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Dandelions 
Dandelions:
Taraxacum Officinale means ‘the official remedy for
disorders.’ They are grown and consumed in France with the same passion
as people in the Americas have for lettuce. The plant seed were originally
brought over from Europe to America by the early settlers for use both as food
and it's medicinal properties.
Dandelions may be the scourge of the urban lawn but in a
primitive food pyramid they rank right up there with greens (collards, spinach,
turnips etc).
- Dandelions are are a weed only if you don't want them,
other than that, consider them as wild vegetables
- The USDA has determined that dandelions are more
nutritious than broccoli and spinach
- Dandelions taste bitter, until prepared then they are
delicious
- Dandelions are considered to be helpful medicinally:
as a diuretic, to cut fats, to reduce gas, for kidney stones, cancer,
diabetes, to cleanse the blood, for weight reduction, for vision, for your
skin and acne, for bowel functions, to lower blood pressure and serum
cholesterol, and for anemia
- All parts of the dandelion are useable. The leaves for
greens, the blossoms for wines and jelly, and the roots for a coffee like
beverage and are related to the Chicory that is popular among health food
consumers. Add a little baking soda to remove any bitterness.
- Use caution when handling raw Dandelions as the milky
substance that leaks from the flower stem or any cut portion of the plant has caused allergic reactions in
some people.
- This same milky substance is supposed to remove warts if applied twice
daily for a week or longer. Note a brown stain will develop where it touches
the skin.
Preparations:
Gather your dandelions from locations that are not treated with chemicals or
commercial fertilizer.
Use a potato fork or a digging stick if you plan to harvest the roots.
Wash the greens or any plant parts thoroughly before
using.
Cook the greens similar to the way you would cook spinach or collards.
Boil it for 5 minutes then drain it and set it aside. In the pot brown some
fatty meat (bacon or similar). Leave the melted fat in the pot and stir in the
greens, turning it over frequently while on a high heat for the the next 5 minutes. Add salt and seasonings to taste. Serve as a vegetable. A little
lemon or vinegar sprinkled on it may be desired by some. The leaves
are often used in soups or torn and placed in sandwiches similar to the
way lettuce is used.
The roots are force dried and then roasted and then ground to a powder and
added to hot water to make a coffee like beverage or added to commercial coffee
to enhance the flavor.
Interesting facts:
A cup of raw greens has the same calcium as ½
of a glass of milk. It also has 14,000 i.u. of Vitamin A, plus 19
milligrams of thiamin, 26 mg. of riboflavin and 35 mg. of ascorbic acid,
your body changes it into vitamin C. That’s more than most
multi-vitamins..
The Chinese use dandelion root for relieving
Tonsillitis. They slowly cook one ounce of the root, chopped, in two cups
of water until only half of the liquid remains. After it cools, they sip
this syrup, sometimes sweetening it with juice.
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