Dandelion wine: photos, benefits, taste, reviews

Dandelion wine is a healing alcoholic drink, the recipe for which has been forgotten for a long time. It is made to uplift and relax. The bright flower is a storehouse of vitamins. If you prepare the tincture correctly, you will be able to catch the summer, as Ray Bradbury wrote in his story. The recipes are optimized for home use, the main thing is to be patient.

Is it possible to make wine from dandelions?

Often those who have tried wine from wild dandelions cannot believe that not only a medicinal product can be prepared from this flower. Its use in reasonable quantities is beneficial for the body. For example, in the UK it is popular among home winemakers and can be easily purchased in stores.

There is an amazing story about wine made from spring dandelions. Legend has it that the healing plant was born in the house of an old hermit who collected bright daytime flowers so that they would not be blown away by the wind.He prepared a magical wine that absorbed the radiance of the Sun. It was believed that it heals souls and hearts broken by unjust cruelty. He was glad that he could help.

Benefits of dandelion wine

More often, housewives make wine from dandelion flowers for medicinal purposes.

Healing properties of the plant:

• stimulates digestion;
• helps remove toxins;
• can fight high cholesterol;
• Dandelion root has diuretic and choleretic properties;
• has a positive effect on the circulatory system, strengthening the heart and blood vessels;
• normalizes hormonal levels and metabolism;
• in men it increases potency.

Almost all of this is inherent in wine made from the flower. A drink made from dandelions is good for the nervous system, restores strength, and promotes healthy sleep. It is used for inflammatory diseases, to restore vision and for diabetes. And the stimulation of brain activity will please people who earn money through mental labor.

Dandelion is rich in vitamin content. Potassium helps strengthen the skeleton; decoctions are used for preventive purposes against caries and periodontal disease. Helps fight excess weight.

How to make wine from dandelions

You should be responsible about the place where you collect dandelion raw materials and the time when you need to do this.

Dandelions should not be collected in the following places:

• within the city, in close proximity to them;
• near major highways, small roads;
• close to industrial enterprises.

Plants that mature in these areas are contaminated and will bring nothing but harm.

It is difficult to say exactly when to pick dandelions, because in our country there are quite a few regions with different climates. There are 2 seasons: early to mid-May and late June to early July.

The spring harvest produces a drink with a greenish tint, but more healthy and transparent. Summer plants will give the drink a rich yellow color and a unique taste. The difference can be felt in the photo, where the wine is from different periods of dandelion ripening.

The petals must be collected in the morning, when the dew has disappeared and the flowers have already opened their yellow buds. You should skip picking in rainy weather because water will wash away pollen and nectar, which will add an unforgettable aroma. Dandelions collected in an environmentally friendly place do not require rinsing.

Most often, only yellow petals are used to make wine, but there is also a simplified recipe, where the entire inflorescence is taken as a basis. To release the necessary part is simple: pinch the bottom of the bundle with your fingers, and with the other hand remove the receptacle in a circular motion.

The main secret of making delicious wine from sunny dandelion is to strictly follow the technology, and not the proportions in recipes, and immediately sprinkle the resulting “harvest” with sugar. During fermentation it must “breathe”. In order to give room to carbon dioxide, a glove or balloon is put on the neck, and after inflating, a small puncture is made.

Traditional dandelion wine recipe

Here the petals are used along with the perianths, which simplifies the preparation process. It should be taken into account that dandelions can produce such wine with a bitter taste. To avoid this, you can simply soak the raw materials in boiled cold water for 24 hours.

Ingredients:

• granulated sugar – 1.5 kg;
• dandelion flowers – 3 l.

Prepare wine as follows:

1. Place the inflorescences in a glass bowl, sprinkling each layer with sugar.
2. Compact thoroughly and place in a dark place.
3. When a sufficient amount of juice has been released from the dandelion flowers, it is drained by squeezing the buds.
4. The result is wort for wine, which is bottled. Attach a balloon to the neck of each. It should inflate over time.
5. When it hangs, drain the wine without mixing with the sediment.

You can let it brew indoors without exposure to sunlight.

How to make dandelion wine using wine yeast

In homemade wine recipes made from medicinal dandelions, there is a fermentation stage that can be more quickly activated by wine yeast.

Compound:

• sugar – 1.5 kg;
• dry yeast – 11 g;
• orange – 4 pcs.;
• water – 4 l;
• dandelion petals – 500 g.

Prepare wine in stages:

1. Pour boiling water over the dandelions and leave covered, covered, for 48 hours.
2. Pour into an enamel bowl, add sugar and orange zest without white peel. Cook for a quarter of an hour after boiling.
3. Strain through a piece of gauze.
4. Dissolve the yeast in warm boiled water and add it to the mixture, cooled to 30 degrees. Pour in the squeezed orange juice.
5. Pour into a large bottle and put a glove on your throat.
6. For good wine, leave the wort until it completely ferments. The room temperature should not fall below 15 degrees.
7. As soon as the glove falls off, decant the wine using a straw, divide into bottles, and close tightly.

