While I want to convince you that from a human perspective dandelions need a new reputation, I also want your attention to this very informative and nuanced video by @parkrosepermaculture about the bees' perspective on this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wwNFrXKMJII.htmlsi=s2zs_F1s3Eo5_bn7
When my daughter was 4-5 years old, her kindergarten teacher took the entire class out for a nature walk, they collected dandelion flowers and made dandelion jelly. It sparked a childhood memory of our neighbour in Switserland making dandelion jelly and giving us a few pots. So I asked for the recipe and made more. It’s been a returning staple at our house ever since. My grandmother taught me how to make mead. I still make meads, fruit wines and ciders. One ofmy favourites is dandelion mead. I use dandelions from my garden (it’s a dandelion and clover paradise), honey from a local beekeeper, a few citrus slices and wine yeast. I make some sparkling and some still. Some of it gets finished dry, some semi-sweet and some dessert wine sweet. For the jelly and the mead, as picking the petals is a tedious job, I pick a few flowers each day and puck them petals apart. I store them in little freezer bags until I have enough for a batch of mead, wine or jelly. Every Spring, we treat ourselves to dandelion salad. It’s delicious and apparently, extremely healthy. Last but not least, here’s a bit of linguistic trivia for you. In some parts of the French speaking world, this plant is actually called ‘dents de lion’ rather than ‘pissenlit’. And the name ‘pissenlit’ actually refers to the plant’s diuretic properties. I thought you’d enjoy this little tidbit of completely useless trivia. 😊 The floof looks really pretty!
Dandelions are the most perfect flower. They feed the bees. We can eat them in jellies and salads, etc. We can drink them in dandelion wine. Children can pick them freely. And yes you can dye wool with them.
I'm here for real life projects and am grateful that you take us along. Jelly not settling does happen quite often. And dandelion honey is delicious. I'm interested to join you in a new attempt on a project, that would be so interesting!
@@MijnWoldenit might have needed more acid to change the ph balance. I have made pepper jelly and it won't set without the added acid or the seeds being left in.
I love the fact that you put up videos of "failed" attempts, please don't stop doing that. It is very refreshing, also gives a realistic image off what one can expect for ones own first attempt. The internet makes everything look super easy these days and you can really feel like a failure if you don't get it right first time around. When the truth is that almost all beginnings are hard and full of failed attempts, so hurray for you and showing us your hones learning process.
The jagged leaves are the lion's teeth! I do agree that Dandy Lion is a much better name for them with their bright floof of mane-like blossom. I think it's funny that one of the thoughts I had upon seeing your video title was "Well you're in Europe so dandelions are actually good for YOUR bees, over in America people are trying to say that they're good for bees but our native bees don't get much from the introduced plant!" I still like dandelions, of course, I think they rise to the top of "flowers you can eat and dye with" solely because of their puffball "make a wish" seeds that are so fun to play with.
Hi Jente, I hope you and Dries are both OK xx ❣️❣️❣️ Thankyou so much for sharing this fun video podcast. I didn't know till recently that Dandelions are edible, I know we drink Dandelion and Burdock. it seems that whatever language we speak that the Dandelions means the same thing in every country. Dandelion Jelly is also a new thing to me. I'm not sure that I'd eat the fliwers themselves though. Your Hand Dyed Fibre looked a pale yellow, but looked quite pretty. I'd love to see you do a Revenge video podcast, it sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Happy Dandelion Jelly Making,, Dying and Spinning Fibre Friend 🔆🔆🌾🎉🎡🐑🥰 Take care and stay safe Lots of love and Big Hugs to you both Jen xxxx ❤️❤️❤️❤️🫂🫂🫂🫂🐕 PS I'd hide your Special Cheese away from your Giant 🧈🧈🍞
I'm also a huge dandelion fan. Every part of the plant has value, and they're such cheery little friends, popping up everywhere. One of the things I love about your channel is the fact that you keep it real. No one has to be perfect, and much of the joy of creating comes from experiment and play. Even if you didn't make jelly, you have syrup. If you like wine, add a little to some Moscato, if not, try some seltzer. Both are yummy.
