Praise for the lowly Dandelion
Every year I reprint this at dandelion time where I live-
The dreaded Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), for which we spend tremendous amounts of weed killer money to eradicate, has been prized over the years for its medicinal and nutritious properties.
In fact, dandelion roots, flowers and "dandelion greens" (leaves) are all edible!
Dandelions are a rich source of vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc. And in traditional medicine, dandelion roots and leaves were used to treat liver problems. Native Americans used dandelion decoctions (liquid made by boiling down the herb in water) to treat kidney disease, swelling, skin problems, heartburn, and stomach upset.
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| Young Dandelion leaves |
• Dandelion roots can be roasted as a coffee-substitute, or boiled and stir-fried as a cooked vegetable.
• Dandelion flowers can be made into a wine.
• Dandelion greens can be boiled, as you would spinach, and served as a vegetable or can be inserted in sandwiches or used as a salad green (it has a little "bite.")
Dandelion greens are high in vitamins A and C, and iron! The French even have a well-known soup called creme de pissenlits (cream of dandelion soup), which is easy to make.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/eating-dandelions.html
from Embracing My Health blog
Boiling them or stir frying them will further reduce their bitterness.
from the Herbwife's Kitchen website
My musings: It makes sense that, at the end of winter, when our ancestors were probably hungry and vitamin deficient, that Nature would see to it that they had a great source of vitamins proliferating all around them! No one had to seed them or turn over the soil...the Dandelions appeared just for the picking!
And today we spend so much money just to make them go away....something is wrong here.
Just make sure to avoid harvesting near roads, since road salt and/or toxins may be present. Likewise, you obviously shouldn't harvest from a lawn where herbicides have been used.
My alpacas LOVE dandelions! And since they are so nutritious, we're happy to give the dandelions to the alpacas. I love that photo of the fields of yellow!
ReplyDeletealpacas probably love the minerals in them, right? I would love to pat an alpaca...
DeleteI remember the dandelions as a child because they were the flowers that I could pick to my hearts content! Handful by handful. And it seems we held them under our chin to see the golden yellow reflect there? I can't remember what it meant? We liked butter? That has faded in my memory. But all weeds are good and bad. We just have to learn to live with them. And hope that puff of wind blows them away from my garden.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely a memory! and I think it was something like you liked butter...so funny.
ReplyDeletemay i blow your dandelion? when i was a little boy, i run to my bro and suddenly i blow this flower in front hs face :D #boom
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ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such an informative post.
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