Dandelion jam: 13 recipes

Unstoppable progress and civilization has given humanity more than a decade of life. However, more recently, pharmacies and hospitals looked very different. Disturbed mothers of sick children came to witch doctors for various herbs and recipes. Folk medicine saved people's lives, although now it has been replaced by pills for any part of the body. But folk therapies are still the most economical and reliable! In this publication we will talk about dandelion jam.

Composition and calories

These yellow flowers cover everything around them in late spring, and in addition to their pleasing appearance, they have medicinal properties. The appearance of this delicacy is identical to honey, but it still tastes less sweet.

The nutritional value of the product is 191 kcal per 100 g. Such figures arise because the dandelion itself is bitter, so a large amount of sugar is required. In general, the composition is the same as for any other jam: water, dandelions (in this case), sugar and citric acid.

What is useful for dandelion jam

The list of useful properties of this plant is truly impressive:

1. First of all, the yellow color of the plant attracts attention, indicating a rich supply of vitamin C. By the way, when hepatitis is advised jam from this plant.
2. In addition, the plant contains vitamins A and B, as well as sodium, copper, iron, magnesium and potassium. Many of these minerals can not only improve physical health, but also mental abilities.
3. Dandelion jam is most often sought by people with nervous and gastrointestinal problems. Tea with this jam has a calming effect on the nervous system and helps fight anxiety and insomnia.
4. The plant slows the formation of bile, it is useful for hemorrhoids.
5. Doctors themselves advise dandelion jam for the treatment of joints. And this is not a fiction, folk medicine can beat arthritis, gout and rheumatism.
6. Also jam normalizes acidity in gastritis and pancreatitis, is used as a mild laxative. This contributes to a good metabolism, clean skin and excellent appetite. As a consequence, jam can be a substitute for unhealthy sugar and help lose weight for everyone.
7. In case of failures in the cycle and painful menstruation, jam is used as a natural analgesic.
8. The product strengthens the heart and blood vessels. For anemia and prickly chest pain, hot tea with jam is much more pleasant to drink than bitter pills. Dandelion is able to suppress inflammatory processes in the body.
9. Useful such jam at infectious diseases and dysbacteriosis.
10. Often the jam is used as an anti-allergenic medicine. A tablespoon for adults on an empty stomach every morning is enough to make allergies as if they never happened. The main fans of sweets - children - it is better to save from cavities and give a teaspoonful, diluting the remedy with water.

How to harvest dandelions for jam

Dandelion blossoms peak between April and October. However, even this case has its own subtleties and secrets. The best time to go picking is in May, when there are many flowers and they are fully ripe.

It is perfect if it hasn't rained the day before and it is a sunny day. Do not wake up at dawn, the flowers will probably still be closed at this time.

Dandelions should be picked with a large cap, brightly colored, without insects that can carry disease, and without visible signs of decay. It is also worth paying attention to the appearance of the meadow (only from it you can collect dandelions, but not from highways and not near an industrial plant). If there is trash scattered around and the grass is dry and pale green, then the soil in these places may be poisoned by toxic chemicals of plastic or simply highly contaminated and poor. In that case, the dandelions of that area lose all value, and time will be wasted.

Basic rules for picking and drying
For jam you will need only the inflorescences, without the stem and leaves. The most important thing is exactly to cut the flower, not to pluck it by hand. Careless handling of dandelions can chip off all the pollen from them, which is where the healing properties are stored. It is best to put the caps in a basket so that they are not crumpled or deformed.

You will need about 400 healthy flowers for the preparation. Before drying, they should be inspected for extraneous herbs. For example, dandelion is often mimicked by goat's-foot, mother-and-oil, and fall kulbaba. All of these flowers can be distinguished by their stem and size.

In the case of drying, you must act quickly, as cut flowers rot very quickly. Dandelions do not need to be washed, but only placed on an electric dryer or a place in the blazing sun (in the latter case, the collected flowers should lie in the sun for at least a week).

Proper drying requires temperatures between 42 and 55 degrees Celsius. After drying, the caps become brittle. You can, however, tell if it's been done correctly. If the clenched flower immediately crumbles in your hands, the temperature was too high and the plant has lost its nutrients. Don't despair, it doesn't always mean defeat. Careful moistening with a sprayer can bring most florets back to life for jamming.

