{"id":59151,"date":"2020-06-12T12:16:48","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T16:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=59151"},"modified":"2023-10-23T16:06:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T20:06:22","slug":"coping-with-the-pandemic-dandelion-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/coping-with-the-pandemic-dandelion-recipes.html","title":{"rendered":"Coping with the Pandemic: Dandelion Recipes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega gives recipes for a trend she\u2019s noticed during the pandemic: people cooking with dandelions. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

With the increase in at-home cooking during the pandemic, people are trying old recipes or ingredients that aren\u2019t as popular or as well-known as they once were. One food trend I\u2019ve noticed recently is the use of dandelions in recipes. Sure, dandelions are a weed \u2013 but like one newspaper article proclaimed: \u201cThese obnoxious weeds can become a dandy dish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: field with flowering dandelions, Tatarstan, Russia. Credit: Vadim Indeikin; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition, dandelions are surprisingly nutritious! As the State Journal-Register<\/em> article from 2006 shown below reports:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe flower, leaves and root of the ubiquitous weed are not only tasty, but amazingly nutritious. The plant contains more beta-carotene than carrots, more potassium than bananas, more lecithin than soybeans, more iron than spinach, and loads of vitamins A, C, E, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium\u2026 In fact, the dandelion\u2019s scientific name, Taraxacum officianale, means \u2018official remedy for disorders\u2019 in Latin.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was surprised to find the numerous ways to prepare dandelions, from the flower to the root. Literally you can eat dandelions for everything from a salad, to an entree, to dessert, and then wash it all down with a dandelion tea or wine.<\/p>\n

I decided to see what dandelion recipes I could find in historical newspapers and quickly realized that I could have written a cookbook with all the recipes I found! Below are just a few of the recipes I found in case you decide you want to do some foraging yourself.<\/p>\n

Cooking with Dandelions<\/strong><\/p>\n

This 1916 newspaper column, \u201cThe Dandelion\u201d (though the headline writer unfortunately misspelled it as \u201cDandeloin\u201d), starts out lamenting that \u201cmodern American housewives have never learned to appreciate the medicinal and dietetic properties of the star-eyed dandelion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The article reports:<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the tip of its slender root to its golden aureole-crowned stem it is full[y] charged with alkaline salts, whose therapeutic properties are well understood and liberally employed by the manufacturers of the various sarsaparilla preparations that come out with the spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn grandmother\u2019s roster of vegetable \u2018cure-alls\u2019 dandelion tea, made from the roots and leaves and administered by the wineglassful three or four times a day, was listed as benefiting the liver and unexcelled for stopping any internal hemorrhage.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), 19 May 1916, page 8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other recipes in the article are for a tonic, a root beer, and salad. The last salad recipe is a fairly simple one that calls for dandelion leaves dressed with salt, pepper, oil and lemon juice or vinegar and garnished with hardboiled eggs.<\/p>\n

Going beyond Salad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure, you can use dandelion greens for salad. That\u2019s a given. But I have to admit I became fascinated with the variety of dandelion recipes. There really are more uses than I could ever imagine. I also learned that there are dandelion farms, like the one featured in this 1988 article that includes recipes from the cookbook New Jersey\u2019s World Famous Dandelion Recipe Book<\/em> (when the following newspaper article was written there were 17 dandelion farms in South Jersey). Recipes featured include a dandelion soup that combines greens with meatballs cooked in a chicken stock. The Italian Dandelion Casserole adds alternating layers of dandelions, meatballs, and canned tomatoes.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 6 April 1988, page 33<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 6 April 1988, page 34<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 6 April 1988, page 34<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More creative dandelion uses are these recipes from 2006 that use dandelions in an omelet, a pizza, and even as a coffee substitute.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois), 5 April 2006, page 15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois), 5 April 2006, page 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois), 5 April 2006, page 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois), 5 April 2006, page 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dandelion Wine<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the more familiar uses of dandelions is dandelion wine.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), 17 April 1914, page 12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ready to Eat Some Dandelion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know I love when food history intersects with family history. One of my favorite newspaper articles about dandelions is this one by Eileen Mears in the 15 April 1976 State Journal-Register<\/em> from Springfield, Illinois, where she encourages her readers to try dandelions and does so by sharing her family history. She teaches her readers about dandelions, or \u201cpoor man\u2019s spinach,\u201d by talking about her grandmothers:<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent more time with my maternal grandmother, Margaret Lucinda Moore Spencer, who was a \u2018greens and potherb\u2019 cook. I don\u2019t recall that my paternal grandmother, Magdalena Spring Opper, ever cooked dandelions. Instead, she fixed a raw salad with bacon, hard-cooked eggs and cooked salad dressing, and used only the very tender, bleached heart or light green leaves of the plant. Neither grandmother picked the dandelions after they\u2019d begun to flower (usually the older plants are apt to be bitter).\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not only does she provide some recipes in her column but she gives the full names of her grandmothers. What a tribute!<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois), 15 April 1976, page 38<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Have You Eaten Dandelions Lately?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never eaten dandelions, that I know of, but I\u2019m eager to try a recipe. I remember my dad telling me that when my maternal grandmother came to visit us in the 1970s, she took my dad on a tour of our grassy yard and the edible weeds growing there. She taught him what was edible and how to cook them. I\u2019m sure that one of those weeds was the dandelion, since she enjoyed drinking dandelion tea.<\/p>\n

According to my copy of the Food Lover\u2019s Companion<\/em>, when choosing dandelions to eat, keep in mind that \u201cthe bright green leaves have a slightly bitter, tangy flavor that adds interest to salads. They can also be cooked like spinach. The roots can be eaten as vegetables or roasted and ground to make root \u2018coffee.\u2019 Though they\u2019re available until winter in some states, the best, most tender dandelion greens are found in early spring, before the plant begins to flower. Look for bright-green, tender-crisp leaves, avoid those with yellowed or wilted tips. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped in a plastic bag, up to 5 days.\u201d [p.176]*<\/p>\n

Because most people consider dandelions a weed, make sure that you are using plants that have not been sprayed with pesticides and that you wash them well before using.<\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite dandelion recipe? Did your family eat dandelions? I\u2019d love to hear about it in the comments below.<\/p>\n

* Herbst, Sharon Tyler. Food Lover\u2019s Companion, second edition. New York: Barron\u2019s, 1995.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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