I try to keep my food budget low and so cordials and bought drinks are for special occasions. I get fed up of water sometimes and so make cordials from fruit from the garden or foraged. The rhubarb has just started cropping and so I will make some cordial this month. It is still too early for other fruit crops and so last year I made dandelion cordial.
Dandelions are seen as a nuisance weed now, but for centuries they were used as food. Fields of dandelions were planted to feed people. They are full of vitamins A, C and K and Antioxidants. They are also full of calcium, potasium and iron. They have been shown to lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, reduce inflammation, regulate blood sugar, reduce cholesterol and aid digestion. They are completely edible and so I thought I would try making a cordial with them.
Recipe
2 cups of dandelion heads
1 cup sugar
4 cups of water
1 orange
- Put the water and the dandelions in a pan, making sure that there are no bugs in them.
- Add the sugar.
- Slice the orange and add to the pan.
- Bring to the boil and boil for 20 mins and then leave to cool for 30 mins.
- Strain and bottle.
It keeps for a week in the fridge. I put some in plastic bottles with space at the top to freeze and use later in the year. When picking dandelions ensure that they are picked away from areas that might have been sprayed, and away from places where dogs might have been. I waited a month to make this and until there was plenty of blossom for the bees, as early dandelions are the main food source for bees in March, and I didn’t want to deprive them of it. When you dilute it you need more cordial than you would use for supermarket cordial.