Store for another 5 months for aging in a dark place.

Homemade dandelion wine with mint and lemon

Dandelion wine is a popular drink in Europe. This is another option for preparing it.

Set of ingredients:

• water – 4 l;
• lemon – 2 pcs.;
• dandelion petals – 1 l;
• sugar – 1500 g;
• mint – 2 sprigs;
• raisins – 100 g.

Preparation method:

1. Place yellow dandelion petals in an enamel bowl, pour boiling water over them and let sit for a day, covered.
2. Strain, squeeze the juice from the pulp and pour into a bottle.
3. Remove the zest from clean lemons with a grater, add mint, raisins and 1/3 of the sugar to the dandelion infusion, mix thoroughly.
4. Cover the neck with gauze and leave in a dark place.
5. Three days later, when fermentation begins, add another portion of granulated sugar. Cover the container with a glove.
6. Divide the remaining sugar in half and add 2 times 250 g to the young wine after 5 days. To improve the process, it must be dissolved in the wort poured from the bottle.

After about 2 months, fermentation should end, then bottle it and leave it to mature in a dark place for 4 months.

Dandelion wine with raisins without yeast

This sunny dandelion wine with a warm summer color will taste spicy.

Compound:

• water – 4 l;
• granulated sugar – 1 kg;
• raisins – 10 pcs.;
• citric acid – 2 g;
• dandelion – 100 inflorescences.

The wine begins to be prepared as follows:

1. Pour water into an enamel-lined saucepan, bring to a boil and add dandelion petals. Cover and leave for 48 hours.
2. Filter and transfer the wort into the prepared bottle.
3. Raisins should not be washed so as not to destroy the bacteria necessary for fermentation; they should be stored dry.
4. Put on a special water seal and leave it alone for about a month.
5. If the wine is no longer fermenting, strain carefully to remove sediment.

Let it brew for 2 months, choosing a place out of direct sunlight.

How to Make Dandelion Wine with Lemon, Oranges and Ginger

The combination of two citrus fruits with spices will be interesting to gourmets.

Product set:

• ginger – ½ tsp;
• sugar – 6 tbsp;
• water – 4 l;
• wine yeast - 1 package;
• dandelion flowers – 8 tbsp.;
• orange and lemon zest.

Prepare wine following step-by-step instructions:

1. Remove the zest from washed fruits without white veins. Its quantity depends on the preferences of the owners.
2. Pour sugar, spices and dandelion petals into a large saucepan. Fill with liquid.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for an hour. Cool slightly and strain.
4. Add wine yeast diluted in the same solution and pour back into the general composition. Leave covered for 10 hours.
5. Place in a convenient glass container and put a medical glove on the neck.
6. After fermentation is complete, distribute into smaller containers, straining the wine without sediment.

Leave in a dark place so that the composition gains astringency.

How to make dandelion wine with mint and honey at home

Judging by the reviews, using this recipe, dandelion wine will help you get a boost of freshness; the vitamin composition will be simply unique.

Ingredients:

• fresh honey – 1 kg;
• wine yeast – 50 g;
• sugar – 1 kg;
• flowers – 2 kg;
• water – 3 l;
• mint.

Preparation method:

1. In this case, the petals will need to be washed to remove pollen and grind through a meat grinder.
2. Pour 1 liter of water, add 500 g of sugar and leave for 4 days.
3. Dilute honey with the remaining granulated sugar in heated water, mix with chopped mint and infused solution.
4. After installing the water seal, move it to a dark place for 1 month.

All that remains is to filter with gauze, pour into smaller containers and let the wine go stale. It will take from 2 to 5 months.

How to store dandelion wine

If you ask a real winemaker how to properly store wine, the lecture can last more than one hour.

There are basic canons that should be followed:

1. Use only glass containers for storage.
2. There is a wine made from dandelions that will last for about 3 days after opening, closed, but rather sweet types can retain their properties for up to a week.
3. The ideal temperature is considered to be from +10 to + 15 degrees. If the temperature is too high, the wine will lose its delicate taste, and if the temperature is too low, the wine will stop ripening. Another nuance is to avoid temperature fluctuations.
4. Air humidity between 60-80% will prevent mold.
5. Keep away from sunlight.
6. Protect wine from shaking in a horizontal position.

Do not put the tincture in the refrigerator.

Conclusion

Dandelion wine helps a person regain strength after a day of work or illness. It’s worth trying to cook it at home to enjoy the sunny taste on cold winter evenings.

Reviews

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