Have you ever eaten Dandelion Leaves ?

[steevo]

I have heard that Dandelion leaves (and other parts of them) are supposed to be edible. They grow wild everywhere so it's an option MAYBE if food becomes scarce ? When I was a kid we were told that if you picked dandelions that you would "wet the bed" but is this just an urban myth to direct us away from getting food for free ? I dont know :confused:

I found a website that said you can eat the leaves but they can be bitter and they are best harvested when they are very young and BEFORE they have started to flower. It also says that you can eat the yellow flowers and the root.

Have any of you any experience in eating dandelion leaves cos I'm not too confident in trying them yet probably due to my brainwashed upbringing.

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Dandelion.html

[steevo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqOMEUc6qIE

[nessa felagund]

dandelions are edible--just not very good :D mix them in with your salad and that might cut down on the bitterness

you can also make dandelion wine--never tasted that before :)

[eyepod]

I sometimes buy dandelion tea (and other herbal teas), mix it with a little cold water and slug the lot, leaves and all to get the goodness without the taste. I also have heard they are supposed to be good in salads but have never tried them. Beats buying supplements with all the fillers like silicon dioxide and other crap they put in them.

Not wet the bed yet either...

[mightiswrong]

why buy dried dandelion when you can have it fresh from your space of love (http://www.ringingcedarsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=534)?

[pandamania]

It you fry them with garlic and olive oil they are good. Just only use the top half of the leaf as the stem end is the bitter part.

You can also make a surprisingly excellent coffee from the dandiloin tap root. Pull it out of the ground, wash and roast in the over on a dry pan. Then slice into coffee bean sizes and brew as you would normally brew coffee. No joke, it really works.

[ds37ds]

Hi Steevo. The dandelion plant is eaten in many parts of Europe. It's not eaten raw though, not that I know of anyway. It's even cultivated and sold in street markets etc. The leaves are eaten but I think the flowers and roots are only used as a tea for medicinal purposes.

After giving them a good wash, I just boil them in water until they are cooked to my liking. I then drain them, let them cool and put them in the fridge to chill.I then add salt, lemon juice and olive oil. You can add a bit of garlic if you like.

It's full of anti-oxidants and good for de-toxing the liver.

[stealth]

I remember when i was a kid drinking gallons of dandelion & burdock drinks,i have not seen it in any shops for years,it never did me any harm and was delicious.:)

[lookfar]

Yeah they're fine to eat honey:) I've added them to mixed salad in early spring before they get too strong, good for tea as well.

I used to love dandelion & burdock drink when I was a kid too:)

[homebrew1973]

I haven`t personally but it`s common knowledge you can make them into wine :)

[steevo]

Thanks everyone for replying. We now have some good info here on this thread so it will be useful for future reference. I think I'll go have some dandylion and burdock pop now. Cheers! :)
Hmmmm, I wonder if burdoch leaves are edible....:o :D

[kingmonkey]

The darker green they are, the more bitter they are. You can grow them pretty easily, if you keep picking off any flowers the plant will get bushier like a green lettuce and taste a bit better, the younger the leaves the better they taste.

Oh, and they're chock full of vitamins/minerals etc as well.

[numbersix]

You also can roast the roots of dandelions in an oven to make dandelion coffee, Its slightly bitter and needs sweetening with brown sugar or honey but is not too bad a drink and is a good coffee substitute.

[kingmonkey]

You also can roast the roots of dandelions in an oven to make dandelion coffee, Its slightly bitter and needs sweetening with brown sugar or honey but is not too bad a drink and is a good coffee substitute.

Might give that a try, sounds interesting.

[h2pogo]

Ive eaten them with snails and garlic and lots of olive oil.
not bad at all. the ones with thin narrow leaves aunt so bitter.
makes a good salad and like wild lettuce is meant to contain a small amount of opiate.

[steevo]

Today, I was on the way home on the bus and I saw a woman who looked like an immigrant from somewhere like Romania on the grass at the side of the road behind a bus shelter and she was picking dandelion leaves :) In her country (if she is an immigrant) I bet they eat them all the time.

Also, I spoke to a woman today (who sells "natural" soaps) who told me that her friend eats dandelions and nettles :)

[boots]

I've tried dandelion leaves, quite awhile ago. Put them in a paper bag and let them dry out in the sun, just to take the bitterness out of them, still wasn't that good but it looks like I done it the wrong way, from reading the other posts.

