The first year I cultivated my garden, I decided to sow a few calendula between rows of red cabbage. The patch looked beautiful with its combination of thick violet cabbage heads and the bright orange calendula flowers floating above them like tiny suns. Not knowing how to use the flowers, I just let them wither and harvested only the cabbage. I don’t know what I had decided to plant on that patch the following year. What I do know, however, is that the only thing that grew there was calendula. They spread like the proverbial wildfire and it was time to get them under control (failed!) and learn how to use them (check!). This post shows you my five favourite uses for calendula.
Ingredients and benefits of calendula
Calendula is often used against skin problems like small wounds, burns, cracks, bruises and inflammation. Folk medicine also uses it for stomach and bowel disorders, emotional stress and injuries. Calendula contains flavonoids, triterpenes and saponines. Fat-soluble faradioles are mainly responsible for the wound-healing effects.
Among others, calendula shows antibacterial, decongestant, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal as well as antispasmodic effects. Furthermore, it supports the formation of new connective tissue.
With its brightly warm and sunny orange nature, calendula heals not only physical wounds but is also said to have a soothing effect on an emotional level.
All recommendations in this post are based on my experience. I’m not a doctor and thus cannot be held liable for any adverse effects in connection with the use of the following recipes.
Five uses for calendula
#1 Calendula oil
This is a classic and so easily made. All you need is
1 glass jar with lid Calendula flowers (fresh or dry) Olive oil
Pluck the petals from the calendula flowers and fill them loosely into the glass jar until it’s roughly full. Fill the jar up with the olive oil and close the lid. Put the jar onto a windowsill and let it rest for 10 – 14 days. Shake it every day.
After that time, strain the oil through a sieve into a second jar. Press the petals out thoroughly to remove every drop of oil. Close the jar and store the oil in a cool, dark and dry place for up to one year.
If you’re pressed for time, you can make a warm extraction. For that purpose, put the calendula petals and the oil in a jar and place that you place in a hot water bath. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes at no more than 60 °C while occasionally stirring. Let it cool and repeat the process. Then filter the mixture through a sieve and let it cool down.
Application
Calendula oil can be used as an alternative to calendula salve (see below) to support wound healing. It’s great for small injuries, inflamed skin, mastitis or nailbed infections. You can make compresses with gauze presses soaked with calendula oil. However, you should never apply it on deep or open wounds. Calendula oil is also an ingredient for calendula salve and calendula soap.
#2 Calendula salve
As I said before, calendula is THE herb for the skin. It soothes your skin and heals small wounds and irritations. Number 2 of my favourite uses for calendula is calendula salve. You’ll only need
250 ml calendula oil 25 g beeswax
Slightly warm the oil in a pot. Add the beeswax and let it melt until all is liquid. Make sure that the oil temperature won’t rise above 60 °C. Fill the mixture into small jars, close the lid tightly and let it cool. Store at a cool and dry place for up to one year.
Application
Use calendula salve as a soothing hand cream for working hands or to support the healing of irritations or small wounds. If you work in the garden and are a bit like me, you’ll always have scratches, skin irritations (hello stinging nettles) and overall rough hands. This is when calendula salve can do wonders for your skin. It soothes immediately and minor injuries seem to heal almost overnight!
#3 Calendula tincture
A tincture is a herbal extract in alcohol. For this calendula tincture, we need:
1 glass jar with lid Calendula flowers (fresh or dried) Alcohol (45 %)
Pluck the petals from the calendula flowers and fill them loosely into the glass jar until it’s roughly full. Fill the jar with alcohol (45 %) and close the lid. Put the jar in a warm place at room temperature but without direct sunlight and let it rest for 7 days. Shake it every day.
Strain the tincture through a sieve and press the petals out thoroughly. Fill the tincture into dark jars (e.g. amber glasses) and store at a cool, dark and dry place for up to one year.
