Dandelion Jelly...Yummy in my Tummy!

There's just something satisfying about making something out of nothing, or creating something out of “junk” around your house to fill a need, instead of running to the store to buy something new. There's also something satisfying about carrying on a tradition or doing something you know your Grandmother or Great-Grandmother did generations ago. My Monday morning project was satisfying. I made dandelion jelly! It was a project that used weeds from our yard (free!), and made them into something new and yummy. It also reminded me of my Grandma. I know she probably made dandelion jelly for the same reason I wanted to make it...dandelions are abundant and free, and with her 5 sons (God bless her!) she needed inexpensive food...and lots of it.

First canning jars of the season.

A quick rabbit trail:

My sister and I spent one or two weeks every summer at my Grandparents' house. We loved it. Grandma taught us both to do cross-stitch, sew and crochet. We loved the time at Grandma and Grandpa's house and I feel so blessed now to have gotten the time with them. I'm also blessed to know the things Grandma taught us. As we got older we brought along friends and Grandma taught them how to sew and crochet too.

Back to golden, delicious dandelion jelly. First we picked the dandelions. I read that the flower heads freeze well and I still have two Wal-Mart bags of dandelions in our deep freeze. Whether I use them for more jelly or not is yet to be determined.

Then, the worst, most pain-staking part of the jelly making process: separating the yellow flower from any bit of bitter green! I don't know how long it took me, but I picked apart enough flowers to equal 8 cups of yellow fluffy stuff. I never wanted to see or touch another dandelion as long as I lived.

                       

Next I boiled the flowers in 2 quarts of water for 10 minutes. As the flowers were boiling they smelled like cooked squash. 

Now we're boiling!

I strained the flowers out...   

                      

and re-strained the “juice” through a coffee filter. 

Dandelion tea, anyone?

 

Pollen, I guess?

The Help

To the flowery water I added lemon juice, a touch of yellow food coloring, and pectin, then brought the mixture to a boil. Then I added sugar (and a whole lot of it), stirred and boiled the mixture hard for 1.5 minutes.

Skim the top, pour into sterile, hot jars and put the lids on. Then listen for the sweet popping sound of your jar lids, meaning you've got a perfect seal and something pretty to place on your shelf to enjoy at a later time.

Yikes!

                                                

An unfortunate spill gives us a first taste!

From this amount of dandelions I got 13 half-pint jars of jelly. It tastes delicious and sweet...just like honey. I can't wait to try it on a peanut butter sandwich!

Find my Dandelion Jelly recipe on "My Mommy Recipes" by clicking on the link at the top of the page.