Also there was a thread that someone posted, (I'm sorry don't know how to put that up) and it was using the roots dried out in a pan as a cure for cancer.:cool:

Apparently, very effective but had to be done the right way.

[fenriswulf]

They are bitter but a little bitterness is good for the liver and bile system. We are so used to sugar that bitterness seems wrong, a lot of animals seek bitter plants out. Aquire the taste and you may start to like it!
Dndelion is in the same family as endive and chicory which are more domesticated and you might find them available commercialy.

[jp13]

Hi Steevo, I am no expert, but I have studied Medical Herbalism to the equivalent of an A level. We had a great teacher, who would get us to 'talk' to plants that attracted us, and see what we got back, we also used to blind test a herbal tea every week, and it was interesting to see how much knowledge we aquired this way, and how similar when broken down we were to the effects of the herb.
Dandelion is a strong diuretic, where I grew up we called them "pee the beds" it is very good for cases of water retension due to heart problems and is one of the best sources of potassium. It can also be used for inflammation and congestion of the liver and the gall bladder, is used as a a specific in jaundice, and as part of a wider treatment of muscular rheumatism. The "Bitter principle" which is mentioned later on in this thread in one of the fundamentals of herbal medicine, in that as soon as our palates taste the bitterness, it kickstarts the liver and gallbladder into action. I love herbalism, I have tried the coffe, it used to be available in health food shops, maybe still is, I wouldn't really liken it to real coffee.
It is also a valuable herb if used as a "spring tonic" along with equal parts of Cleavers and Nettles, this helps detoxify and tone the system, best to use fresh if you can when in season, if not then dried from a reputable herbalists e.g Baldwins, Napiers, Neals yard. I wouldn't really describe it as a salad food, due to the bitterness, maybe in small doses.
One of the best and easy to understand Herbal books I have is "Complete Herbal" by David Hoffman, my herbal teacher also wrote a "Teach Yourself" book about it, trying to remember the name..."teach yourself herbal medicine" by Nina Nissen.
There are also some good websites out there, but a lot of them are American, I am a bit biased towards Western Herbalism, particularly UK or Europe based.
J
I have heard that Dandelion leaves (and other parts of them) are supposed to be edible. They grow wild everywhere so it's an option MAYBE if food becomes scarce ? When I was a kid we were told that if you picked dandelions that you would "wet the bed" but is this just an urban myth to direct us away from getting food for free ? I dont know :confused:

I found a website that said you can eat the leaves but they can be bitter and they are best harvested when they are very young and BEFORE they have started to flower. It also says that you can eat the yellow flowers and the root.

Have any of you any experience in eating dandelion leaves cos I'm not too confident in trying them yet probably due to my brainwashed upbringing.

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Dandelion.html

[Ratiocinator]

The leafy green vegetables are at the top of the food pyramid, with dandelion greens being amongst the best of them.

Eat them raw. Have around a kilo of greens per day in a smoothie(s) (mix with apples, bananas, oranges, whatever) for fantastic health.

[nimlyn]

I totally dislike the smell of cut dandelion plants so I’ll be giving it a miss…:)

LoL! As a youngster I was also told not to pick dandelion leaves because they make you wet the bed…Was then led to believe it was an old wives tale but have since heard from other sources that dandelions are a diuretic.

T’other year I also read a news article about a man who claimed to have cured his cancer with dried / ground dandelion roots.

[2013]

I remember when i was a kid drinking gallons of dandelion & burdock drinks,i have not seen it in any shops for years,it never did me any harm and was delicious.:)

Either morrisons or tescos stock a traditional smaller bottle of dandelin and burdock they do traditional lemonade and cola drink in the same range .Cant recal the manufacturers name sorry and i havent been to tescos for a long time to see if they still do it and it may of been somerfields before morrisons took over sorry not much help but check out those shops . The bottle looked old fashioned type thick glass heavy as it was brewed to a traditional
recipe .:D

[2013]

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=4252
FENTIMANS - Dandelion & Burdock
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/4691/4252xo6.jpg
:D

[lightgiver]

You can purchase herb books or even on google to give you tips on using different herbs all around us,that grow wild,and they usually tell you what u can use them for ie tinctures ,teas,food,ointments, compresses etc,did you know comfrey,which grows abundantly is great for bruising,also wild mint or peppermint ,great as a tea with honey and a slice of lemon,great for digestion;):)as well.

