old recipe dandelion wine

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Wife was cleaning out the freezer couple days ago and
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low and behold..bag after bag of dandelions and rhubarb! I had totally forgotten they were there, now think Ill make a blend of the two!
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Now I have room for this years soon to be crop!
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SCORE!!!


Let us know on the recipe and what not.


Did she findany bags of money in there too?
 
Scott said:
SCORE!!!


Let us know on the recipe and what not.


Did she findany bags of money in there too?
No no, these must be mailed to me immediatly
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Just read through this entire post and saw something interesting near the end that I didn't realize, bit new at this so please forgive my ignorance, but I have so many people that would like me to try a dandelion wine....

Wondered how can I collect all those flowers,(3 qts), at one time before they go bad... can you really freeze them?
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It appears to me that they are really only for color in the wine... Is this a fact or is there more to it then just color?

I work so hard to get ride of these WEEDS, might soon love them.
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( have to start a new crop this spring ! )
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I don't think that the dandelions add much for flavor. I've only done one batch but it turned out wonderfully and I'm planning on doing a much larger batch this year. Although the contribution of flavor may be minimal, they do, as you mentioned, add color. They also contribute greatly to the bouquet. I can definitley smell dandelions in the wine. The recipe I used called for lemon juice rather than acid blend and I also threw in the lemon zest from one lemon even though the recipe did not call for it. Golden raisins added body. I think the "citrusy" flavor it has is more from the lemon juice and zest than anything else. I'm sure the raisins contribute to the flavor as well.
As far as collecting enough I have the advantage of 2 small girls aged 3 and 5 who just love to pick flowers. I hand them each a 5 quart ice cream pail and tell them to have at it. They bring me the flowers and go out for more while I snip the petals off with a small sharp scissors.


Believe it or not a dandelion isn't a weed, it's a lettuce. They are not indiginous to the United States. A long time ago, someone, somewhere, must have brought the seed over here to grow some lettuce in their garden and let them seed out on their own. The rest is history. If you pick the leaves before the plant sets a flower they are actually quite good. They can be usedin salads but they get more and more bitter as the plant matures. They are also excellent if chopped and fried in olive oiland added to soups the same way you would add the leaves of celery. I do this with my Smoked Salmon Chowder.
 
Yes you can freeze them, picked and seperated from any green and put in ziplock. Pick duing midday when open, tedious but rewarding!
 
Got it racked today, will let it go a few days in the 6 then rack to a 5. Ahhhh, that wonderful sweet smell!
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Lookin good JW and nice assortment of others there too.


Before we know it will be time to pick some more little yellow flowers, boy am I ready!!
 
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Almost done! Added Sparkolloid today, should be clear in a week or two. Hopefully will see a few dandy's blooming by then...maybe...if it doesn't snow!
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JW, I have popped a few corks on my dandelionfrom last year and very good, see what this year will be like since have hydrometers now and9 different wines completed. Man I love this hobby/obsession.
I will have to wait for new dandy's........got snow
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It does make a much better than expected wine, I've tried a few from last spring. I think the same of the rhubarb, so hopefully this will be a good mix. Hope getting all high tech doesn't throw your wine making skills off!
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Let us know how the mix worked, sounds good. I transplanted rhubarb 2 years ago when moved and waiting for it to take back off.


I sample enough during the wine making process so nothing gets too high tech!!
 
Got it filtered last night. Only had an extra five gal carboy, so filtered to five and one gal. Maybe bottle tonight after work.

Before and after filter pics.


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Is that is a before and after picture of filtering? Holy smokes I gots to get me one of them filter thingys.


Lookin good JW
 
I have been collecting dandelions to make this - think i may make some with rhubarb too!


I am so happy spring is here and collecting for new wine batches starts! woo hoo!


BTW- all the wine shown looks really pretty! and tasty looking too!
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Isn't that the fun part? Pickin-N-Pluckin........"NOT" 4 qts is alot of petals, only took 2 hours.


Good luck with your batch Susan
 
I have spent so much time picking petals from dandelions, I was thinking I would never make another batch after this first one.... unless it is REAAAAAAAALy good.
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I have 3 gallon bags stuffed full in the freezer....
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I put about a quart of petals in a gallon of chardonnay that hadn't been sulfited yet. (I was playing with a six gallon kit that I divided up into 1 gallon jugs.) It took off and started bubbling again, so there must have been some sugar in the petals.

I suggest if you want to freeze them, measure and write the volume on the bag before freezing. They will collapse when you thaw them and only be about a fourth of the volume that you started with.

Even dry, as per the hydrometer, mine has a sort of sweetness to the taste. Haven't figured that one out yet. Great, but not sure it is worth the time involved. Don't have the little kids to pick for me. Did it all by my lonesome. Will have to open one and see how it is doing.
 

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