The dried caps should be carefully transferred to a glass or paper airtight container and kept in a cool, dark place. Shelf life - up to three years.

How to cook dandelion jam: Recipes

The traditional way of cooking

Ingredients:

• Dandelion flowers (from 400 pieces).
• 1,5 liters of water.
• Sugar - 1,5 kilograms.
• The juice of one lemon or 2 tbsp of citric acid.
• Pectin (a common thickener in any store) - 1 tbsp.

Wash the dandelions with cool water and let the excess moisture drain off. After inspect for excess parts (leaves, stems), cut them off. Place the flowers in a pot and boil for 5-10 minutes until boiling. After the broth to cool and leave alone for one day. Then strain the liquid and start brewing jam. When the tincture comes to a boil, add sugar to it and stir thoroughly. It is best to taste it. Remove the foam. Again allow to cool to room temperature and add the pectin. Stir while simmering over low heat. Wait until thick and pour in the lemon juice.

Before corking the jars, cover with boiling water to sterilize. Lids also drop in hot water for a couple of minutes for easy twisting.

Dandelion jam with lemons and oranges

Ingredients:

• 250-300 dandelion flowers.
• 1,5 l water.
• 1 lemon.
• 2 oranges.
• 750 grams of sugar for each jar.

Peel oranges and lemons and rinse. Dandelions also rinse and let dry. Put all the ingredients in a bowl, pour water and boil for an hour. Then strain. Add sugar to the resulting amount of broth (be sure to taste), pour the juice of lemons and cook for another hour over low heat, stirring occasionally. Cool and pour into jars.

Cherry leaf jam

Ingredients:

• Dandelions - 500 pieces.
• 1.5 liters of boiling water.
• 2 lemons.
• 12-15 cherry leaves.
• Sugar - 1,5 kg.

To the pre-dried flowers, add cherry leaves and sliced lemon, without separating from the skin. Put a pot with the ingredients on medium heat and cook for an hour. Then cool it down and let it infuse for a day. Strain through gauze and boil again, gradually adding sugar. Be sure to taste. After boiling, turn down the heat and cook for another hour. The consistency should be viscous. Cool and pour into jars.

Recipe without cooking

Ingredients:

• Dandelions (with stems) - 400 pieces.
• 50 grams of honey.

This method is the most useful, because absolutely all the vitamins remain in the flowers. Dandelions with stems soak for one day in water. Then squeeze and grind in a meat grinder. After that, transfer the mixture to a container and pour honey. Keep it under a closed lid for 12-24 hours. Periodically the jam should be stirred. After that, the delicacy can be stored in the refrigerator and safely added to tea or consumed pure.

Dandelion jam with spices

Ingredients:

• Dandelions - 400-500 pieces.
• 1 liter of boiled water.
• 1 lemon.
• Ginger root.
• 2 sprigs of badjanin.
• 1.5 kilograms of sugar.

Pour water over dandelions, ginger, banjamin and lemon with peel. Put on the stove and bring to a boil, then boil for another ten minutes. Then cool the broth and leave for one night. Strain and squeeze the flowers. Again put on the fire and add sugar, stirring at the same time. The resulting syrup to boil over medium heat, and then another half an hour on low heat. After pouring into prepared jars, following the rules.

Dandelion jam in the multicooker

Ingredients:

• 100-200 dandelions.
• 300 grams of sugar.
• A glass of water.
• Half a lemon.

Pour the water and sugar into the bowl of the multicooker and stir. Run the program for cooking jam and wait until the sugar is completely dissolved. At this time, select the flowers from the stems and rinse. Allow the excess moisture to drain. Add the dandelions to the syrup and cook in the cooker for another 20 minutes. Then leave for one night. The next day the jam will thicken, it should be strained through gauze. Then pour it back into the bowl of the multicooker and cook for 15 minutes, adding the juice of the lemon. Pour the hot delicacy into jars and let it cool.

Dandelion jam without sugar and boiling

Ingredients:

• Dandelions - 300-400 pieces (can be with leaves and stalks).
• Liquid honey.
• Ginger root - 2 centimeters.
• Lemon zest of one lemon.
• Juice of half a lemon.

Clean the flowers collected from debris and insects. Put in a jar, leaving room for honey. Add the lemon zest, juice and finely chopped ginger to the jar. Then pour in the honey until all the ingredients are completely covered. Shake to mix the products and leave for one day. Keep in a dark place for three weeks. At the end of the period, strain and pour into jars.

