Dandelion liqueur is remembered for its yellow tint, sweet floral taste with subtle honey notes and a light aroma of flowers, complemented by tones of mint and lemon.
It requires fresh, freshly picked dandelion flowers. It is advisable to harvest raw materials in dry weather in the morning, when the buds are fully open.
Attention! It is very important to use only the yellow part of the flower, as the green stalk and stem are very bitter. The easiest way to separate the flowers is with a knife or razor blade.
Ingredients:
- dandelion flowers – 1 half-liter jar;
- sugar – 750 gram;
- water – 2 liters;
- lemon – 1 piece (large);
- fresh sprigs of mint or lemon balm – 2-3 pieces;
- raisin sourdough or wine yeast – for 3 liters of must.
Mint (melissa) and lemon zest enrich the aroma, while lemon juice stabilizes the acidity of the must, which improves fermentation. If instead of wine yeast or sourdough you use ordinary dry or pressed bakery yeast, then instead of flower liqueur you will get mash with characteristic alcohol tones.
Dandelion liqueur recipe
1. If there is no wine yeast, prepare a starter from raisins 3-4 days before working with flowers. You can just add unwashed raisins (the source of wild grape yeast), but there is no guarantee that the must will ferment, so the starter culture is more reliable.
2. Bring the water to a boil, add all the sugar, mix, boil the syrup for 5 minutes on fire, removing the foam.
3. Place dandelion flowers in an enameled pan, pour boiling sugar syrup over. Stir, cover, cool to room temperature.
4. Scald the lemon with boiling water, then rinse in running water and wipe dry to remove the preservative. Remove the zest from the lemon – the yellow part of the skin without white pulp (very bitter). Rinse mint or lemon balm in water.
5. Squeeze lemon juice into the syrup that has cooled to room temperature, add zest and sprigs of mint (melissa). Add wine yeast or sourdough. Mix.
6. Bandage the neck of the pot with gauze (from insects), transfer the dandelion must to a dark place with a stable temperature of 18-28 ° C. Leave for 2 days. Stir every 8-12 hours, drowning the floating petals in the liquid. Without stirring, the wort can turn sour.
After 6-12 hours from the moment the starter or yeast is added, signs of fermentation should appear: foam, hiss and a slight sour smell.
7. Strain the wort through 2-3 layers of gauze. Press the cake to dryness (no longer needed).
8. Pour the liquid part into the fermentation tank, filling it to a maximum of 80% of the volume to leave room for foam and carbon dioxide. Install a water seal of any design on the neck, you can even use a medical glove with a hole in your finger (pierce with a needle).
9. Transfer the container to a dark place (or cover with a thick cloth) at a temperature of 20-28 °C. Leave for 25-45 days until the end of fermentation: the water seal will stop gurgling (the glove will deflate) and the liquor will become lighter.
10. Drain the finished dandelion liqueur from the sediment into bottles or other storage containers. You can sweeten it first to taste. Seal tightly, transfer to a refrigerator or cellar for maturation. Leave for at least 2-3 months to improve the taste (preferably 5-6). Approximately once every 30 days, the drink can be filtered from sediment.
The strength of the dandelion liqueur is 8-12% by volume, the shelf life in the refrigerator or cellar is up to 2 years.
