Dandelion Jam: 13 recipes

Irrepressible progress and civilization have given humanity more than a dozen years of life. However, more recently, pharmacies and hospitals looked very different. Alarmed mothers of sick children came to the healers for various herbs and recipes. Traditional medicine saved people's lives, although now it has been replaced by pills for any part of the body. But alternative methods of treatment still remain the most economical and reliable! This publication will focus on dandelion jam.

Composition and calorie content

These yellow flowers cover everything around in late spring, and, in addition to pleasing to the eye species, have healing properties. The appearance of this delicacy is identical to honey, but it still does not taste so sweet.

The nutritional value of the product is 191 kcal per 100 g. These figures are due to the fact that dandelion itself is bitter, therefore, a large amount of sugar is required. In general, the composition is the same as for any other jam: water, dandelions (in this case), sugar and citric acid.

What is useful dandelion jam

The list of useful properties of this plant is truly impressive:

1. First of all, the yellow color of the plant attracts attention, indicating a rich supply of vitamin C. By the way, with hepatitis, they recommend jam from this plant.
2. In addition, the plant contains vitamins of groups A and B, as well as sodium, copper, iron, magnesium and potassium. Many of these minerals can not only improve physical health, but also mental abilities.
3. Most often, people with sick nerves and gastrointestinal problems seek dandelions. Tea with this jam has a calming effect on the nervous system, helps in the fight against anxiety and insomnia.
4. The plant slows down the formation of bile, useful for hemorrhoids.
5. Doctors themselves advise dandelion jam to treat joints. And this is not fiction, traditional medicine can defeat arthritis, gout and rheumatism.
6. Jam also normalizes acidity in gastritis and pancreatitis, it is used as a mild laxative. This contributes to good metabolism, clean skin and excellent appetite. As a result, jam can be a substitute for unhealthy sugar and help everyone lose weight.
7. In case of interruptions in the cycle and painful menstruation, jam is used as a natural analgesic.
8. The product strengthens the heart and blood vessels. With anemia and stitching pain in the chest, hot tea with jam is much nicer to drink than bitter tablets. Dandelion is able to suppress inflammatory processes in the body.
9. Such jam is useful for infectious diseases and dysbiosis.
10. Jam is often used as an antiallergenic medicine. A tablespoon of adults on an empty stomach every morning is enough to prevent allergies. The main lovers of sweets - children - it is better to save from tooth decay and give a teaspoon, diluting the product with water.

How to collect dandelions for jam

The peak of flowering dandelions falls on the period from April to October. However, even this business has its own subtleties and secrets. It is best to go to the gathering in May, when there are a lot of flowers and they are fully ripe.

It is wonderful if there was no rain on the eve, and the day turned out to be sunny.Neither light nor dawn should wake up, at this time the flowers will probably still be closed.

You need to choose dandelions with a big hat, bright color, without insects that can carry infection, and visible signs of decay. It is also worth paying attention to the appearance of the meadow (only from it you can collect dandelions, but not from the tracks and not near the industrial enterprise). If garbage is scattered around, and the grass is dry, pale green in color, then the soil in these places can be poisoned by toxic plastic chemicals or simply heavily polluted and poor. In this case, the dandelions of this area lose all value, and time will be wasted.

Basic rules for collection and drying
For jam, only inflorescences are needed, without a stem and leaves. The most important thing is to cut the flower, and not tear it off with your hands. Careless handling of dandelions can scrub away all the pollen from them, in which healing is stored. Folding hats is best in a basket so that they do not get stuck and do not deform.

For cooking, you need about 400 healthy flowers. Before drying, they should be inspected for foreign herbs. So, often under a dandelion, a goat-breeder, a coltsfoot and an autumn kulbub mimic. All of these flowers can be distinguished by stem and size.

In the case of drying, you must act quickly, as the cut flowers rot very quickly. Dandelions do not need to be washed, but only put on an electric dryer or a place under the scorching sun (in the latter case, the collected flowers should lie under the sun for at least a week).

For proper drying, a temperature of 42 to 55 degrees Celsius is required. After drying, the hats become brittle. However, to understand whether everything is done correctly is possible. If the flower squeezed in the hands immediately crumbles, the temperature was too high, and the plant lost its nutrients. Do not despair, this does not always mean defeat. Gentle humidification from the spray can restore most jam inflorescences to life.

