Every early spring, full-blooming dandelions illuminate the Czech meadows. Let's gather their flowers before they wither and turn them into delicious dandelion honey!
Dandelion belongs to the edible flowers. It’s a well-known herb, which also possesses medicinal properties. In traditional herbal medicine, yellow petals, green parts of the dandelions, and roots, in fact, the entire plant, are commonly used.
Dandelion is called pampeliška or smetanka lékařská in the Czech language.
MY TIP: If you want to try another Czech recipe, bet on these fruit dumplings (they taste divine!)
➜ What is dandelion honey?
Dandelion honey is not real honey, but a dandelion syrup with a distinctive floral scent made by boiling dandelion heads in water and sugar. The dandelion honey taste resembles true honey and has a similar consistency, although it is a bit thinner. Its color, though, remains the same - a lovely golden brown.
Dandelion honey enhances the flavor of yogurt, oatmeal, and tea; or gives a dandelion aroma to other hot drinks.
Vegan honey recipe: If you are looking for vegan alternatives to bee honey, the dandelion syrup is an ideal substitute as it contains no animal components.
➜ Ingredients
This floral honey is made in spring when the meadows are overflowing with wild dandelion flowers. All you need are these three ingredients:
- Fresh dandelion flowers
- Lemon
- Granulated sugar
TIP: Instead of white sugar, use brown sugar for an even richer taste.
Keep in mind the place where you pick the flowers. Your own backyard is ideal. If you don’t have one, go somewhere clean in the countryside, which isn’t ‘contaminated’ by dogs’ excrement and isn’t too close to any roads.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions with photos
Preparing homemade dandelion honey is very easy, just follow the instructions:
STEP 1: Collect dandelion flowers without the green stems, only the whole dandelion head from each plant.
STEP 2: Soak the flower petals in a few cups of water for a while, so the insects come to the surface, and you can remove them.
STEP 3: Pour over the washed dandelion flowers with fresh cold water. Add sliced lemon.
STEP 4: Bring the water with herbs and lemon to boil, reduce the temperature and let the liquid simmer for twenty minutes. Put the pot aside and let it sit at room temperature.
STEP 5: Sieve the liquid through a piece of clean cotton cloth, then wring it out. Discard the rest of the dandelion petals and lemon slices.
STEP 6: Bring the strained liquid to a boil, then turn the temperature down. Add the sugar gradually, and mix it in until it all dissolves.
STEP 7: Simmer at a very low temperature for a further 2 hours for the right consistency, collecting the occasional foam on the surface formed during simmering.
STEP 8: Let the finished dandelion honey cool down a little, then pour it into clean jam jars. Seal each glass with a lid.
➜ How to store dandelion honey?
Storing dandelion honey is easy, you just need a dark place. The pantry, where you keep other foods that don't need to be in the fridge, will do just fine. Store in lidded canning or mason jars.
➜ How long does dandelion honey last?
If you pick dandelion flower heads in spring, the honey will last until winter of the same year.
➜ Picking dandelions
- Pick up the dandelions when they are in full bloom. The dandelion season lasts from the middle of April until the middle of May in the Czech Republic; it depends on the local weather and your geographical area.
- A good time to pick dandelions is the morning on a sunny day when the yellow petals are fully open. Only then are they an important source of nectar.
- Later in the day, bees hungry for nectar tend to swarm in the flowers. However, we need the dandelion nectar for our homemade honey, so it’s good to be quick and pick the dandelion blossoms up before noon. Don’t be so mean; leave some flowers for the bees, too!
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Homemade dandelion honey
Ingredients
- 350 pieces dandelion heads without stem
- 4 cups water (960 ml)
- 3 cups granulated sugar (600 g)
- 1 lemon sliced
Instructions
- Collect dandelion flowers without the green stems, only the whole dandelion head from each plant.
- Soak the flower petals in a few cups of water for a while, so the insects come to the surface, and you can remove them.
- Pour over the washed dandelion flowers with fresh cold water. Add sliced lemon.
- Bring the water with herbs and lemon to boil, reduce the temperature and let the liquid simmer for twenty minutes. Put the pot aside and let it sit at room temperature.
- Sieve the liquid through a piece of clean cotton cloth, then wring it out. Discard the rest of the dandelion petals and lemon slices.
- Bring the strained liquid to a boil, then turn the temperature down. Add the sugar gradually, and mix it in until it all dissolves.
- Simmer at a very low temperature for a further 2 hours for the right consistency, collecting the occasional foam on the surface formed during simmering.
- Let the finished dandelion honey cool down a little, then pour it into clean jam jars. Seal each glass with a lid.
Notes
- Makes about 3 cups of dandelion honey/syrup.
- STORAGE: Storing dandelion honey is easy, you just need a dark place. The pantry, where you keep other foods that don't need to be in the fridge, will do just fine. Store in lidded canning or mason jars.
- SERVING: Dandelion honey enhances the flavor of yogurt, oatmeal, and tea; or gives a dandelion aroma to other hot drinks.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
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