DANDELIONS MAKE WISHES COME TRUE

“Some people need flowers, some people need dandelions

Sandra Cisneros

Who doesn’t like to puff dandelions? It’s a popular and funny pastime for both adults and children in spring and summer. Some people believe that if you make a wish while puffing a dandelion it will definitely come true. There is no evidence that all the wishes really are fulfilled after puffing dandelions, but if your wish is connected with body health it will be realized with high probability.

Taraxacum is a genus of flowers belonging to the Asteraceae family that includes species familiar to people as dandelions. Dandelion is a herbaceous perennial tap-rooted flower. Dandelions are thought to have originated in Eurasia over 30 million years ago. Nowadays they grow in moderate climate mostly in Northern hemisphere. The leaves are simple, lobed and have serrated edges. They are usually 5-25 cm long. The stem is hollow. The flower head is 2-5 cm in diameter and consists of small flowers that are called florets. Their color varies from yellow to orange. After a while the flower heads mature and turn into spherical heads that are often called blowballs. Such blowballs contain many little single-seeded fruits that are referred to as achenes. Referring to this process of dandelions turning into blowballs Vladimir Nabokov wrote: “Most of dandelions had changed from suns into moons”.

Useful Components

•         Vitamins A, C, K

•         Calcium

•         Iron

•         Luteoin

•         Potassium

•         Manganese

Interesting Facts about Dandelion

·       There exist around 100 species of dandelions all of which have health-giving properties.

·       The name of this flower derives from the French phrase “dent de lion” that means lion’s tooth. This comparison refers to dandelion’s sharp leaves with serrated margin.

·       Dandelion seeds can travel as far as 8 km. They are carried away by a blow of wind and  travel like little parachutes.

·       Every single part of dandelion (roots, leaves, flowers) can be consumed.

·       Dandelion has been known since ancient times and was popular in ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece as well as in China.

·       Dandelions are widely used for making wine and beer. The roots of the plant are also used for coffee production.      

Methods of Use

Dandelions can be used in a great variety of ways such as different kinds of food, tea, honey, jam, poultice, tablets and capsules, cosmetics, salve, tinctures and extracts. 

Now we’d like to advise you a simple recipe of dandelion jam that will warm you during long and cold winter evenings and bring good memories about golden sunny summer days!

Dandelion Jam Recipe

Ingredients:

•  About 300 g of dandelion flower heads (before using them don’t forget to wash them in cold water)

•  1 kg of sugar

•  2 glasses of water

•  Juice of half a lemon

•  1 packet of fruit pectin

Take the dandelion flower heads and wash them in cold water. Then make some syrup in the following way: add sugar to the water and wait until it boils. After that put the flowers into the syrup and simmer for about 20 minutes. Several minutes before it’s ready add some lemon juice to the mixture. The next step is to remove it from the heat, cover and leave for 24 hours. After 24 hours pass filter the mixture in order to get rid of leaves and flowers, then simmer for another 20 minutes and add fruit pectin 3 minutes before it boils. Keep boiling the mixture for 5 minutes. To finish it all, pour the ready fragrant dandelion jam into dry jars and lid them. 

We hope you’ll enjoy this delicious jam!