Photo Credit: www.ediblewildfood.com
Gardeners have cursed the dandelion and its pervasive nature. They pop up everywhere in spring and are so hard to get rid of.
Having grown up in a small West Texas town, I am no stranger to the Dandelion; although we pulled them up with our gloved hands or chopped them down with the hoe. We had no idea what we were missing out on and clumped this healthy plant into the weed family.
To be perfectly honest, I always thought they were poisonous. I guess it was because of the white milky sap that oozed from the stems. When I first started reading up on edible plants, I just couldn’t believe Dandelions were on the list. I’m excited about all of the health benefits associated with eating this plant and can’t wait to give it a try!
- The Normans called this plant “dent de lion”—tooth of the lion—for its jagged leaves. Anglo-Saxons corrupted this name into dandylion.
- The Vikings brought dandelion seed with them to Iceland and Greenland where the plant still thrives today.
- The Chinese call it “nail in the earth” for its long taproot which draws nutrients and moisture from deep in the ground.
- In medieval times, dandelions gathered on St. John’s Eve—June 24—were believed to repel witches. The milky sap, given the name “devil’s milk pail”, was used to cure warts and pimples.
DANDELION HEALTH BENEFITS
Seeds were brought here by the Puritans to plant in their herb gardens and the plants soon escaped, making their way across the country. Since all parts of the plant are edible and rich in vitamins, that is not a bad thing.
- Dandelions are more nutritious than spinach, have 25 times the vitamin A of tomato juice, and are a good source of calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, lecithin, and vitamins C, B, and E. For many early settlers, dandelions made a life-saving spring tonic.
- The dandelion was a standard medicinal plant used by herbalists for generations. Their Latin name—Taraxacum officinale—means a remedy for disorders. The leaves are a powerful diuretic but since they do not flush potassium from the body they are safer than pharmaceutical diuretics. The roots are slightly laxative and a tea made from ground fresh or dried roots is reported to improve digestion.
- Similar to their cousin chicory, the roots can be roasted until they are dark brown inside and out, ground into a powder, and used as a coffee substitute.
For more health benefits and also recipes, please visit: https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/garden-journal/dandelion-health-benefits
You have me wanting to try one… do you just add it to salad or just reach down and eat away?
Hi Max.
The article that I read states that the whole plant, including the root, is edible, and filled with medicinal nutrients.
Click on that link I shared. You will be amazed at the recipes.
Well I should have done that to begin with! That is fascinating. You come up with some great posts that no one would have thought of…
Thank you…I happened to be reading an article about edible plants and was like, you’re kidding me! Dandelions are edible? I read more and it turns out that they are more healthy than Spinach, plus have many vitamins and minerals our body needs. I can’t wait to find some.
The article also reads that you can even make wine out of them as well.
I’m sitting beside my cousin right now and told him…he mentioned wine right off the bat. I’m going to be trying some Dandelions… I would have never guessed.
I would have never guessed either. So glad I saw that article. I am eating healthier, so I am excited about finding some and adding them to my diet.
You can add the green leaves and the yellow flower petals to your salad or cut the green leaves and cook them like greens.
I’m reading it now…this is so cool. I get excited over things like this lol.
I get excited over things like this too! You can also batter and fry the yellow flower. How cool is that?!
That is really cool! I don’t like greens…but the fried way…I have to try…
I love greens and salads. Maybe if you like a salad you could mix them into your salad.
I was thinking that also… yes I love salads…I just never could get into greens…though it’s childish…it looks like seaweed… I need to try it…the one time I did it had too much vinegar in it.
Too much vinegar can spoil it. They do look like seaweed. 😆
I went to http://www.allrecipes.com and saw some delicious looking recipes made with dandelions. This gives me something different to look forward to cooking. Winter will be here soon, so now I have a new soup to try. 😄
Now I love soups…I can eat soup and be happy without anything else…I don’t feel bloated that way…
Jennifer made some Toscana soup the other day and I loved it…it has spinach so I wonder if this could be a part? I’ll have to taste it now and see…
The soup is a copy of Olive Garden’s Toscana soup…I love that site…we go there sometimes.
I have never eaten Toscana soup. I will definitely be trying some. I agree that you don’t feel bloated after a good bowl of soup. I’ll have to look online to see where I can find some.
That soup has potatos and sausage…it’s kinda rich but it’s really really good.
Yummy, that’s my kind of soup😋
I’m gonna be dreaming about food tonight.
If you are by Olive Garden…give it a try and it’s not too expensive to make.
I have added that to my to-do list for this week.
I hope you have a good night’s sleep. As always, it was a pleasure talking to you.
Goodnight😴
You also…sleep well and if you get to try it tell me how you like it…
Thank you…I will let you know.