❤️ I too love your authenticity and humor! Also just dove into the world of supported spindles because of you hahaha ok well - your spinning on the castle wall using a shell… just loved that! But also think it might be very nice to try & very transportable! 😁😊🎉🥳🤩 Stay yourself! You brighten up this corner of the internet & inspire!
Perfection is overrated. I love your content! So thankful you have been willing to put yourself out there for us to walk the path with you! Thank you so much.
Watching you point at the pot of dandelion flowers and say "that looks done" while thinking you hadn't cooked it for long enough then you having issues with it setting. Feeling like a smug old grandma with all the secret knowledge rn
Sorry, but this video arrived to me as I had just come home from beginning the battle with my neighbors’ dandelions I’ve been tasked with carrying out this summer. So my grudge will not be budged.
You could battle dandelions _and_ use them for dyes, jellies, wine, salads, etc, etc. In some ways that might make the battle easier, it turns a chore into collecting free stuff.
We love dandelions here. I let them grow and thrive in our gardens. I can never get the jam consistency right so i make dandelion syrup/honey instead lol. We use the leaves sauted in a little butter and garlic but ive not used the root myself yet. Also I feed all parts to my tortoises and my bunny. Spend half my mornings every day out foraging goodies for us all 😅 Love them. They are so sunny and happy 😁 Love your video content always x
Just want to say, your Lumme sweater completely influenced my to make my own Lumme. I have the yarn in purple and brown all lined up and ready as soon as I finish my current cardigan project. This whole video made me itch to cast it on right this second though because yours looks so lovely!
I was wondering when the pectin question would hit you! I'd definitely be up for some Revenge Projects! Fresh dandelions are great if you have small birds. Basically, other than the root, they enjoy all the different parts of the plant and it is a good additional source of fresh food for them. They still need their birdseed and so on. What we noticed was that picking one or two plants almost every day out of a dandelion-infested lawn resulted in a dandelion-free lawn in about 4 - 5 years. After that we had to start dandelion hunting further afield. [There are lots of other options for the bees in Adelaide, South Australia.] When it comes to pectin, if you are going to use a citrus source, the majority of the pectin is in the white pith and even the seeds. The white pith tastes nasty but a good way of using it is to put the white pith, the seeds and even the "casings" that enclose each of the segments into a muslin bag (or a piece of fine cotton or linen fabric tied tightly). That way you get the pectin but you don't get bitter bits or bits with an unpleasant texture in your jelly. Remove bag before decanting the jelly. Since you're using the pith, pips and casings for pectin and not flavour, you could use any citrus that you can get hold of. The best citrus for pectin is very fresh and the fruit has not been in some sort of long life storage or sprayed with wax to make it look shiny or whatever. For people in South Australia: you might be able to adapt this recipe for Salvation Jane flowers. Salvation Jane has that name because the sheep were able to eat it when they were short of grass and it kept them alive. The flowers are safe to eat. By contrast, DO NOT attempt to make jelly with sour sobs. You might be able to make an interesting dye with sour sobs - but that's definitely a _do not use your kitchen pots or pans_ dyeing project.
Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. I just love to watch your videos; you make everything so much fun! I will definitely look out for your revenge videos. It’s all learning, right?
I was overjoyed that this particular cheese is low in lactose, because it was a heartbreak to learn I was lactose intolerant. ''so that means no more oud Brugge?''🥺
@@MijnWolden I haven't tried your particular cheese but really want to! I've been eating Leerdammer on veggie burgers and sandwiches as a lactose free substitute. Do you have regular cheddar/milk/yoghurt over there that has lactase enzyme added to make it lactose free? That's most commonly in my fridge but I miss the cheese variety of my regular dairy eating days. (I'm in England).
@Bean_Box_Knitting yes! Lactose free milk is better with cereal tbh, but making sauces with it is a weird balance because it gets too sweet real quick.
i love your videos so much. i wait each week for you to come on! i love dandelions! our yard is full of them. i cant wait to get at them. i did make a lemonade/dandelion drink. it was so good. thank u for being you!
