Right at the end of the Spring bloom, the first crop of Dandelions have nearly disappeared (oh, they will come back!), so I set the youngest outside to pick a bucket for me. This jelly’s hardest work is the picking, and then stripping of the flowers, but it goes fast. Although you might have green and yellow fingers for a day!
Dandelion Jelly
Ingredients:
Infusion –
- 3 cups tightly packed fresh dandelion flowers
- 4 cups boiling water
Jelly –
- 3 cups dandelion infusion
- 2 Tbsp bottled lemon juice
- 1 box powdered pectin
- 4½ cups granulated sugar
Directions:
Infusion –
Pick dandelion flowers in the early morning. After measuring out, strip the flowers from the stems. Pop your fingernail under the bottom of the flower, pinching through to release the yellow flower parts. Discard as much of the green as you can. Make sure you only use flowers that are untreated, and not from near a road.
Measure and put in a heat safe bowl. Cover with the boiling water, cover bowl and let rest a few hours, or up to overnight.
Strain, using a jelly bag, gently squeezing to get as much liquid out as you can. Discard flowers in compost pile.
Jelly –
Fill canning pot half full with water, add in 6 8-ounce mason jars. Bring to a boil. Place new lids and rings in a small saucepan, fill with water. Bring to a simmer. Sterilize a soup ladle and canning funnel.
Add dandelion infusion (if you are short at all, just use water to make the amount), lemon juice and pectin in a large stainless steel or non-stick stock pot.
Bring to a boil over high, stirring well.
Add in sugar, stirring to dissolve. Bring back to a boil, stirring often. Once at a hard boil, time for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Lay out a clean kitchen towel on counter, drain out the jars and place on towel. Fill each jar to within a ¼” headspace. Wipe the rims with a new, damp paper towel. Place a drained lid on each jar, screw on band. Place jars in canner, lower into water, making sure the jars are covered with water. Return to a boil, let boil with pot lid slightly ajar, for 10 minutes.
Take out jars, place on a clean dry kitchen towel. Let cool, check that all lids are flat (you may hear pings). Use within a year of canning, store opened jars in refrigerator.
Makes about 6 8-ounce jars.