Dandelion jam with mint and pine needles

Ingredients:

• 500 dandelions.
• 25 sprigs of mint.
• A handful of young pine needles.
• Sugar - 1,5 kilograms.
• 2.5 liters of drinking water.
• A large lemon and lime.

Selected dandelions put in a saucepan, add there mint leaves (without stems), finely chopped lime and pine needles. Boil over low heat until it comes to a boil. Remove the foam. Leave it to infuse for 24 hours. Then strain it a few times and put back on fire. Add sugar and cook for another hour, stirring occasionally. Boil it for at least two hours. The consistency should be very thick. Pour it into a mason jar.

Dandelion and rhubarb jam

Ingredients:

• One kilogram of rhubarb stalks.
• 300-500 dandelions.
• 1.5 kilograms of sugar.
• A liter of water.

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces and boil for exactly 1 minute in boiling water. After sharply cool with cold water. Separately, make a syrup of sugar and water (cook for about an hour, until boiling). In a separate pot, mix rhubarb, dandelions and syrup. Boil again until boiling. The taste of this jam is unusual because of the sour rhubarb. Such a recipe will always be of help to people with GI problems.

Jam from dandelions and rose petals

Ingredients:

• 100 (dried or fresh) rose petals.
• 400 (dried or fresh) dandelion flowers.
• 1 kilogram of sugar.
• A large lemon.
• A glass of water.

Separately, prepare the sugar syrup: stir the water and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the petals and dandelions, stir. Leave the mixture to stand overnight. When it is full, heat up the pan again and add the juice of the lemon. Boil until boiling, strain 2-3 times and pour into jars.

Dandelion and walnut jam.

Ingredients:

• 500 flowers.
• 2 large lemons.
• Ginger root.
• 1.5 cups chopped walnuts or almonds.
• 2 kg of sugar.
• Badjanus - 2-3 sprockets.
• 2 liters of water.

Clean the flowers from the earthly inhabitants and debris. Mix with crushed ginger, badian, and lemon. Pour water and bring to a boil. Infuse for one night. In the morning, strain and squeeze all the ingredients well. Pour the nuts and sugar. Boil the resulting mixture again and pour into jars.

Quick dandelion jam

Ingredients:

• 400 pieces of dandelion caps.
• 1 kilogram of sugar.
• 1 liter of water.

Pick the flowers, but do not rinse, put them in a saucepan with water. Gradually pour sugar, bring to a boil. Stir well and simmer for another 20 minutes. If desired, strain and pour into sterilized jars.

Dandelion and pectin jam (for professionals)

This recipe is complicated because of the long-term process, as well as several stages of cooking. But this is the one that works best for the cure!

Ingredients:

• 400 dandelion flowers.
• 3-4 bags of pectin.
• 1.5 kilograms of sugar.
• 2 liters of water.
• 1 small lemon.

1. Gather the flowers, separate from the excess green parts, rinse. Put in a saucepan and pour cooled, boiled water. Boil the resulting mixture and simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes. Cover with a towel and leave for 12 hours.
2. Strain the liquid 2-3 times. Again heat the resulting water and add sugar, stir thoroughly. After dissolving completely, cook for another 15 minutes. Then let it cool.
3. Once again put on the stove and add the pectin, gently stir until thickened. Squeeze out the juice from a lemon. Pour into jars. Keep in a cool place.

Basic rules for jam jars

Before pouring jam into the jar, it must be sterilized by scalding or sprinkling with boiling water. However, the container in any case should not be wet! Before you screw the jars upside down on paper and wait for them to dry out completely. You can, of course, resort to the microwave, hair dryer, and oven to speed up the process.

Lids can create a lot of confusion, too. Grandmother's recipe says that only tin ones should be used. Now vacuum-formed ones are popular. Let's discover a couple of secrets. It's better to take "white" lids, they have less risk of oxidation (they shouldn't be deformed), or special twist-off lids. In the store can advise a vacuum, they will last long and reliably, and twist them simply.

If the jam is not intended for long-term storage, plastic lids will do. But here, too, a danger lurks. From the large amount of sugar, these lids quickly bloat, so you should put a couple of layers of paper (but not newspaper) on the jar before twisting.

