We have all heard of dandelion wine. I wanted to make some and didn't know how. I read some of the on-line stuff and was surprised by recipes that seemed to call for a lot of added flavors (other fruit juices). I was also surprised to hear some one say 'wash them first' -- what a terrible waste! Check here for grape wine making.
Here is my effort to remain a purist below. Note: one thing I did discover, 'pure' dandelion wine has a bouquet of weeds and isn't a big hit. After it clears I highly recommend sweetening it up with sugar to taste (click on images for a larger picture):
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| I am blessed with a great field behind the house. I picked my dandelions on one of the first blooming days. | Here is a closeup. The aroma was terrific and most of the pollen (which gives color) was still there. | I put just the heads into a glass jar. I think next time I will remove the green part of the flower to help reduce the 'weed' flavor (May 8th). |
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| I wanted to add boiling water. I poured water into my container first, about half full, and then poured that into a pan for boiling. The pollen really gave it a golden color! I'm pretty sure I added a few cups of sugar to the boiling mixture -- but forgot the amount (sorry!). | Here is mama helping with effort. Just poured the boiling water onto the dandelions. As far as yeast goes, I used one packet of good old bread yeast from the supermarket (make sure you wait for the temperature to cool a bit so it is safe to add the yeast!). | Here is a close up after the initial mix (May 8th). |
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| Fermenting after a few days and mixed twice a day (May 11th). | Siphoned into a bottle. Look at that beautiful color (May 11th). | It did take over a month to start to clear. These pictures are seven months old after it was siphoned into smaller bottles -- and sugar added! |