Dandelion Jelly is just one of the many things you can make with those pretty little Dandelions that pop up all over the place in spring. There’s also Dandelion Salve, Dandelion tea, Dandelion greens; the whole plant is edible and makes for a pretty pop of color on a plate.
Today, though, we’re going to make some Dandelion Jelly. The first thing you have to do is harvest some Dandelion heads. Be sure and leave enough for the bees, though, they need them too. I was lucky enough to have a little help gathering the tops.
After you’ve harvested about 8 cups of Dandelion heads, you have to separate the green part from the yellow flower head.
I separated the two parts by holding the yellow flower part in one hand and snipping off the green part with some scissors. It’s ok to get a little bit of the green in there, but too much will give your jelly a bitter taste. After this separation process, you should have about 4 cups of petals, not packed.
Dandelion Jelly is made basically the same way as Forsythia Jelly. Check out the recipe for that here. First, you’ll need to make your “tea.” Place your petals in a glass (or other heat proof) jar and pour four cups of boiling water over them. Let this sit and steep until cooled, around four hours or so. When this is just about ready to use, go ahead and sterilize your jelly jars. Wash them in hot, soapy water, rinse well, and let them boil for about 10 minutes in a water bath canner. Wash lids and place them in a separate pot of boiling water.
After the tea has steeped, strain it with a fine mesh strainer and squeeze all the water out of the petals. You should wind up with about 4 cups of liquid. Place the liquid in a heavy bottomed pot, add in two tablespoons of lemon juice and a box of pectin. Bring this to a boil over high heat. When you get a rolling boil, add in four cups of sugar and stir well. When this gets back to a rolling boil, let it boil for a minute and then remove from heat.
Pour the jelly into your prepared jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe the rims of the jars down with a rag dipped in white vinegar to clean off any jelly that may have dripped. Place lids and rings on and tighten finger tight. Place jars in the water bath canner and process for ten minutes. Allow processed jars to sit on a towel on the counter for 24 to 48 hours.
If any of the jars did not seal properly, place them in the refrigerator to use immediately. The others can be stored in the pantry for later use.
The final product tastes amazing with a slight lemony-honey flavor that goes great with homemade biscuits! Check out our recipe for biscuits here.
What about you? Have you ever tried Dandelion Jelly?
Dandelion Jelly
Equipment
- 1 Heavy Bottomed Pot
- 1 saucepan
- 1 Glass Jar
- 1 Measuring cup
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 water bath canner
- 6 jelly jars and lids
- 1 fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
- 4 cups harvested dandelion petals about 8 cups whole dandelion heads
- 4 cups boiling water
- 1 box Sure-Gel pectin
- 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
Instructions
- Harvest the Dandelion heads, leaving plenty for the bees. Roughly 8 cups of heads should render 4 cups of petals.
- Discard the green part of the heads by holding the yellow petals in one hand and cutting the green part off with scissors.
- Place the petals in a glass jar and pour 4 cups of boiling water over the petals. Allow this to steep until cooled, about 4 hours.
- Strain the petals, squeezing the liquid out of the petals in the strainer. The liquid should measure roughly 4 cups.
- Pour the liquid into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add in the lemon juice and the box of pectin.
- Bring the liquid to a rolling boil then add in the 4 cups of sugar and stir well to combine.
- Return the liquid to a rolling boil and allow it to boil for one minute. Remove from heat.
- Add jelly to prepared jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe the rims with a rag dipped in white vinegar. Place lids on and tighten finger tight.
- Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. After processing, allow the jars to cool on a towel on the counter for 24 to 48 hours. If any did not seal properly, put them in the refrigerator to be used immediately. The rest can be stored in the pantry for later use.