Dandelion Mead Recipe (Dandelion Wine Made With Honey) (2024)

FAQs

Can honey turn into mead? ›

Mead is made by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with fruits, spices, grains, hops etc. The words 'mead' and 'honey-wine' are often used interchangeably, but some cultures differentiate between the two. The defining characteristic of mead is that the main source of its fermentable sugar comes from honey.

Dandelion wine is a country wine brewed with a combination of citrus fruit, raisins, sugar, water, yeast, and, of course, dandelions. It's floral, slightly sweet, and pours as clear and golden as honey.

From a therapeutic point of view, dandelions and dandelion honey help the liver and kidneys to do their work and keep the bowels in a healthy condition, particularly important to dyspeptics as it does not cause wakefulness.

For centuries, dandelions have been prized for their medicinal qualities, often consumed in the form of dandelion wine or tea to aid in digestion. In New England, there's a long tradition of drinking dandelion wine as an early-spring medicinal tonic.

Use 1.5 to 5 pounds of honey per gallon, depending on your target for residual sweetness and alcohol content. The more honey, the more residual sweetness and the greater potential for a high, final alcohol content.

Mead or honey wine is the oldest alcoholic drinks known to man. It is made from honey and water via fermentation with yeast. It may be still, carbonated, or sparkling; it may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet. Unlike beers and cider, meads (being wines) are drunk in small quantities.

Dandelion might cause allergic reactions, stomach discomfort, diarrhea, or heartburn in some people.

Dandelion wine is made by fermentation of natural sugars in dandelion flowers into alcohol by yeast. The resulting beverage has alcoholic content ranging from 8% to 14% by volume.

Dandelion wine is a medicinal drink. Dandelion flowers are beneficial to digestive health because they aid in the cleansing of the kidneys and liver, and the blossoms include vitamins A, B, C, and D, and also a considerable quantity of potassium.

Dandelion Honey isn't honey that made by bees – technically it's syrup made with sugar and dandelion flowers. However, the consistency, beautiful amber colour, and taste do really resemble honey!

Why is my dandelion honey bitter? ›

Remove the green parts of the dandelions as they can give the honey a slight bitter taste. The easiest way is to pull the petals off whilst holding the base of the flower.

You can use this anywhere you would use regular honey – on toast, drizzled on pancakes, in salad dressings or in tea. If you want to add more interest and complexity to the honey consider adding other fragrant edible flowers in along with the dandelions such as gorse, lavender, rose petals or a little magnolia.

Despite the sugar in the recipe, once fully fermented, the result is a deliciously dry wine. Dandelion wine has been likened to mead, with a hint of honey taste to it. This wine should be served chilled, and although it won't technically spoil, if it is aged too long it may not taste quite as good.

You do need to pick the petals off the flower heads, as the green heads give bitterness to the wine. Put the flowers in a large bowl. Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil. Pour the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly with cloth or plastic wrap.

Not only are dandelion greens safe to eat, but they also provide a range of health benefits. All parts of a dandelion plant are edible, from the top of the yellow flower down to the roots. The green leaves of the dandelion can make a healthy addition to salads, sandwiches, omelets, and more.

Unlike other fermented products, such as fruit and hops, fermented honey does not automatically become alcoholic. If the moisture content is higher, then honey turns into mead. To enjoy fermented honey though, you won't require a helmet or goblet as it has a much lower moisture content than mead.

Beyond sometimes naturally occurring in nature—and good luck on stumbling upon some accidental mead! —humans have refined conventional methods of producing it. A traditional mead is made simply with honey and water.

Pour the water into a stock pot and bring it to a boil to remove chlorine and sterilize the water. Allow the water to come to 160°F. Add the honey and stir until dissolved. (Some recipes call for boiling the honey, which makes for a cleaner, quicker ferment.

Question: If your honey is already crystallized, is that something we can use? Jereme: Yes, actually, that means that it's a good honey to use.