Dandelion Jelly

I love spring when the dandelions come out. I have ceased to think of them as weeds. I love how they grow in every impossible nook and cranny here in the city, AND they are eatable! You can harvest the greens and eat them in a salad or stir fry. The blossoms can be used to make tea or wine, or in this case...JELLY!

To prepare for this recipe you are going to need to collect about ten cups of dandelion blossoms to make a tea as the base for our jelly. The green ends of the flowers (where the flower attaches to the stem) can be bitter. It is recommended to cut the green, non-petal ends off the flowers before making the tea.

To make the tea mix 6 cups of boiling water with your collected petals and let it steep overnight. This will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, so it will wait for you if you don't have all this time together. Strain the flower petals from the tea before you begin canning.

MAKING THE JELLY:

Ingredients:
 6 cups of dandelion tea
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 boxes of pectin
6 cups sugar

Directions:
1.Combine the dandelion tea, lemon juice and pectin in a large heavy duty stockpot or dutch oven, and bring to a boil.

2. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil. Continue to cook at a rolling boil for 5-8 minutes or until the mixture begins to feel thick. You may need to occasionally stir to make sure it does not burn on the bottom of the pan.

3. Fill sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath.**


**for more information on this step and the process of canning see http://www.simplycanning.com/sterilizing-jars.html