Whether weed, herb or flower, dandelions are a great addition to the diet. They can be picked by hand out of the backyard, but this is not highly recommended especially if they were sprayed with anything or around any dogs , but the greens can also be found in a local Whole Foods or heath food stores. They are bitter, so be aware of their flavor before taking a big bite of a dandelion salad.
Or, take it one step further by adding pancetta or bacon and braising in a little chicken stock. For a softer texture, braising would be the way to go.
There is also a nice complement to be had between a bitter green and a creamy, subtle bean. White beans such as cannellini, great northern and navy work nicely with dandelion greens. You can add the greens to a white bean salad, stew or even soup for that extra flavor and nutrition.
Just a nice citrusy vinaigrette will do the trick to balance the bitterness of a raw dandelion greens salad. Eating them raw may be an acquired taste, so don't be disappointed if you do not like them prepared this way.
Identifying dandelion : For such a common weed, dandelion is easy to misidentify. Many look-alike plants have similar leaves, but dandelion leaves are hairless.
When you look closely at the shape of the leaves — by placing them side by side — you can see the dandelion is definitely sharply toothed, with its teeth pointing back toward the center of the plant. Those softly hairy leaves probably account for the common name given to cat's ear.
What does dandelion taste like? Category: events and attractions funeral. Everything, from the flower all the way down to the roots, is edible. And, dandelions also happen to be delicious. The taste of dandelion resembles a slightly bitter green like arugula. You can eat them fresh in salads, or cook them on the stove.
What part of a dandelion is poisonous? What are the side effects of dandelion? What does it mean when a dandelion lands on you? Are dandelions poisonous to humans? What are the benefits of eating dandelions? The potential benefits of dandelion include:. Providing antioxidants. Can you eat clover from your yard? Clovers Trifolium. How do I rid my lawn of weeds? In the fall, seed your lawn and aerate if necessary.
How do you make dandelions not bitter? Blanching the dandelion greens. Was I doing something wrong? Why is it that you hear and read such good things about a plant that, even in its youth, is often excruciatingly bitter?
When I was first learning primitive living skills, I was intrigued by the thought of surviving off of what nature provides. Of all the plants talked about in the few survival books I had collected, dandelions were familiar and they were right under foot. So being the adventurous testosterone-ridden young male that I was, I tried them. Yacht, pituey, spit-spit-spit, blah!
Well, so much for machismo. The bitterness was overwhelming. This did not help my interest in plants. I phased into animals and other survival skills for a while so that my taste buds could grow back. On occasion while I was still living at home, my mom, trying to emulate a tradition of our Greek ancestors, would prepare dandelions gathered in a nearby vacant lot.
She would serve them and we would all be in agony. Of course my parents, trying to be good role models, would hide their pain in an effort to convince us that these greens were, in fact, good. Can any of you explain to me the psychology of this? Once I got to college I became a more serious student of wild foods. Knowing the details results in the understanding that allows you to be more successful and enjoy what you are eating.
According to the books I read, preparing dandelions basically involved boiling the leaves in one or more changes of water. You add more boilings for greens that are more bitter. Authors varied greatly on how many boilings you should do. Most centered on two.
I tried two. Done properly, the bitterness will be poured off with the water, leaving the wonderfully rich flavor of the dandelion greens behind. They become quite delicious. If boiled too long, the greens begin to disintegrate. But some things I was reading and hearing did not add up. I was continually reading in books and hearing from certain individuals that dandelions were not bitter if you got them early enough in the spring.
I cannot tell you how many times I tested this theory. Picking them in the early spring before the flower stalks appear is very difficult. The flower stalks appear almost at the same time as the leaves on the earliest dandelions. The early dandelions grow rapidly directly from nutrient providing taproots.
Consequently, the small emerging spring leaves are not really required to generate food for the growing flower stalk. The stalk can grow directly from the food provided by the taproot.
Even young dandelions growing directly from seed were bitter. Their lower stalks, totally growing by food generated from the leaves, would not develop until later in the spring. While working on my Ph. Many of these people were born between and Most had grown up in an era where there was no electricity, no cars, no supermarkets.
They lived off canned, bagged, and bottled food they bought from the general store, whatever agricultural food they could produce or trade for, and wild foods they gathered from the surrounding area. The wild foods helped to spice up and add diversity to their diets. Dandelions were one of the most commonly eaten foods. When I asked these people if they experienced dandelions and dandelion salads to be bitter, almost everyone interviewed said no, dandelions were not bitter.
I was wondering what planet I was visiting. The taste of the plant is greatly affected by the growing conditions, environment, and the time of harvesting. Here are a couple ways to improve the flavor of greens:. Afterwards, I served them to a panel of picky judges my two kids and husband. The verdict: my kids seemed to like the taste of boiled dandelions better, while my husband was impartial. The boiled dandelion greens had a really mild taste, very similar to spinach.
Dandelion Pesto. Dandelion leaves, garlic, pine nuts, and grated Parmesan combine to make a delicious pesto. Spread over pizza, pasta, or other savory dishes via David Lebovitz. Dandelion Greens Salad.
Dandelion Jelly. Dandy Dandelion Juice. Start the day with a healthy green juice with dandelion greens, green apple, celery, and cucumber via Joe Cross. A hearty soup featuring dandelion greens, carrots and time-saving frozen cheese tortellini via Swirls of Flavor.
Theresa is co-founder of RusticWise. She helps people unleash their inner DIY spirit by encouraging them to get dirty and make or grow something from scratch. Read on to learn more about small freezer storage. What is stinging nettle good for?
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