids out there to pick!

Anonymous said...

that sounds amazing!
enjoy it on the waffles!

Tara said...

Wow... I didn't expect the dark amber color.

You girls are all so clever :0)

Leanne said...

Wow so amazing! I have only had dandelions roasted as tea!

dongdong said...

that is so fun and sure sounds yum. I'm not sure where to find so many dandelions that I know for sure hasn't been treated/sprayed... but it sounds wonderful. All the interesting stuff you post just keeps me coming back for more.:)

Julie said...

Thanks for sharing. I would like to utilize the dandelions in our yard, and apart from a dandelion wine recipe, this is the first recipe I've come across. I think my boys would be up for the task:)

dawn klinge said...

This looks like so much fun to try. Thank you for the recipe.

jane said...

This is such a great idea. I can´t wait to see my kids´faces when I have this with pancakes! Un beso!

Mary said...

Amazing! What a wonderful idea! We will have to give it a try, we have violets and lemon verbena we could use too! Thanks for posting about this!

tree said...

Very interesting! i've made sweet violet syrup before, but never dandelion! Going to have to try it! We tried making Dandelion wine a few years ago, but it didn't turn out at all. Been wanting to try it again, but the kids always pick all my dandelions. :) fun stuff! i really enjoy your blog, that you for sharing.

Annie said...

Oh we must make this!

Kelly said...

Delicious. We would love to try this!!

Chrissy said...

Fascinating. I will definitely have to try this one day! Just linked you up at www.onecraftyplace.com. Thanks for sharing!

Anet said...

Okay I've have never heard of dandelion syrup...Where have I been?

Unknown said...

This looks so good! Now to find dandelions that have been treated!

Unknown said...

Wow! from dandelions and it tastes good? I might just have to see it to believe it :)

affectioknit said...

That looks so yummy - I've never had Dandelion syrup - but we like the greens...

sarah in the woods said...

I'd love to try this! Looks good.

schmobes said...

I knew there was a reason our yard was covered in dandelions! This is great, can't wait to try it!

Stacey said...

I got the link to your blog from my sister-in-law who thought I would be interested in making this syrup, here in New York we have plenty of dandelions this time of year. I decided to make this syrup for my mother-in-law for mother's day, hope she likes it, it smells yummy. I never knew you could do these things with dandelions, I have more appreciation for them now.

Tammie Lee said...

This post is gorgeous and sounds so yummy. I made a syrup like this last year and it was delicious.

Jeanine - The Baking Beauties said...

Delicious!! I have a fairly healthy "crop" of dandelions, so figured, why not! I tried your recipe (found it through Tip Nut), and it is really, really good! I may have to make another batch! Thanks! :)

Zenseer said...

There aren't many wild dandelions in town, but I can get dandy leaves at the farmers market.
Do you think this recipe would also work with a bunch of dandelion leaves instead of the flowers?

Lisa said...

Alchemille, I think dandelion leaves would be fine. Enjoy!

Christie said...

I tried this today and after bringing the water/dandelions to a boil and simmering for an hour I hardly had any water left. I didn't count out the dandelion heads exactly but I think I was fairly close. Will it change over night in the fridge? I am putting them there now but I am wondering where the additional fluid will come from. Have you had this problem?

Lisa said...

SCCC, sounds like you used less dandelions and water. It will probably just thicken in the fridge. As soon as it starts to thicken is when you should take it off the heat. Sorry if my directions misrepresented this.

Lisa

Christie said...

I just wanted to say thank you. Since reading your post, I have made a bazillion batches of dandelion syrup. :) And I have a whole new fascination for dandelions. Not that I didn't love them before but even more now. I wrote a post about it and its no joke that I carried a jar of it around with me after I repaired the first batch. Everyone LOVED it. And your directions were perfect and if I paid better attention I would have figured out the froth/ water thing. Now I am onto the wine! Oh, and you should try them fried! YUM. I wrote about that too. :)

K said...

Thank you so much for posting this! Your instructions and photos are amazing and I was able to follow them without trouble -- and with wonderful results!

I made a batch a couple of months ago and I STILL have friends asking me if I have any left.

Thanks again! You're linked on my site so that others can find you, too!

thefeetthatfeedyou.blogspot.com

K said...

Thank you so much for posting this! Your instructions and photos are amazing and I was able to follow them without trouble -- with wonderful results!

I made a batch a couple of months ago and I STILL have friends asking me if I have any left.

Thanks again! You're linked on my site so that others can find you, too!

thefeetthatfeedyou.blogspot.com

Angela said...

I used your directions for making the syrup and it turned out great! I linked it on my blog for others to check out. Thanks for sharing.

Angela said...

I forgot to add in my "address" if you want to see where you're linked. http://www.tableofplenty2010.blogspot.com
Thanks again.

Unknown said...

I am simmering the syrup right now, but couldn't find anywhere how long it actually took...thanks for including that in your post!!!

DIY Family said...

Hey I love your blog , thanks so much for all inspiration and great ideas , we made this dandelion syrup with agave nectar , too fun