Dried hats should be carefully transferred to glass or sealed paper containers and kept in a cool, dark place. Shelf life is up to three years.

How to cook dandelion jam: recipes

Traditional way of cooking

Ingredients:

• Dandelion flowers (from 400 pieces).
• 1.5 liters of water.
• Sugar - 1.5 kilograms.
• Juice of one lemon or 2 tbsp. citric acid.
• Pectin (regular thickener in any store) - 1 tbsp.

Rinse the dandelions with cool water and allow excess moisture to drain. After inspect for the presence of excess parts (leaves, stem), cut. Put the flowers in a pan and cook for 5-10 minutes until boiling. After the broth, cool and leave alone for one day. Then strain the liquid and start cooking the jam. When the tincture boils, add sugar to it and mix thoroughly. It is best to taste. Remove the foam. Let cool again to room temperature and add pectin. Stir while simmering over low heat. Wait until it becomes thick and pour in lemon juice.

Before clogging, treat the cans with boiling water for sterilization. Lids are also lowered into hot water for a couple of minutes for easy twisting.

Dandelion jam with lemons and oranges

Ingredients:

• 250-300 dandelion flowers.
• 1.5 liters of water.
• 1 lemon.
• 2 oranges.
• 750 g sugar per can.

Peel oranges and lemons and rinse. Rinse dandelions and allow to dry. Put all the ingredients in a bowl, add water and cook for one hour. After filtering. Add sugar to the resulting amount of broth (be sure to try), pour in the lemon juice and cook for another hour over low heat, stirring occasionally. Cool and pour into jars.

Jam with cherry leaves

Ingredients:

• Dandelions - 500 pieces.
• 1.5 liters of boiled water.
• 2 lemons.
• 12-15 cherry leaves.
• Sugar - 1.5 kg.

Add cherry leaves and sliced ​​lemon to pre-dried flowers, without separating from the peel. Put the pan with the ingredients over medium heat and cook for one hour. After cool and let it brew for one day.Strain through cheesecloth and cook again, gradually adding sugar. Be sure to try. After boiling, reduce heat and cook for another hour. The consistency should be viscous. Cool and pour into jars.

Recipe without cooking

Ingredients:

• Dandelions (with stems) - 400 pieces.
• 50 grams of honey.

This method is the most useful, since absolutely all vitamins remain in the flowers. Soak dandelions with stems for one day in water. Then squeeze and grind in a meat grinder. Then transfer the mixture to the container and pour honey. Keep it under a closed lid for 12-24 hours. Periodically, jam should be stirred. After that, the treat can be stored in the refrigerator and calmly added to tea or consumed in pure form.

Spice Dandelion

Ingredients:

• Dandelions - 400-500 pieces.
• 1 liter of boiled water.
• 1 lemon.
• Ginger root.
• 2 stars star anise.
• 1.5 kilograms of sugar.

Pour dandelions, ginger, star anise and lemon with peel into water. Put on the stove and bring to a boil, then cook another ten minutes. Next, cool the broth and leave for one night. Strain and squeeze the flowers. Put on the fire again and add sugar, stirring at the same time. Cook the resulting syrup to a boil over medium heat, and after another half an hour on low heat. After pour into prepared jars, following the rules.

Dandelion jam in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

• 100-200 dandelions.
• 300 grams of sugar.
• Glass of water.
• Half a lemon.

Pour water and sugar into the multicooker bowl, stir. Run the jam cooking program and wait for the sugar to completely dissolve. At this time, select flowers from the stems and rinse. Allow excess moisture to drain. Add dandelions to the syrup and cook in a slow cooker for another 20 minutes. After leaving for one night. The next day, the jam will thicken, it must be filtered through cheesecloth. Then again pour into the bowl of the multicooker and cook for 15 minutes, adding lemon juice. Pour the hot treat into jars and allow to cool.

Dandelion jam without sugar and cooking

Ingredients:

• Dandelions - 300-400 pieces (possible with leaves and legs).
• Liquid honey.
• Ginger root - 2 centimeters.
• Lemon zest of one lemon.
• The juice of half a lemon.

To clear the collected flowers of garbage and insects. Put in a jar, leaving room for honey. Add the zest of lemon, juice and finely chopped ginger to the jar. After pouring honey until all ingredients are completely covered. Shake to mix foods and leave for one day. Keep in a dark place for three weeks. After the expiration, strain and pour into jars.

