Dandelion Winemaking - 2003

Are you one of those people who curse the gorgeous yellow flowers that appear by magic in your lawn?? Why are you cursing nature's bounty! These flowers grow without any work, the leaves make delicious salads, parakeets love to eat the leaves as a treat, and the blossoms make a WONDERFUL homemade wine that is very easy. If you have never made dandelion wine before, this is the year to start!

This 2003 batch was begun on May 13, 2003.

Day 1: May 13th

First, track down some dandelions!! Be sure they are nice and clean and NOT weed-sprayed. Who would want to kill off these great plants?

This year I did 12 cups of dandelion heads. In past years I've done 8 cups and 16 cups, so pick however many you want and then look up the appropriate recipe. It should only take 15-20 minutes to pick your flowers. Don't include the stems or leaves (those are great in salads and teas!!). The little green underside with the little green underleaves is fine, though. Look for wide-open, nice and yellow blossoms.

Boil up 1 1/2 gallons of water. Put the dandelion heads into a ceramic or glass (NOT metal) container and pour the boiling water over it. If you use glass make sure it's resistant to boiling water temperatures! Now saran-wrap the top to seal it, and let it sit for 2 days.

I'm afraid I didn't get a chance to take photos of the rest of this batch. Here are some random images from this process!

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