[lake]

I eat raw dandelion leaves every day among other wild plants I pick from nature.
I just mix them in blender with avocado and apple to make taste better.

[creamspyder]

....sobering thought. I realise I am woefully ignorant about plants, never even grown a sunflower I am ashamed to say. It's been good reading the question, and everyones input. To think, we have been 'trained' to classify dandelions as 'weeds' deserving of toxic poisoning!
Crazy.
I have a tiny parcel of ground.... think I'll plant a load of dandelions :D
Would any of the clever people on here like to make and sell some products (like the roated coffee)...? I'd buy!

[stealth]

Either morrisons or tescos stock a traditional smaller bottle of dandelin and burdock they do traditional lemonade and cola drink in the same range .Cant recal the manufacturers name sorry and i havent been to tescos for a long time to see if they still do it and it may of been somerfields before morrisons took over sorry not much help but check out those shops . The bottle looked old fashioned type thick glass heavy as it was brewed to a traditional
recipe .:D

Cheers,2013,I will certainly look in those shops for it.:)

[them]

I like to mix Dandelion leaves with other fresh herbage to make soup. Italian stylee :)

First brown off some Celery, Carrots & an Onion in a large pan before adding several big handfuls of mixed herbage, then wilt everything down for a few minutes. Once you've done that add enough stock to cover everything and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils turn the heat down & simmer for five minutes.

Put into serving bowls and add a spoonful of cream, butter or olive oil.

Serve with crusty bread.

You could, if you wanted, use the resulting liquid for making a risotto instead. This would be very tasty indeed because as you all know the secret to a quality risotto is all in the liquid/stock you add to the risotto rice ;)

You've got me going now.. at the moment in the UK you will be seeing this plant flowering along side streams & ditches.

http://www.mjausson.com/2004/img/04Jul04/10meadowsweet.jpg

It's called Meadowsweet.

Collect the flower heads before washing & carefully drying them.

Buy some batter mix from the shop (unless you know how to make it) and a bottle of white Shloer (http://www.shloer.com/).

Follow the instructions for making the batter substituting the shloer for water.

Get some oil very very hot in a pan or use a fryer. Coat the Meadowsweet flowers in the batter before flash frying them; as soon as they float to the surface they're done.

Serve with vanilla ice cream & grate a little Lime zest over the top :D

[steevo]

I like to mix Dandelion leaves with other fresh herbage to make soup. Italian stylee :)

First brown off some Celery, Carrots & an Onion in a large pan before adding several big handfuls of mixed herbage, then wilt everything down for a few minutes. Once you've done that add enough stock to cover everything and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils turn the heat down & simmer for five minutes.

Put into serving bowls and add a spoonful of cream, butter or olive oil.

Serve with crusty bread.

You could, if you wanted, use the resulting liquid for making a risotto instead. This would be very tasty indeed because as you all know the secret to a quality risotto is all in the liquid/stock you add to the risotto rice ;)

You've got me going now.. at the moment in the UK you will be seeing this plant flowering along side streams & ditches.

http://www.mjausson.com/2004/img/04Jul04/10meadowsweet.jpg

It's called Meadowsweet.

Collect the flower heads before washing & carefully drying them.

Buy some batter mix from the shop (unless you know how to make it) and a bottle of white Shloer (http://www.shloer.com/).

Follow the instructions for making the batter substituting the shloer for water.

Get some oil very very hot in a pan or use a fryer. Coat the Meadowsweet flowers in the batter before flash frying them; as soon as they float to the surface they're done.

Serve with vanilla ice cream & grate a little Lime zest over the top :D

mmmm all sounds very nice. Mouth watering!

But how do you make the stock ? That is the million dollar question :o:D

[them]

mmmm all sounds very nice. Mouth watering!

