Dandelions

OK, why is he talking about dandelions in a food blog? I saw something this morning about dandelions as food and since they are everywhere right about now, I thought why not discuss?

I recall a school field trip when I was young that centered around dandelions. I don't remember what all we did, but I remember they made dandelion fritters and I kind of liked them at the time. I think I even remember coaxing my mom into making them shortly after that once.

I assume that it was a simple batter. One cup milk, one egg and about a cup of flour (give or take depending on your batter preference). The open heads (plucked just above the stem) were dipped in the batter and then deep fried. Hmmmm. I may have to try these again. If I do, I will probably add some pepper to the batter and maybe a little maple syrup or some hot sauce.

There are also recipes for dandelion root tea. Here is a little information about that. I think I will pass on the root tea.

Here is another list of various dandelion recipes.

It seems that almost the entire plant is used except for the stem. The roots are used for tea or coffee, the leaves for salad and the head for various things including wine. They say that the stem is very bitter.

I am going to pass on the salad, but may have to try making some wine out of them.

Here is the wikipedia link if you would like to know more about this plant.

I actually think that a yard full of them looks very nice. That is until they go to seed and keep shooting up as soon as you chop them down.