Dandelion Citrus Jelly

 

I was gonna make dandelion marmalade, but opted for a fresh challenge of making a jelly minus any commercial pectin. The process I used followed - more or less - the process for making this Cramaillotte (there's many recipes out there, so look around for the one that resonates with you).

It all started with Mr. Spouse 'n' me harvesting a small bucket of dandelion blooms. Many hands - even just four - make light work!

I sat on the deck, under the umbrella, in meditation, separating the "petals" (florets) from the sepals, doing my best to get as little green as possible.

This, in case you're wondering, is the same beginning step for making dandelion mead or wine. 

We ended up with about a quart of gently packed dandelion "petals."

I chopped up a very ripe organic grapefruit and a half a lemon to add to the pot, because that's what I had, and then added water to cover, which was about a quart.

It all simmered together, covered, for about an hour.

I strained and squeezed as much juice as possible from the simmered brew, ending up with about 3 cups of liquid. So I returned the strained juice to the pan with 3 cups of sugar (equal parts by volume), and ended up simmering it another 50 minutes 'til it reached a thick thread stage.

Then it all got ladled into sterilized, hot jelly jars, and capped with hot lids. I used the ::gasp:: method of flipping the hot jars until they cooled and sealed, a process frowned upon my our USDA (which advocates the often wasteful hot water bath, even for steamy, wee batches like this. Us Americans must face and address our seemingly infinite addictions to waste).

So we ended up 3+ cups of jelly, to make these four jars, plus another not quite full for the fridge.

And I must mention that this pectin-free process can be used for other botanicals as well. Be creative!

It's quite lovely, a bit of spring sunshine in a jar and I owe my success to the spirit of Margaret Jean, my mother-in-law, who I invited to join me in the kitchen, because she was the jelly-maker of jelly-makers. ::nods::

Peace. 🕊

A version of this entry was originally posted May 19, 2020 at When Weeds Whisper.