Dandelion is, perhaps, one of the most common plants, which you will not surprise. It grows everywhere, except, perhaps, the Arctic and the highlands. In many countries around the world, whole plantations are used for its cultivation. It is cultivated in Germany and the USA, Holland and France, India and Japan. At us this bright solar flower consider basically a weed - many truck farmers mercilessly weed it out and do not even assume what benefit it carries in itself.
But this plant has become very popular today not only in folk medicine, but also in cooking. That only there are wine, honey and jam from dandelions. And it is about these recipes that will be discussed in today's article.
Dishes from dandelions: effects on the body
For medical purposes, roots, stems and leaves of dandelion are used. For the preparation of jam it is necessary to prepare its flowers. And first, let's see what the jam of dandelions for the human body is-what are its benefits and harms?
First let's talk about the benefits:
- jam from dandelions favorably affects the liver, restoring its cells and normalizing the basic functions;
- helps with diseases of the gallbladder and urinary tract;
- has antioxidant properties - removes toxins from the body, helps to cope with free radicals, whose activities are directly related to the development of cancer;
- perfectly copes with diseases of the bone system;
- is used for anemia and asthma;
- normalizes blood pressure, which makes it a good natural remedy for hypertension;
Note! Cholagogue, anti-inflammatory and tonic properties of jam from dandelion can be easily strengthened by adding it to a decoction of milk thistle or ordinary green tea.
- it is useful for beriberi;
- is often used to prevent bronchitis;
- can be recommended for patients with joint diseases: gout, arthritis, etc.;
- in an integrated approach helps to overcome cholecystitis, hemorrhoids and "drive away" intestinal parasites;
- normalizes the central nervous system, improves sleep quality;
Jam made from dandelions gives a spring mood and charges vivacity - improves metabolism, speeds up metabolic processes, so its use positively affects the condition of the whole organism.
However, with a dandelion, or rather, with the means and dishes based on it, care must be taken in the presence of ulcers, gastritis and blockage of the biliary tract. In addition, an overdose can lead to vomiting and diarrhea. So do not overdo it with absorbing dishes based on it.
Home recipes
Now we turn to cooking delicious dishes from dandelion.
Jam
The recipe for jam from dandelions is quite simple. But before preparing this delicacy you should take care of its main component. Collect inflorescences are recommended away from dusty roads. Best in a meadow or forest glade. And when coming home, it is desirable to spread the raw materials in a thin layer on the towel and leave for a couple of hours - during this time all the beetles will scatter, and you will only have to wash the flowers in the water and they will be absolutely clean.
Prepare ingredients:
- 250 grams of dandelion inflorescences;
- 1.5 liters of water;
- sugar;
- lemon;
- 2 oranges.
The cooking process.
- Inflorescences are thoroughly washed in a large quantity of running water, discarded in a colander to get rid of excess liquid, and spread out on a towel.
- We divide oranges into four parts and cut each thin slices.
- Dandelion and chopped oranges add to a container, pour in water and bring to a boil.
Recommendation! For the preparation of jam from dandelions, you must choose dishes made of copper, stainless steel or enamel.
- Fire reduce to the minimum mark and cook jam for an hour.
- After the mixture is filtered and set its amount. For each liter of jam it is necessary to put 750 g of sugar.
- Set on the fire, add lemon juice and cook for about an hour.
- Cool at room temperature and pour into glass jars.
Honey
Honey from dandelions is a real "elixir of health".It can be added to the morning tea, making sandwiches, soaking the cakes and using it as a cream for pies. In short, a universal and very useful product.
Prepare ingredients:
- 200 g inflorescences;
- 1.5 kg of sugar;
- 2 lemons;
- 1.5 liters of water.
The cooking process.
- Water bring to a boil and pour it with washed dandelion inflorescences, leave for 24 hours.
- After this time, filter the infusion, add the diced lemons and sugar into the selected liquid.
- All mix, put on fire, bring to a boil and cook until the mixture becomes thick.
- The resulting honey should be cooled at room temperature, filtered and still poured over glass jars.
Wine
The recipe for wine from dandelions is also simple, like all the previous ones.
Prepare ingredients:
- dandelion inflorescence - liter pot;
- 2 lemons;
- 1.5 kg of sugar;
- 3 sprigs of mint or lemon balm;
- 100 raisins.
The cooking process.
- Dandelion petals are separated from the peduncle.
Recommendation! To do this as quickly as possible, it is enough to use the usual knife - press the blade of the petals to the cutting board and sharply pull the base of the stem.
- Fold petals with a container, pour 4 liters of cooled boiled water and leave to infuse for 24 hours.
- After this time, the infusion should be placed on a fire, bring to a boil and immediately turn off the gas supply.
- Cool at room temperature, filter and remove all petals.
- In another container, bring to a boil half a liter of water, add sugar and cook a thick syrup.
- With a lemon remove the zest, squeeze the juice and add everything to the strained broth of dandelion.
- Pour in the same syrup, put raisins and lemon balm.
- Mix everything intensively, cover the container with gauze and leave for two days, then remove lemon balm and zest.
- Transfer liquid into a bottle, on the neck of which to put on a rubber glove.
- Transfer the wine to a shaded area and leave it at room temperature for fermentation.
- After the fermentation process, the precipitate is separated, and the resulting beverage is poured into bottles, tightly clogged and removed in the cold for six months.
As you can see, everything is very simple and affordable. Prepare useful desserts and drinks from dandelions and be healthy!