But how do you make the stock ? That is the million dollar question :o:D

Ingredients


1 stick of celery, cut in half and split lengthways

2 small carrots, split in half lengthways


2 small onions, sliced


2 bay leaves


12 black peppercorns


1 small bunch of parsley stalks and celery leaves


Pinch of salt


Simply place all the ingredients in a saucepan with 1-1½ pints cold water, cover it with a lid, bring everything to the boil, and boil briskly for 15 minutes. After that strain, discarding the vegetables, and the stock is ready for use.

:)

This is a good place to search for recipes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/

[hunger]

I remember when i was a kid drinking gallons of dandelion & burdock drinks,i have not seen it in any shops for years,it never did me any harm and was delicious.:)

Yeah! I used to love that stuff & sasparella!

[steevo]

Ingredients


1 stick of celery, cut in half and split lengthways

2 small carrots, split in half lengthways


2 small onions, sliced


2 bay leaves


12 black peppercorns


1 small bunch of parsley stalks and celery leaves


Pinch of salt


Simply place all the ingredients in a saucepan with 1-1½ pints cold water, cover it with a lid, bring everything to the boil, and boil briskly for 15 minutes. After that strain, discarding the vegetables, and the stock is ready for use.

:)

This is a good place to search for recipes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/

Many thanks Them :)
When you discard the vegetables from the stock, do you just throw them away ?

That BBC website, thanks for reminding me, I used to go on there quite aften a few years back.

[them]

Many thanks Them :)
When you discard the vegetables from the stock, do you just throw them away ?

That BBC website, thanks for reminding me, I used to go on there quite aften a few years back.

I feed mine to the Chickens or the Dogs. You could put them in the compost too if you wanted. The reason you don't keep them, as you probably know, is that all the goodness from the veg is contained in the water.

When I was a boy my Grandmother taught us to drink the cabbage water after it had been cooked. Still do that today :)

[steevo]

I feed mine to the Chickens or the Dogs. You could put them in the compost too if you wanted. The reason you don't keep them, as you probably know, is that all the goodness from the veg is contained in the water.

When I was a boy my Grandmother taught us to drink the cabbage water after it had been cooked. Still do that today :)

Oooh that SOUNDS horrible but I bet it does ALOT of good :)

[hunger]

Mmmm.... Cabbage water... slurp! :D

http://blog.menupirate.com/images/drooling_homer.png

[steevo]

Mmmm.... Cabbage water... slurp! :D

http://blog.menupirate.com/images/drooling_homer.png

lol :D

Back to the danelion thing, I have been eating Wild Rocket (from the supermarket :o) recently and it is really nice :) I love the stuff. I have it in sandwiches, curries/ bolgnese/chilli (as a granish or side salad), I even put it in omeletes. The thing is, it can become quite expensive (but it's worth it) cos it's healthy to eat it (I hope). I have not yet tasted dandelion leaves but I have heard that they taste (and look) similar to rocket. Can anyone here confirm that this is true ? Cos if so, I'm rich :)

[tracker]

dandylion roots ?
yes

i pick my own rosehip
dandylion

and some mushrooms

stinging nettle

yes brilliant stuff .

check out the new

little gem book for £4.99 called
"food for free" .

over 1000 natural food stuffs

how to harvest
when to hearvest
how to pepare
how to cook ,

excellent value for money !


:cool:

[steevo]

dandylion roots ?
yes

i pick my own rosehip
dandylion

and some mushrooms

stinging nettle

yes brilliant stuff .

check out the new

little gem book for £4.99 called
"food for free" .

over 1000 natural food stuffs

how to harvest
when to hearvest
how to pepare
how to cook ,

excellent value for money !


:cool:

Thanks Tracker I WILL check that book out :)

[steevo]

I bought that book today Tracker and I'm very happy with it. I recommend it too. I also bought 3 other books today on the subject of food and/or free food.

[endlessvista]

I make a lot of soups from veg from my garden. I often throw in a few dandiloin and nettle leaves in their before I blend the whole thing up.

[signalnorth]

lol :D

I have been eating Wild Rocket (from the supermarket :o) recently and it is really nice :) I love the stuff. I have it in sandwiches, curries/ bolgnese/chilli (as a granish or side salad), I even put it in omeletes. The thing is, it can become quite expensive h :)

Grow your own in a little tub next summer. It'll cost you pennies. I've eaten it all summer for next to nothing!

