Dandelion Tea Recipes

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is good for you, and even if you hate it in the yard, its bitter taste can be addictive. Remember, when you drank your first beer or glass of wine, you probably thought that was bitter too.

Dandelion Flower Tea Recipe

8 Dandelion flowers
12 oz. Boiling water
Honey or sugar to taste

Instructions for brewing Dandelion Tea

Pour boiling water over flowers and let steep for five minutes. Add honey or sugar.

Dandelion Root Tea Recipe

1 tbsp. *roasted dandelion root
1/2 tsp. *minced, fresh ginger
1 cardamom seed
12 oz. Water
Honey or sugar to taste

Combine all ingredients except honey and bring to a boil. Continue boiling for five to ten minutes. Strain, add honey, and serve.

*Roasting Dandelion Root
Dig up the dandelion roots. This can be challenging because they have a stubborn taproot. When they're out of the ground, rinse them outside with the hose until the water runs clear. This will probably require some rubbing, particularly if you have clay soil.

Chop roots into thumb size sections and soak them in a sink full of cold water, shaking occasionally. The roots will release any remaining dirt.

Remove roots to a cutting board and rough chop them.

Once the roots have been harvested, cleaned, and chopped, roast them on a cookie sheet in a 150 to 200 degree F oven for two to three hours. You can also dry them in a dehydrator then roast them at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes.

The most productive way to do this is to make a large batch and then use it throughout the season. Dandelion root is surprisingly tasty. To spice up the tea, add *cinnamon bark and a little grated nutmeg.

*Preserving Ginger
If you like the idea of a little ginger in your tea but can't keep it fresh in the fridge for long, try this: Cut fresh ginger root into inch thick pieces and place in a glass jar. Add enough sherry to cover them completely. Seal. The ginger will keep indefinitely this way and be available to use any time you want.

*Cinnamon Bark
An easy way to get small pieces of bark is to break up a cinnamon stick and partially grind it in a coffee grinder.

Some of the Health Benefits of Dandelion

• A tea made with the dandelion root is a diuretic and can help lower blood pressure and reduce premenstrual symptoms.
  
• Dandelion root contains two substances, inulin and levulin, that can help reduce blood sugar, and another, choline, that acts as a liver stimulant.
  
• Dandelion is a good source of vitamins: C, K, B2, and A.
  
• The white milk in dandelion can help get rid of warts. Just apply the milk directly to the wart and it will start to shrink. Keep applying dandelion juice until the wart dissolves. This will take several daily applications over the course of a few weeks, depending on how large the wart is.

For more dandelion info, head over to:

Dandelion Pasta Salad
How to Make Dandelion Wine
Dandelion Jelly