Pick fully mature dandelion flowers while in bloom. It took me about an hour to pick 8 liters worth of flowers.
Let the picked flower head sit in a bucket until the flowers 'close'. Take scissors and cut the petals of at the base. Discard the green plant, but save the bright yellow petals. You will most likely get a little green in with it (the part that closes over the petals) but I have found this doesn't contribute much bitterness to the final product.
Soak the dandelion petals in the 10 liters cold water for 2 days.
Dump the whole mixture into a large pot and bring the flower petals to a boil. Simmer the dandelion petals for about 20 minutes to fully extract all the flavor.
Periodically stir the petals to ensure they are cooking evenly and all parts get their color extracted.
Strain the petals out through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, to remove any sediment and plant matter.
Add the strained dandelion extract back to the pot, add the sugar, then bring it back to a boil.
Once the dandelion extract and sugar are boiling ,note the water level on the side of the pot (roughly). Reduce the liquid by half to thicken the syrup and intensify it's flavor.
Once you notice the syrup having reduced by about half, it will start to bubble on the surface as less and less water is present. Watch the pot at this point to avoid it from bubbling over and burning.
Test the dandelion syrups consistency, by spooning out a little of the syrup into a dish and cooling it in the fridge.
Use a heat proof funnel to pour the hot dandelion syrup into glass bottles or jars.
Notes
The base of the flower head contains latax, a bitter milky liquid, which is quite un-pleasent. As Such its important to remove the green stem and flower head base, and use just the petals.
Nutrition
Calories: 4921kcal
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.