[carsick]

i have dandelion everyday in my smoothies , and nettles , apparantly dandelions are the most detox-ifying thing inour country side (uk)

[steevo]

Here is a good little video discussing dandelions :-

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UebH2Pb-18s

[checkmate]

I've eaten them boiled and seasoned then add a little vinegar when they're drained and tender.

[steevo]

Another dandelion video here :-

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=N0qxyq2vhAc

I have watched quite a few videos now on the subject of eating danelions, and by the sounds of it, the younger the leaves are, the less bitter they taste. The roots can be put in stir fries according to the vids that I have seen but they taste VERY bitter, so it's best to roast them and use them as a substitute for coffee. You can also eat the flowers and they are supposed to taste sweet.

[steevo]

Here is a nice very short video of some humans grazing in their natural habitat :D :-

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wyxuBNGFhi0

[steevo]

Grow your own in a little tub next summer. It'll cost you pennies. I've eaten it all summer for next to nothing!

Thanks signalnorth, I am definitely gonna do that :)

[snowee]

Hi Tracker,

Thanks for the heads up on the food for free, little gem edition... I will keep my open for it. Have the same with the SAS survival guide and that is very compact for carrying.

-snowee-

[wazaaap]

Hi Tracker,

Thanks for the heads up on the food for free, little gem edition... I will keep my open for it. Have the same with the SAS survival guide and that is very compact for carrying.

-snowee-


i got it for £3.50 off of amazon.

[1694]

The wet the bed thing might be based on some truth, deandelion root is used as a diuretic so it will make you piss.

[krakhead]

Yes I have, and, No, I didn't wet the bed :D

[them]

Dandelions leaves are still tasting pretty good in the UK at the moment, they're even flowering too.. in October :eek: I collected enough to make some wine today..

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/467201383_702a3b4079.jpg

They got the contestants on Masterchef the Professionals to make a Salade Lyonnaise (http://www.my-french-house.com/recipes/salade-lyonnaise/) last week using Dandelion leaves.

[petercookie]

They are quite bitter like, but not too bad. Nettles are good eating, i have added them to my meals a couple of times and they are highly nutritious.

i would say though that the best wild leaf i have eaten so far is probbly - ramsons/wild garlic. go to a damp woodland area at the start of spring/summer and they are very prolific.

i also reccomend this book for I.Ding wild flowers/plants - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0751338737/ref=s9_sima_gw_s0_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0V4G5TD1DA8YJBTAV8RN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294
it doesnt tell you if what you find is edible but you can go here - http://www.pfaf.org/leaflets/edible_uses.php
and type it in and see what parts are edible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0yFeKN1Pw

[them]

i also reccomend this book for I.Ding wild flowers/plants - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0751338737/ref=s9_sima_gw_s0_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0V4G5TD1DA8YJBTAV8RN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294
it doesnt tell you if what you find is edible but you can go here - http://www.pfaf.org/leaflets/edible_uses.php


I like that Plants For A Future website. This (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Flower-Key-Revised-identify/dp/0723251754/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255770135&sr=1-1) is another good Wildflower guide.

[the obliterati]

We used to pick and eat them every year at the direction of my Dad. Pick dandelion leaves only from plants that have not yet flowered, they are the least bitter. Steam or fry in butter for a few minutes only, serve with salt.

[sativa]

As cheerful and innocuous as the lowly dandelion is, it ranks among America's most hated plants. People will resort to almost anything to get rid of them, from prying them up by their seemingly endless taproots to dousing them with toxic chemicals. The things we'll do for a pure lawn.

But as most modern herbalists know, the dandelion is, in fact, a tasty, nutricious, useful, and above all, healthful herb.

Dandelions can be used in many ways. The leaves are nourishing, containing high amounts of Vitamins A, B complex and C, as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and many other trace elements. According to Susun Weed, author of Healing Wise, regular consumption of dandelion greens will give you better circulation and digestion, cleaner blood, and enhanced kidney and liver function. After all, in these modern times, we are exposed to a lot of toxins just by eating normally and walking around—dandelions can help us detoxify. But there's more. Dandelion leaves also help reduce blood cholesterol and high blood pressure. How's that for free medicine?

....just don't go pickin' the ones that have been sprayed with poison!!!:eek:

Welcome to the world of WEEDS Steevo ;)