Dandelion jam with mint and pine needles

Ingredients:

• 500 dandelions.
• 25 sprigs of mint.
• A handful of young needles.
• Sugar - 1.5 kilograms.
• 2.5 liters of drinking water.
• Big lemon and lime.

Put the selected dandelions in a pan, add mint leaves (without stems), finely chopped lime and needles. Simmer until boiling. Remove the foam. Insist a day. Then strain the liquid several times and put it on fire again. Add sugar and cook for another hour, stirring occasionally. Cook for at least two hours. The consistency should be very thick. Pour into a processed jar.

Dandelion and Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients:

• A kilogram of rhubarb cuttings.
• 300-500 dandelions.
• 1.5 kilograms of sugar.
• Liter of water.

Cut rhubarb into small pieces and cook exactly 1 minute in boiling water. After abruptly cool with cold water. Separately, make syrup from sugar and water (cook for about an hour, before boiling). In a separate pan, mix rhubarb, dandelions and syrup. Cook again to a boil. The taste of this jam is unusual due to sour rhubarb. Such a recipe will always help people with gastrointestinal problems.

Dandelion and rose petal jam

Ingredients:

• 100 (dried or fresh) rose petals.
• 400 (dried or fresh) dandelion flowers.
• 1 kilogram of sugar.
• Big lemon.
• Glass of water.

Separately prepare sugar syrup: stir water and sugar and bring to a boil. Add petals and dandelions, mix. After mixture leave overnight. After the time has expired, reheat the pan and add lemon juice. Cook to a boil, strain 2-3 times and pour into banks.

Dandelion and Nut Jam

Ingredients:

• 500 flowers.
• 2 large lemons.
• Ginger root.
• 1.5 cups chopped walnuts or almonds.
• 2 kg of sugar.
• Badian - 2-3 stars.
• 2 liters of water.

Clear flowers from earthly inhabitants and debris. Mix with chopped ginger, star anise, and lemon. Pour in water and bring to a boil. Insist one night. In the morning, strain and squeeze all the ingredients well. Pour nuts and sugar. Boil the resulting mixture again and pour into jars.

Fast Dandelion Jam

Ingredients:

• 400 pieces of dandelion hats.
• 1 kilogram of sugar.
• 1 liter of water.

Sort out the flowers, but do not rinse, put in a pan with water. Pour in sugar gradually, let it boil. Stir well and cook for another 20 minutes. If desired, strain and pour into sterilized jars.

Dandelion and pectin jam (for professionals)

This recipe is complicated due to the long-term process, as well as several stages of cooking. But this is the best option for treatment!

Ingredients:

• 400 dandelion flowers.
• 3-4 sachets of pectin.
• 1.5 kilograms of sugar.
• 2 liters of water.
• 1 small lemon.

1. Collect flowers, separate from excess green parts, rinse. Put in a pan and pour cooled, boiled water. Boil the resulting mixture and simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes. Cover with a towel and leave for 12 hours.
2. Strain the liquid 2-3 times. Reheat the resulting water and add sugar, stir thoroughly. After complete dissolution, cook for another 15 minutes. After allowing to cool.
3. Put on the stove again and add pectin, mix gently until thickened. Squeeze the juice from the lemon. Pour into banks. Keep in a cool place.

Basic spin rules

Before pouring jam into the jar, it must be sterilized by scalding or sprinkling with boiling water. However, the container must in no case be wet! Before spinning the jars, place them upside down on the paper and wait until it is completely dry. You can, of course, resort to a microwave, hairdryer and oven to speed up the process.

Lots of confusion can also create covers. Grandma’s recipe says that only tin can be used. Now, vacuum ones are popular. We will reveal a couple of secrets. Lids are better to take "white", they have a lower risk of oxidizing (they should not be deformed), or special twist. In the store they can advise vacuum ones, they will last a long and reliable time, and it’s easy to spin them.

If the jam is not intended for long-term storage, plastic covers will do. But here, too, danger lurked. From a lot of sugar these caps quickly swell, so you should put a couple of layers of paper (but not newspapers) on the jar before twisting.

