Dandelion Jam

Dandelions are proliferous in spring and this dandelion jam recipe is a great way to encapsulate their cheerful yellow petals into a delightful jam. The resulting dandelion jam has an almost honey-like quality. Springtime in a jar.

Dandelion jam is super easy to make from foraged dandelion heads. The most laborious part is picking enough dandelion heads and then removing the petals. The legwork is best shared amongst family and friends. Take a nice walk and gather your dandelions along the way. You can pick the petals by hand or use scissors to snip the petals off at the base of the flower. Once you have your petals, the rest is easy. Your foraged flower jam journey awaits!

Dandelion Jam

Make this dandelion jam in the spring when dandelions are proliferous! This recipe makes about 3 small jars but you can easily scale it up.

• 2.5 cups dandelion petals
• 450 g sugar (caster or granulated)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 85 ml liquid pectin (see notes)

1. Remove the petals from the dandelion heads. You can do this by patiently pulling out the petals, or you can use scissors to cut the petals off at the base of the flower. You want to be left with only yellow petals.
2. Take about 2 cups of your dandelions (reserving a small handful for mixing into the final jelly) and put into heatproof bowl or jug. Pour boiling water over the petals until they are just covered. Allow to steep until it reaches room temperature. Don’t leave it for too long as the water can go brown (I found this out the hard way by thinking I could leave it to steep overnight!)
3. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve to remove the petals. Measure out the liquid – you should have about 1.5 cups. If you have less, add a bit of water to make 1.5 cups. If you have more, don’t sweat it. It will simmer away in the next phase!
4. Combine the liquid, lemon juice, pectin and sugar in a large saucepan.
5. Boil until jam reaches setting point (I use the wrinkle test, see notes).
6. Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the reserved petals.
7. Pour into hot jars. Leave the lids off for now. Check the jars after about 20-30 minutes. If the petals have risen to the top, you can use a small spoon to stir the jam in the jars to redistribute the petals. It’s no big deal if it sets with the petals on top, it just looks a lot nicer when they’re distributed throughout the whole jar!

Notes:

• Enjoy the nature! 2.5 cups of dandelion petals is about 5 cups of dandelion blossoms. Expect about 20-30 minutes of dandelion picking. Make a nice walk out of it!
• If you can’t get liquid pectin, you could try making this with jam sugar which contains pectic.
• To test the setting point, I use the wrinkle test: put a plate in the freezer about 10 minutes before you start boiling the liquid. Test for setting point by spooning a small amount of the boiling liquid onto the cold plate. Wait about a minute, then push the jam with your fingers. If it wrinkles, your jam is ready!
• To amp up your presentation: This dandelion jam is not only delicious, it looks so pretty in the jar and makes great gifts. When making these for friends or farmers market, I like to spruce up the jars with personalized stickers and hang tags. (You can use a service like Logo Stickers to make stickers with your own brand name and/or logo.)

Recipe adapted from this recipe for Dandelion Herbal Jelly.
While you’re picking dandelions, grab your glove and pick some nettles while you’re at it to make this amazing nettle spanakopita, another springtime foraging favourite.