With the garden in the ground, we’re itching for something to harvest. Naturally, there’s very little ready for picking aside from a cluster of blue Irises and thousands of dandelions.
Having seen Facebook friends post about dandelion jelly over the past few years, an idea came to mind. I asked around and ended up with this recipe for our very own experiment.
Dandelion jelly is exactly what it sounds like: jelly made from dandelions. Many friends and family told me that it tastes like honey. Some even said better than honey! With such an endorsement, we had to give it a go.
I immediately put the nephews to work picking dandelions in the front yard. The front yard was key here – it’s loaded with little yellow flowers and is one of the few areas that the dogs don’t go. The nephews were also key. As much as I love our son, he doesn’t pull his weight around here. I needed help!
I’ve never made jelly or canned – well – anything. So once we gathered our blooms, I set to work following the recipe step by step.
To make a long story extremely short – our dandelion jelly making will just have to wait for next year! Despite Rhett and Tanner picking a small fortune in dandelions, we only had a single cup of petals when I did the chopping. Since the recipe called for 4 cups and many people emphasized the extreme time and effort the process takes – I didn’t think a 1/4-sized batch would be worthwhile.
{Sad trombone.}
Next year, we’re going to start our picking a little earlier. Timing seems to be a critical component of the process. Hopefully Isai’s little hands will help us get to the 4-cup goal then!