Dandelion tincture in our family is considered a special drink, as my mother says – from a limited collection.
It gets on the table only on special occasions, since the miracle tastes so good, but you can cook it only from May to July, because the main character of this masterpiece, the field dandelion, has a short flowering period.
Now I will share with you not only the most successful recipe for such a tincture, but also several life hacks for collecting dandelions.
The story was sent by blog reader Vyacheslav.
Ingredients and equipment
To prepare 3 liters of dandelion tincture, we need the following ingredients:
- dandelion petals – 250 g (you can buy dry ones in the store);
- granulated sugar – 250 g;
- moonshine or distillate of at least 40% strength – 3 l;
Of the equipment, we only need a 3-liter jar and a filtering device that is convenient for you: it can be a funnel, a strainer, and gauze.
Let’s immediately calculate the cost of a wonderful “solar” tincture:
- 250 g of granulated sugar costs about 10 rubles;
- 1 liter of moonshine from 150 rubles;
- 1 liter of pure distillate from 250 rubles.
It is difficult to determine the cost of dandelions, since they are usually not sold anywhere, and in summer the flowers we need can be collected in any clearing.
As a result, 1 liter of dandelion tincture will cost us from 160 to 260 rubles, and 3 liters, respectively, from 480 to 780 rubles, depending on the choice of alcohol base.
The cooking process
Before proceeding with the preparation of the tincture itself, we need to get the main ingredient – dandelions. And if you have never dealt with this capricious flower, you cannot do without my friendly advice:
- Collecting, sorting, and in general, carrying out any manipulations with dandelions is possible only with gloves. Not only is the juice of the stems of this flower very bitter in taste, it is also very difficult to wash and wash.
- Dandelions can only be collected in the morning, when the flower cup is as open as possible.
- Don’t pick dandelions after rain. Wet petals do not suit us.
- Beware of bees, during this period they are just harvesting for their “tinctures”.
cut dandelion petals
When the dandelions are collected, you can start preparing the tincture:
- Flowers must be sorted out and carefully cut off the entire green part with scissors. We only need petals, which should not be washed before cooking.
- Petals and sugar must be laid in a jar in layers so that there is sugar in the first and last layer. Ideally, calculate the ingredients for 5 or 7 layers.
We close the jar and leave for 3-4 weeks in a dark, dry place. During this time, we should get a burnt caramel-colored syrup. This syrup must be filtered, dandelions squeezed and mixed with prepared alcohol. The resulting mixture is removed in the pantry for 3 months.
Result
After 3 months, our dandelion tincture can be removed from the bins and started tasting.
The drink should have an amber-honey color, and if you strain the syrup well, then no impurities and sediment will be observed.
Dandelion tincture.
The tincture has a wonderful floral aroma and a mild, moderately sweet taste. There should be some astringency, characteristic bitterness of dandelions. But it will be very delicate due to the fact that we did not add stems to the infusion. Amazing summer bouquet!
How to diversify the taste
In my recipe, I used only the main ingredient – dandelions. But for lovers of different flavors, the tincture recipe can be diversified with the following components:
- ginger root;
- orange peel;
- Melissa;
- mint;
- currant leaves.
To give the drink additional flavor notes without interrupting the main bouquet, it is enough to add 10-15 g of the “secret” ingredient.
What would you add to a dandelion tincture?