Dandelion syrup – natural medicine looking like honey, that is good for everything!

     Beautiful yellow flower, dandelion, which has wonderful healing properties - both leaves, flowers and roots.

      My Grandmother, same like her Grandmother, collected its leaves in early spring and added them to salads. My neighbour made a tincture from the root of a dandelion dug out on her lawn. I’m adding it’s fresh young leaves to my smoothies. But most importantly – i make honey - dandelion syrup.

It is delicious in taste, texture and smell, and above all, in color, it closely resembles honey. Hence the common name used for centuries in Poland - dandelion honey.

It has a very wide range of applications, it is simply a mine of vitamins, minerals and substances that support our body in the fight against diseases.

      Dandelion primarily stimulates our immune system and the body's natural defence shields. Thanks to regular consumption, we can be sure that we will quickly overcome an annoying cold or flu. What's more, we probably won't get sick at all when others are struggling with the disease! :)

      It soothes cough and supports our respiratory system in the fight against infections and inflammations (sore throat, cough, bronchitis, laryngitis, hoarseness, pharyngitis and tonsillitis). It lowers cholesterol and blood sugar levels, regulates digestion and improves metabolism.

      It has antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial properties (colds, flu, infections, bacterial infections of our guts), as well as a diuretic, making it easier to fight bladder infections, kidney problems and urolithiasis.

      Cleansing our body of toxins is also facilitated by the substances contained in dandelion. Thanks to it and the vitamin b contained in it, our body, through the liver, more easily and quickly excretes compounds hazardous to health and facilitates cleansing and detoxification of toxin deposits in our body. Moreover, it prevents atherosclerosis and supports the treatment of the liver and gallbladder.

      It is very good for treating anemia (high content of iron, magnet, potassium, silicon) and vitamin deficiency due to the high content of vitamins a, b, c and d. Thanks to tannins (vegetable tannins), it supports and accelerates the wound healing process , has anti-itching and anti-inflammatory properties. Flavonoids reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

      As you can see - a source of greatness straight from nature :)

I prepare such dandelion honey every year in large quantities – sharing with friends and family :) I can't wait for this year's harvest, especially since it's a lot of fun and lovely long walk through the fields.

It is best to add such honey to tea - 1-2 teaspoons. You can also add it to cottage cheese, cakes, desserts or eat it with a spoon :) it then has a preventive effect. However, in times of increased morbidity and weakness of the body – I recommend a 2-3 tablespoon in the morning and also during the day as an addition to tea :)

    Dandelion syrup is quick and easy to make, and the recipe I'm posting here is very old, because I got it from my 80-year-old Grandmother when I was still in high school (that was ages ago xD)

      It's all about collecting dandelion flowers on a sunny day, not after rain - it's all about the pollen, preferably a few nice days. It is also important that flowers have to grow in a place away from busy streets - this way they will not contain harmful substances from exhaust fumes and heavy chemicals.

      Over the years, I’ve noticed that when I collected flowers in different places, I produced different honey. One very thick, dripping with medicinal pollen. Others, however, collected in a more "poor" period or place, produced weaker, lighter honey and with less pollen. And POLLEN is a key fact of this medicine.

Remember to collect these flowers - without a stem, but with a green part at the bottom and a yellow head. Fully unfolded, large. Unfortunately You should count them. Count small flowers differently - if the dandelion is small or gnawed by snails, then 2 flowers = one large one.

Tip: Pick up flowers of dandelion in gloves, it’s making absolute mess with your hands and it’s hard to clean them after!

Ingredients:

• ü  500 pieces of open, healthy dandelion flowers
• ü  3 lemons
• ü  3 liters of mineral clean water (You can use Brita jug with filter or buy bottled water in glass bottle)
• ü  2 kg of birch tree xylitol (If You use sugar in Your diet and kitchen, You can swap xylitol for sugar)

  To make sure we have enough for the whole year, I always collect flowers couple of times during blossoming period, i.e. 1000 flowers and a sufficient amount of the rest of the ingredients :)

After collecting the flowers, place them in a tall pot and leave them outside for 2-3 hours. Let all the black bugs in them have a chance to get out and escape!

After this time, squeeze the juice of 3 lemons onto the flowers. I carefully scrape out the contents of the lemons with a spoon and set the pot aside overnight. Don’t worry about lemon seeds – they can stay there too.

After this time, I’m adding water and bring it to a boil. You have to be careful and watch out, You don’t want it boil too long! When You see bubbles, once it boils, turn on the gas/plate and cook on very low heat for about 10 minutes until it bubbles slightly, like chicken broth.

Set aside for 24 hours.

On the second day, pour off the liquid and squeeze really well the flowers thoroughly. Add xylitol (sugar) to the liquid and cook over low heat for about 1.5 - 2 hours. Pour the hot liquid into jars and close tightly.

Pasteurization is not necessary, but I often do it - I boil jars in water bath - a pot with cloth on the bottom, on which jars stand, and water is poured only to ¼ of their height. Boil for about 10 minutes.

And that's it! :) You have just prepared a medicine for the whole year!

 Good quality dandelion honey contains particles of pollen - this is the source of health!

I also recommend adding young, healthy and fresh dandelion leaves to our salads or smoothies. Below is an example of my favourite smoothie using dandelion leaves and honey.