Dandelions

Common Name: Dandelion

Latin Name: Taraxacum officinale

Description: Dandelions typically have sharply serrated, green leaves that resemble teeth. These leaves grow in clusters called basil rosettes. Dandelions have one yellow flower per stem. When mature, flowers turn into white, puffballs that many of us blew with the wind in our childhood.

Habitat: Dandelions can be found growing almost everywhere worldwide. They are often found growing on lawns, vacant lots, forest clearings, and meadows. Varieties of dandelions can be harvested in the desert, the tundra, and everywhere in between.

Food: Greens can be used in salads, smoothies, or as a trailside nibbles. Flower can be eaten raw or made into jam. Roots can be eaten raw or dried and ground up as coffee substitute. John Kallas, author of Edible Wild Plants: wild foods from dirt to plate, write that Dandelions have six edible parts: the leaves, flower buds, upper bud stem, flowers, heart, and root.

Nutrtion: Author Janice J. Schofield, writes that dandelion greens are: exceptionally high in vitamins A, B, and C, and the minerals copper, phosphorus, potassium, iron, calcium, and magnesium. Dandelions are widely used to treat obstructions of the liver, kidneys, gallbladder, pancreas, and spleen.

Personal Note: Dandelions are one of my favorite weeds because of their widespread availability. I have traveled the world and set foot in 39 countries all of which have had at least one variety of dandelion growing vigorously. Therefore, this common plant is the perfect candidate for introducing people to wild foods.

Like all wild edibles, dandelions are extremely nutritious and beneficial for many of different health reasons. Of these, they are most acclaimed for being great organ cleaners. It turns out that the bitter taste I once detested, actually stimulates bile production, aids digestion, and cleans pretty much every inner organ inside my body.

Because dandelions are bitter to the taste, and I am not particularly found of the bitter flavor, it took me many attempts to find a way enjoy eating them. After a great deal of experimentation, I found two ways to reduce the bitterness of dandelions and make them more palatable:

1.)   One way to kill the bitterness is to blend them with fruit in a green smoothie. (see recipe below)

2.)   The other way is to process them with some sort of fat, i.e. nuts, oils, and avocados. (see recipe below)

Recipes: (from the book Fresh, by Sergei and Valya Boutenko)

Dandelion-Infused Honey

1 cup freshly picked dandelion flowers

1 cup raw honey

Rinse off flowers and trim excess stems. Place honey and flowers in a jar and mix thoroughly. Let the flowers soak up honey for three or more days. Use as jam. Spread on bread, crackers, etc.

Dandelion Pesto

1 bunch of freshly harvested dandelions (bunch could be as big or as little as you like)

½ cup of pine nuts

½ cup of walnuts

4-5 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of salt (or salt to taste)

Blend all ingredients in food processor until thoroughly mixed. Serve like you would any pesto, with crackers, veggies, etc.

Morning Zing Smoothie (from Raw Family)

½ bunch dandelion greens

2 stalks celery

½ inch fresh ginger root

2 peaches

½ pineapple

2 cups water

Blend in blender until smooth! Enjoy!