How to Make Dandelion Jam

• makes approx. 8 half pint jars.
• Prep time approx. 45 min.
• Cook time approx. 35-40 min.

Dandelions are one of the first signs of spring. While many people consider this common weed a pest, they are actually more healthy than most of the vegetables in your garden! Dandelion are a family of flowering plants that grow in many parts of the world. They’re also known as Taraxacum spp., though Taraxacum officinale is the most common species. You may be most familiar with dandelion as a stubborn weed that never seems to leave your lawn or garden.

Instead of killing theses flowers with chemicals why not pull them up and make a snack! When life hands you dandelions, make jelly!

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• 4 cups dandelion flowers (loosely packed)
• 4 cups boiling water
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 box powdered pectin (low sugar variety) Sure Jell makes it.
• 8 ½pint jelly jars (this will vary, depending on how much liquid you squeeze from the dandelions)

1. First, you will need to make a dandelion tea. Rinse dandelion petals thoroughly. Make sure all green is removed.
2. Place flowers in a large container, such as a glass jar.
3. Pour the boiling water over the flowers and stir lightly to cover. Allow to cool then place in the refrigerator to steep overnight or at least 4 hours.
4. **Read all directions before proceeding so you can time the sterilizing of the jars with the jelly making.
5. Strain the flowers from the liquid, using a cheesecloth, strainer or simply squeeze them with your hands. The cheesecloth will result in a clearer jelly but the strainer works just fine for me.
6. Place the 4 cups of liquid into a large pot. Add the lemon juice and pectin and stir. Bring the liquid to a boil. Stir in the sugar and allow the mixture to return to a boil and boil for 2 minutes while stirring.
7. Immediately ladle the mixture into the hot jars. Fill to about ¼ inch of the tops to allow expansion. Wipe any drips from the rims of the jars. Place flat parts of the lids on the tops of the jars. Screw on the rings of the lids by hand.
8. Place jars into your canning pot. You may need to remove a bit of the water first then add back in after the jars are in the pot. Again, make sure the water is at least an inch above the jar tops. Cover with the pot lid and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and remove the jars to cool. Allow to cool on the counter overnight to set up.

1. Place your jars and lids in a canning pot with a rack in the bottom. If you don’t have a canning pot, you can turn a round cake pan or tart pan upside down in the bottom of a large, deep pot. It is important to have something for the jars to sit on so they don’t get too hot on the bottom and burst.
2. Cover the jars with hot water, allowing the jars to fill with the water. Water should come to about 1 inch over the top of the jars.
3. Place lid on pot and bring to a simmer and heat for 10 minutes.
4. Remove jars making sure the water is drained out of them.
5. Dry the rings and discs. Ideally, you want to time this so you are removing the jars from the pot at about the same time as the jelly is ready to pore in so the jars will be still hot. Otherwise, the hot jelly could cause the jars to break if they are too cold.

Generally jam is made from the whole fruit and jelly is just made from fruit juice. When you eat jam you’ll notice that there is bits of pulp or seeds in the mixture while jelly tends to be more clear. The names are typically interchangeable but depending on where you are in the world the name might be different. Americans usually use the word “jam” while the English call it “jelly”.

Use dandelion jam on anything you would normally use jam or jelly. I love to put it on English muffins, pancakes or waffles.

Yes! All parts of the dandelion are edible including the flowers, leave and roots. Dandelion is very nutritious and contains potassium, antioxidants and can help lowers blood pressure. Dandelion petals also contain Vitamin A and Vitamin B12 which are good for the eyes.

Make sure you are picking your dandelions from an area where no pesticides are being used. Avoid areas too close to the road as they may be contaminated by pollution from cars.

If you don’t get enough dandelion flowers in one day of plucking, freeze the ones youhave in a plastic container. You can keep plucking and freezing until you have enough for jelly-making day.

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