Lemon juice or citric acid, on the other hand, is not added at all for spiciness. Acidic environment will save sweet twists from mold. The density of the jam also plays a big role. The thicker it is, the longer it will last on the shelf.

What to do with spoiled jam

Jam is likely to ferment due to a lack of sugar, which acts as a natural preservative. But you shouldn't get upset early! The hard work can still be saved.

1. Spoiled treat should be put on medium heat and bring to a boil. Gradually add approximately 50-100 grams of sugar per kilogram of jam. Remove the foam, and repeat the process of corking.
2. If the jam, on the contrary, overcooked, you should put the jars in warm water and bring to a boil, when the sugar is completely melted, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
3. Another lot of trouble brings mold. It is more difficult to get rid of. Most often, the cause of spoiled jam are violations of the technological process of corking (moisture, not fully closed jars and air inside) and cooking (undercooked syrup, not dissolved sugar). In this case, you should open the jar and carefully remove the moldy layer. After that, wipe the throat of the jar and close again. It should be consumed immediately, but it would be better to send it in baking or apply it as a sugar substitute.

Where to store the jam

The ideal place would be, of course, the cellar, where the jars are wrapped in a wool blanket. But not every housewife has such a place! You can also store jam in the fridge, on the lowest shelf, away from the freezer.

It is important that the temperature does not exceed 10-12 degrees Celsius. If the twisting process is done correctly, the jam will quite last in the pantry.

The shelf life of the sweet product is usually three years. Only after that the fermentation process starts. But if it is jam with pips, then you have to consume it within six months. The danger lies in the hydrocyanic acid, which after 5-7 months begins to spread strongly.

How to consume dandelion jam

1. For people with diagnosed cirrhosis of the liver, you should drink at least five glasses of warm water or tea with three spoonfuls of dandelion jam. You can also add chamomile, jasmine and milk thistle for a better effect.
2. If your heart is troubled and your blood vessels are weak - you should eat a teaspoon of jam on an empty stomach for two weeks. After a month to consolidate the result of another course.
3. With bronchitis and pneumonia, dandelion jam is indispensable. It should be taken by a tablespoon after each meal, and also added to tea instead of sugar for ten days.
4. Pregnant women this jam is mandatory for use. Rich in minerals and vitamins, it is beneficial to the fetus and the mother. It is recommended to take a teaspoon of jam in tea. The maximum dose is no more than three spoonfuls in pure form.

Contraindications

In general, dandelion jam is harmless, the only question is the amount. If you eat too much, you can easily earn dental problems, rashes and diathesis from the sweet. People with diabetes and overweight should abstain from sweets.

People with endocrine system problems should also be on the alert. The high iodine content in jam can be detrimental to health. An allergy to pollen can ruin your life, the same applies to the individual intolerance to the components of jam. People with low blood pressure are also unlucky.

Interesting facts about dandelions

1. There was a period in history when entrepreneurs did not know about the rubber tree and specifically bred dandelions containing rubber in their roots to produce rubber.
2. Ray Breedbury's famous book Dandelion Wine is, unsurprisingly, dedicated to these very flowers, which not so long ago were widely used to make health-promoting wine.
3. The dandelion is an amazing weed that is difficult to get rid of. Even from a damaged root system an entire population can grow again.
4. During World War II, the Germans roasted dandelion roots and brewed "coffee." It tasted just as good as a natural drink!
5. Dandelions have an accurate biological clock. They open at six in the morning and close at three in the afternoon.
6. In the Caucasus, a unique species of dandelion with purple petals grows.
7. In Belgium you might be served dandelion pâté or even beer.
8. The Chinese were the first to discover dandelions. They used the flower as medicine and the leaves and stems in salads and soups. To this day in the Celestial Empire it is not a plant, but a vegetable.
9. In Russia, young girls used to put flowers under the pillow to ward off evil spirits and bad news. Perhaps the bright, summer color played a magical role.
10. There is a special kind of white and yellow dandelions, which grow only on the territory of the Kola Peninsula. This species is included in the Red Book.
11. The ancient Greeks believed that with the help of dandelions you can get rid of freckles and pigment spots.

Today, the dandelion has been unjustly forgotten. This plant has saved more than one life in history and will save many more in the future! People should take the example of the Chinese, who still honor the traditions of their ancestors and, along with the achievements of industrial society, do not renounce the knowledge of the past, and correctly combine both methods of treatment.