I smile real big when I see you have a new video! I'm now very very tempted to do some dandelion dyeing. I have 16 oz of undyed roving.... PS yes! Love watching you have fun and playing with materials and not being a perfectionist. :) I like your videos very much.
This was fun to watch, i just dyed wool with dandelions yesterday. My family was giving me a hard time, so i told them I was making dandelion soup, then they saw me put polypay wool in the pot and the had a big protest 😂. I accidentally let the pot boil, for quite some time 😮 but it turned out beautiful. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Such a good lesson at the end... I'm generally a fast learner so that has become what I expect: to be immediately perfect at something that I do for the first time. Which is of course not a healthy or achieveable thing to strive towards... So here's to imperfection and fooling around!
I just wanted to say that I love the way your brain works. Your honesty, intelligence and self-awareness are joyous. Plus of course you are right imo, dandelions are brilliant in countless ways. To honour them I've actually designed a few knitting patterns based on the tissue structure of a dandelion root :).
I love everything about this video and your adventures/experiments! 😄I was pretty indignant as a child when I first learned that dandelions are called pis‐en‐lit in French, but my teacher explained that it's because they're a diuretic (ie. the tea might make you wet the bed!). That pretty much won me over. Now I think it's a pretty darned practical and even witchy name -- diuretic flowers! (Though I still think your defence is pretty great🥰)
dandelions truly are a great flower! And I loved what you said at the end of the video. I truly enjoyed watching you make the jelly even if it didn't 100% turn out the way you wanted. Great video!
If dandelions were difficult to grow, they'd be so expensive! I love them 💛💛💛 I picked some seed puffs, wrapped them in a tissue last time in Europe, must have thought it was a used one, and did what you do with those... I just wanted some yellow pretties in my courtyard garden... But, for the less flattering names mentioned in the beginning, dandelion leaves are strongly diuretic. Try eating or making tea with some if you put on waterweight just before your period. Young leaves can be eaten in a salad or cooked like baby spinache, but go easy on it or you'll be running to the loo a lot!
According to my mother, when my grandmother would make jelly that didn't set, they just used it as syrup. Not sure if they ever made dandelion jelly, but I'm sure it would taste just as good
:) love the imperfect video. We learn as much when things that go wrong as when things go right! Besides, learning how to rescue a recipe is useful! :) also. Funnier! 😆
Fun fact, it took me a whole 22 years of being alive before I realized that the yellow dandelions and those fluffy flowers, are in fact the same flower.... my parents were very disappointed haha
Thank you. I made an orange marmalade that turned out watery but was the best crepe syrup. I custom spun pet fur mostly but the dandelion dye is so beautiful. Great job.
A friend had a go at dyeing wool with dandelions & she got yellow, I tried and got beige 😂! Had not heard of dandelion jelly, may well try it! Thanks for your videos, they’re great.
I’m nervous about making jam, since I’ve never done it before. However, I have dug up the roots, toasted , and ground them to make a beverage, using a coffee filter. Not bad at all for something dug up out of my backyard. Goes well with honey in a way coffee does not. No bitter, either.
I have made dandelion wine. The separating of the petals was crazy tedious. The other thing we used to do was dredge the flowers in egg and seasoned flour and make savory fritters by pan frying. We ate the greens topped with the warm fritters. So good. I wonder if a drizzle of the dandelion syrup would have been a good counterpoint?!😂 I recently had dandelion greens with special goat cheese in a sandwich. The jelly would have been fantastic there too!
I agree dandelion is gold! in winter a cup of dandeliontea tastes like summer. Adding dandelionsyryp in tea makes it taste buttery. leafs are healty sallad. And did you know you can roast the roots and make " coffe" of it. I want to try that this summer. Thanks for funny and interesting viedos Mijn!
It's that I don't particularly like coffee, because that sounds interesting. (PS. My name is not Mijn, my channel 'mijn wolden' means 'my woolden'. My name is Jente 😉)
@@MijnWolden it really is. I made a small batch like 6 small jars and gave them to friends for feedback and my friend Kris said that would go well on ice cream. And she was right it’s a very heavily scented papa meillard red rose
Dandelions are considered invasive in my home province, (not indigenous to N. America) so the government encourages us to pick as much as possible to reduce their spread. I've never dyed with them but have picked them as food for ducks and geese; they love them! The government has the same policy for other invasive plants like woad, ox-eyed daisy.
