This is a plant to which we can be grateful for many things: it continues to offer us something. We all know how to choose the first free salad and on top of that very healthy spring salad. Connoisseurs know how to use the root, herbalists use its reserves of active ingredients. However, one of the most enjoyable, even poetic, ways to use this wonderful plant is through syrup. These days, millions of bright and warm yellow flowers are opening up and offering us their essence for a sweet guest preparation that will bring the sun to the table even in the darkest days of winter.
Over the years, we have tried many recipes to make this syrup in order and this is our selection of the best, according to the recipe. Mirjam Grilc: dandelion flowers may be strong in color but soft in taste. Therefore, we recommend adding ginger and large amounts of citrus – they will add a new, deeper dimension to desserts.
Dandelion syrup with ginger
According to the recipe of Mirjam Grilci. The best for us!
- 6 oranges
- 4 lemons
- for 10 handfuls of dandelion flowers
- ginger root
- large with a quarter of a palm
- 1.25 kg crystal sugar
- 1 liter of water
Preparation
1. Pour water into a large saucepan, add dandelion flowers and start cooking on low heat.
2. Cut the oranges and lemons and squeeze, pour the juice over the dandelion.
Peel a squash, grate it and chop it into small pieces. We measure the size of the root ourselves, depending on the hot taste of ginger. Let simmer for 30 minutes, then drain with cheesecloth and squeeze the flowers well.
4. Return the liquid to the pan, add the sugar and cook until completely melted. This recipe is created with less water and a quick process, otherwise the flowers can be soaked for two days and the juice reduced for a few hours.
5. While still hot, pour into bottles or jars; if stored, sterilized, if the syrup is to be used immediately, store in the refrigerator.
Tip: Flowers are collected in dry weather; if we have time, we try to remove as many green parts of the flower as possible – they burn. The more we clean the flowers, the more “clear” the taste will be.
We also recommend: In Yarm in Kropa: Soup from the hostel of our youth and yours
Cover photo: Madeleine_Steinbach / Getty Images