DANDELION

(Taraxacum officinale)

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Emerson

Believe it or not, this gourmet weed is now available in fresh produce sections of supermarkets throughout the winter and spring months! Cultivated for hundreds of years in European kitchen gardens, dandelions were brought to the New World by early European colonists who couldn’t imagine life without them. Native Americans and pioneers alike made use of all parts of this nutritious and medicinal plant. It was even deliberately introduced into the Midwest to provide food for bees! Dandelion gets its most common name from the French dent-de-lion meaning “tooth of lion” referring to the deeply toothed leaves, but it is also known by several other picturesque folk names. Another folk name referring to the leaves which add zest to salads and sandwiches is “wild endive”, “swine’s snout” describes the closed blossoms, “puffball” for the fuzzy sphere of seeds scattered by the wind, “devil’s milk pail” referring to the sticky latex sap that oozes from the broken root, and another French name pis en lit or “pee in bed” describing what happens if you drink a cup of strongly diuretic dandelion tea at bedtime!

Despite gardeners’ best efforts to eradicate it, dandelion is a robust perennial herb do mostly to its long tap root which can regenerate foliage even if cut completely off at the ground. So, since it is a very easily grown plant which succeeds in most soils, why not embrace it as a compact, low-growing plant with shiny green rosettes and yellow flowers which bloom for most of the year and predict rain by closing up tight. Savvy cooks may cultivate them in the garden by sowing seed in spring or by division as the plant comes into growth – there is now even a cultivated dandelion that is said to make bigger and better greens than the wild variety. Dandelions are also a good container plant, although your neighbors may think you’ve lost it! Harvest young greens early before flower buds form for less bitterness from areas neither treated with chemicals nor used by pets or simply cut the plant to the ground and wait for new foliage to appear any time of year. Collect roots from fall to spring of the second year during wet weather to avoid breakage of the root To lengthen production time, dig the roots in fall, plant in damp sand and overwinter in a cool location – no light necessary – to produce a supply of sweet succulent whitish leaves for winter salads.

One of the best wild resources in the world, nearly every part of the dandelion is edible as well as free, abundant and palatable plus high in vitamins A and B, rich in potassium, calcium and iron and high in fiber. The greens may be used raw or cooked with their spinach-like qualities. Dandelion salads are a sure sign of spring with hard cooked eggs and hot bacon dressing, but the leaves are also delicious on sandwiches, steamed as a vegetable or added to spaghetti, quiche, lasagna, bread and pizza. You can soak whole leaves overnight to leach out some bitterness, but don’t cut or tear the leaves until you are ready to use them or you’ll reduce their nutritional value. For a delicacy that tastes like mushrooms, collect the unopened buds and sauté with garlic, use in fritters or preserve in vinegar like capers. The blossom petals have a sweet, honey-like flavor when picked young and should be used quickly after picking for tea, tasty jam, homemade wine or just sprinkled over salads, soups or scrambled eggs as a colorful garnish. The well-scrubbed roots may be used like carrots or parsnips in soups, stews and stir-fries or dried and roasted to make a caffeine free coffee substitute or extender. Their uses don’t stop with the culinary though, as their parts may also be used for dye, a low-quality latex and numerous craft projects including wreaths, homemade paper & children’s jewelry.

GARDEN TIPS
The tap root, which is so hard to dig out of the garden,
actually aerates the lawn, especially in clay or compacted soils!!

A valuable bee plant and an important food plant for the caterpillars
of many butterfly and moth species

". . . I have given you all things even as the green herbs."
Genesis 9:3