@@MijnWolden Yes, woad was introduced from Europe about a 100 years ago to S. Alberta and it has naturalized taking over for several native species of plants so the province encourages people to dig it up when they see it. It is illegal to plant it domestically. The provincial government is very happy dyers harvest the 'wild' woad to help discourage its spread.
I love the colors of your cookerhood (afzuigkap) and fridge!!! Can I get that color in the Netherlands? 😍 Probably should have watched this earlier to gather enough paardenbloemen (dandelions) in bloom. My guinea pigs did enjoy the dandelion leaves today, judging by their enthusiasm they are very tasty 😅
Love it all. I love making rose petal syrup, sooo yummy in my tea. I tried dandelion dye last year and my color was soooo light however Chrysanthemum leaves gave me a beautiful yellow. I think I may try a dandilion syrup though, sounds yummy.
Dear Chaos Goblin ... you are most certainly not stupid, you are very talented, very funny and most important very REAL !! and perfect is NOT real. We have loads of little yellow flowers here on the farm, but, some are dandelions and some are prickly lettuce and some Sow Thistle - and I am very bad at telling the difference. I will try harder this next spring, as I make a lot of jams and jellies and preserves, but the wierder things - today I bottled some Cherry Guavas and last week I made some sweet potatoe jam (quite yummy) and some grenadilla jam and in March I made some Prickly Pear jam (well that was a challenge but also quite tasty) these all end up in gift parcels sent to my family in Johannesburg. And they are not always successful perfect jams ... I must look for some pectin in a box and slap that stuff in my runny bitches 😂😂
I make dandelion liquor, which is good as digestive. Here, dandelions are called Löwenzahn, which literally translates to „lion‘s tooth.“ I guess it refers to the jagged leaves. The young leaves are nice in salad. In the digestive, the bitterness of the whole flower head is wanted, but in the jelly it is not. I like to make jelly from dandelions, but my recipe seems a bit different from yours. Mine calls for apple (= rich in pectin, maybe that’s why I never had a problem with jelly remaining liquid).
Yeah, I afterwards wondered why I didn't substitute the oranges with apples instead. I always have apples somewhere in the house... You live and learn :D
Do you have any crab apple trees in your area? All farms or farmsteads in Canada have at least one crab apple tree. I was curious as to why and found out that is how people in the past made pectin at home. This is something you might want to try in the future.
I am sad we don't have dandolines here in the Himalayas. And i actually don't know much about the plants here you could dye with. We have loads of nettles. I wonder because the buddhist Master Milarepa meditated in caves for several years only eating nettles and is famous for looking green afterwards. So maybe you could dye with it. Any ideas on that? Anyways all antidotes to afflictions are great and i am up for another dandolines challenge. Just don't like the word revenge. Maybe I should try the nettle thing for my podcast. Have a lovely day
Nettles dye, yes! You can get many shades of green depending of the time of year. Oh and nettles themselves are also fiber plants. Sally Pointer has some great videos about nettle textiles.
Late to the party, but I believe they're called "pisbloemen" as they're believed to stimulate kidney function and would help against bladder infections. So they actually are piss flowers!
haha yeahh, I also read that pectin has a heat limit, it will solidify up to a certain temp and duration and then wont jam up passed that threshold, I'm pretty sure that's what my problem was since, like you, I had jelly stuck everywhere on my stove xD
in Australia, we call dandylions "peeyabeds" or... "pee your beds". good to know that we're continuing a long-standing European tradition of slandering the very sunny coloured flowers, even after colonizing a whole other continent and introducing them to the fragile ecosystem here. (I think we might have better reasons to not like them here in Australia than you guys would have in Europe, as invasive species are a disaster here)
@@resourcedragon honestly, one of my friends also grew up in South Australia, and has convinced me whole heartedly that South Australia is basically a whole other planet. for reference, I have lived my whole life between queensland, ACT, New South Wales and Victoria.