But lemon juice or citric acid is not added at all for piquancy. An acidic environment will save the sweet twists from mold. A large role is played by the density of jam. The thicker it is, the longer it will stand on a shelf.

What to do with spoiled jam

Jam is likely to ferment due to a lack of sugar, which acts as a natural preservative. But do not get upset ahead of time! Hard work can still be saved.

1. The spoiled delicacy should be put on medium heat and brought to a boil. Gradually add approximately 50-100 grams of sugar per kilogram of jam. Remove the foam, repeat the blockage process.
2. If the jam is vice versa, overcooked, you should put the jars in warm water and bring to a boil, when the sugar has completely melted, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
3. Mold still brings a lot of trouble. It’s more difficult to get rid of it. Most often, the cause of spoiled jam is a violation of the technological process of blockage (moisture, not completely closed cans and air inside) and cooking (undercooked syrup, insoluble sugar). In this case, open the jar and carefully remove the moldy layer. Then wipe the throat of the jar and close again. You need to use it right away, but it would be better to send it to baking or use as a substitute for sugar.

Where to store jam

The cellar, of course, is where the cans are wrapped in a woolen blanket. But not every hostess has such a place! Jam can also be stored in the refrigerator, on the lowest shelf, away from the freezer.

It is important that the temperature does not exceed 10-12 degrees Celsius. If the spin process is carried out correctly, then the jam is quite simple in the pantry.

The shelf life of a sweet product is usually three years. Only after this, fermentation processes start. But if this is jam with stones, then you need to have time to use it for six months. There is a danger in hydrocyanic acid, which after 5-7 months begins to spread greatly.

How to use Dandelion Jam

1. For people with diagnosed cirrhosis, you should drink at least five glasses of warm water or tea with three tablespoons of dandelion jam. You can also add chamomile, jasmine and milk thistle for a better effect.
2. If the heart is naughty and the vessels are losing ground, you should eat a teaspoon of jam on an empty stomach for two weeks. In a month, fix the result with another course.
3. With bronchitis and pneumonia, dandelion jam is simply irreplaceable. It should be taken a tablespoon after each meal, and also added to tea instead of sugar for ten days.
4. For pregnant women, this jam is mandatory. Rich in minerals and vitamins, it favorably affects the fetus and mother. Jam is recommended to take a teaspoon in tea. The maximum dose is not more than three spoons in their pure form.

Contraindications

In general, dandelion jam is harmless, the question is only in quantities. If you eat too much, you can easily earn tooth problems, a rash and diathesis from sweets. People with diabetes and overweight will have to refrain from treats.

People with endocrine problems should also be alert. The high iodine content in jam can have a deplorable effect on health. An allergy to pollen can ruin your life, the same applies to individual intolerance to the components of jam. Unlucky and people with low blood pressure.

Interesting facts about dandelions

1. There was a period in history when entrepreneurs did not know about the rubber tree and specially developed dandelions containing rubber in the roots for the production of rubber.
2. It’s not surprising that Ray Braedbury’s famous book “Dandelion Wine” is dedicated to these flowers, from which, more recently, wellness wine was brewed everywhere.
3. Dandelion is an amazing weed that is difficult to get rid of. Even from a damaged root system, a whole population can grow back.
4. During World War II, the Germans roasted the roots of dandelions and brewed "coffee." The taste was no worse than a natural drink!
5. Dandelions have an accurate biological clock. They open at six in the morning and close at three in the afternoon.
6. A unique species of dandelions with purple petals grows in the Caucasus.
7. In Belgium, dandelion paste or even beer may well be offered to you.
8. The Chinese were the discoverers of dandelions. They used the flower in medicine, and the leaves and stems in salads and soups. Until now, in the Middle Kingdom this is not a plant, but a vegetable.
9. In Russia, young girls laid flowers under their pillows to ward off evil spirits and bad news. Perhaps the bright summer color played a magical role.
10. There is a special kind of white-yellow dandelions that grow only on the territory of the Kola Peninsula. This species is listed in the Red Book.
11. The ancient Greeks believed that with the help of dandelions you can get rid of freckles and age spots.

Today, dandelion is unjustly forgotten.This plant has saved more than one life in history and will save many more in the future! People should take an example from the Chinese, who still honor the traditions of their ancestors and, along with the achievements of an industrial society, do not renounce knowledge of the past, but correctly combine both methods of treatment.