Let your wild dreams come true and make your own honey. This syrupy dandelion honey is super easy to make. It doesn't call for any fancy ingredients, just water, lemon, sugar, and dandelions that you can forage yourself.
It tastes delicious in porridge, yogurt, and - my childhood favorite - on a slice of homemade sourdough bread along with creamy plant-based butter.
Ingredients
1 cup dandelion petals (I took around 20-25 flowers)
1 cup water
2 thin lemon slices (if you want less of a lemon-y taste, only add 1 lemon slice)
1/3 cup + 3 x 1/8 cup sugar
Method
1. Collect your dandelions when they are in full bloom in the middle of the day.
2. Blow the dandelions lightly to get any bugs out. Soak the flower heads in water for around 5 minutes to get rid of any remaining insects and to clean them a little.
3. Now remove the flower head (and the stem if you haven't done so before). Measure your petals.
4. Add the petals, water, lemon slices, and 1/3 of the sugar in a saucepan and let it boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Now let everything seep for 6 hours.
6. After the big soak, remove all the solids using a fine sift or a cheesecloth.
7. Boil the remaining liquid in a pan. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and slowly add the sugar. I added 1/8 cup sugar at a time and stirred every time until the sugar melted (do this until there's no sugar left).
8. Let it simmer for around 2 hours or until it reaches the consistency you want. You can check the consistency by taking a teaspoon of your honey-in-progress and buttering it on a plate. Turn the plate upside down - if the consistency is very liquidy and it drips a lot, then you might want to let it cook a bit longer. If the consistency is thicker and stickier, you might want to remove it from the flame. It will get a bit harder once cooled.
9. Once you reach the consistency you want, you can let it cool down for a bit and then pour it in a glass jar. Keep it in the fridge. :)
