Dandelion Honey

A homemade vegan alternative for honey. No bees involved! By definition, not a honey 

You will need:

• 200 large dandelion heads or
• 300 smaller dandelion heads
• 1ltr of distilled water (about 1 3/4 pints)
• 4 cups of sugar (about 900g)
• 1 whole lemon (or 2 if you want to add to the jars later - optional)
• A good, heavy 'jam' pan
• Wooden spoon
• Glass jars - sterilised

Do not use dandelions from the road sides and always collect from a number of sustainable sources.

How to:

1. Separate the yellow heads from any green bits. A laborious task but worth the effort
2. Rinse the heads and place in a mixing bowl (not plastic)
3. Drain heads then boil the distilled water, then pour over the petals and soak them for a minimum of 12 hours. You can also grate the rind of one lemon and add to the mix (this is the lemon you will use the juice of later)
4. Sieve and strain - keep the water, add the dandelion heads to the compost heap
5. Squeeze the lemon
6. Add sugar and lemon juice to the water
7. On a low heat, bring to the boil, stirring gently all the time with a woodspoon
8. When the spoon starts pulling 'strings' and the mixture become slightly tacky, take off the heat
9. Transfer to your sterilised glass jars*

* If you wish to use a second lemon, ensure it has been cleaned and pipped, then slice it and share the slices between your jars. Put the lemon slices in the jars before you fill them with the 'honey' mixture.

Can be used once cooled