Let’s Make Some Dandelion Wine

It's funny how we classify one type of flowering plant as a weed, while others get lucky enough to fall into the ornamental category. The lowly dandelion got the shaft at some point in history and got stuck named as a weed.

In this easy-to-read dandelion fact-sheet from the Alberta Native Plant Council, we learn the dandelion originated in Eurasia and first arrived in North America in the mid 1600's when European settlers brought them for medicinal and food purposes. Dandelions spread easily on disturbed soil or poor soil conditions. As humans spread, so did the dandelions.

I gave up the battle with dandelions in my yard years ago. I'm sure my neighbors hate me, but I don't particularly care. I don't mind the flowers, the bees seem to appreciate them and the long taproot of the dandelion is actually somewhat beneficial to my crappy yard. HGTV says the best way to prevent dandelions is to have a healthy yard with thick grass. I do not. Hence all the dandelions. Other options to remove them include digging out each root (no thanks!) or applying herbicides.

Everyone knows that you can eat parts of the dandelion and that their medicinal uses are frequently touted, but let's get down to questions we're all wondering... how can I make booze out of all those dandelions?!

It sounds surprisingly easy. According to this recipe from Allrecipes.com you'll need just 6 ingredients:

• Water
• Dandelions
• Yeast (wine yeast)
• Lemon
• Lime
• Sugar

Basically, you boil up everything except the yeast (you add that after you're done boiling, as the temperature cools) then let the mixture ferment for up to two weeks in an fermentation bucket or other air-locked container. Perhaps I'll be making a trip to the home brew store today for some supplies. The toughest part about making dandelion wine seems to be waiting for the wine to "age" for a while before drinking. I'll let you know how it goes.

If you have experience making dandelion wine, I'd like to get your feedback! Tell us about it in the Comments, or send us a message with Hawk Mobile App.