Application
Like calendula oil and salve, you can use calendula tincture to support wound healing or prevent inflammation. However, tincture must be diluted. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons of calendula tincture to 1/4 l of distilled or boiled water. Soak a gauze pad in it and fix it with a dressing on the wound in question. Large, open wounds should be shown to a doctor.
Furthermore, calendula tincture may be used as a mouthwash in case of gum inflammation or other inflammation in the mouth. Add 1 tablespoon of calendula tincture to a glass of warm water and rinse your mouth with it.
#4 Calendula tea
This is the easiest way to preserve calendula flowers. You just pluck the petals off and let them dry. This is best carried out in a dry place (who would’ve thought it) without direct sunlight but enough air circulation.
When the petals are dry, store them in a glass jar or tea box.
To make calendula tea, put 1 – 2 teaspoons of dried calendula petals into a cup and pour hot water over them. Let it sit for 10 minutes before use.
Application
Calendula is often added to tea blends against stomach and bowel disorders or menstruation problems.
I often add a teaspoon of dried calendula to our morning tea blend. Apart from soothing the belly it always – at least in my opinion – adds a ray of sunlight to the day.
Calendula tea can also be used for washing out wounds or as a wound compress. Soak a gauze pad with calendula tea, put it onto a wound or irritation and fix it with a dressing. It can also be used as a wound pad for eyes, bruises, varicose veins or haemorrhoids. Breastfeeding mothers can use calendula compresses to soothe their irritated breasts. And, last but not least, you can rinse your mouth with calendula tea whenever you have an inflammation in the mouth or throat area.
#5 Calendula soap
This is a bit more complex to make and you should know about the basic processes of soapmaking. If you do make the effort, however, you’ll create a very mild soap that’s even suitable for baby’s skin care. For this easy beginner’s soap, you’ll need
700 g calendula oil (see above) 200 g coconut oil 100 g sunflower oil 133 g sodium hydroxide 330 g calendula tea 1 tbsp dried calendula petals
Calendula soap always reminds us of how wonderful summer is – even when it’s dark and cold outside. The special thing here is that we use calendula not only as a soap additive but also as a colouring agent. The calendula tea as the basis for the sodium hydroxide makes a beautiful yellow colouring of the soap. That way, we won’t have to use colouring additives like clays or soap pigments.
Calendula is a wonderful plant for body and soul and I hope I’ve inspired you to try out some of the easy recipes above to preserve it.
Fancy strawberry jam with a twist? Try these yummy recipes for strawberry jam with mint, woodruff or kiwi. Four ingredients and about 30 minutes of your time are all you need to be sent to seventh jam heaven.
Strawberry Mint Jam
My first recipe is for strawberry mint jam. The sweetness of the strawberries in combination with the fresh mint leaves makes a refreshing spread for a summer breakfast!
Hint: The mint flavour will develop over time, so don’t use more than the recommended 3 – 4 stems. Otherwise, the jam could taste a bit like toothpaste…
Yield: 6 – 8 jars à 200 ml
Ingredients:
1 kg strawberries 500 g preserving sugar 3 – 4 stems of mint lemon juice
Instructions:
1. Sterilize your jars and lids by washing them with boiling water. Let them cool on a rack and dry them out.
2. Wash the strawberries, cut off the green leaves and let them dry in a colander.
3. Remove the mint leaves from the stems and cut them into very fine pieces.
4. Next, put the strawberries into a high pot and blend them with a hand blender.
5. Add the mint leaves, preserving sugar and lemon juice and bring it all to the boil under constant stirring.
6. Let it boil for 5 minutes while constantly stirring. If foam forms, you can remove it if you like. It’s a purely optical matter and doesn’t impact storage or flavour.
7. Test if the jam sets. When it’s ready, fill it into the jars and close the lid tightly. Place the jars upside down onto a towel for about 5 – 10 minutes. This will help to build a vacuum within the jars.
8. Let the jars cool down and store them in a cool, dark place. Or you just eat the jam up at once after cooling 😉.
Strawberry Woodruff Jam
Remember the woodruff syrup we made in spring? Besides adding it to your drinks, it’s also great in strawberry jam. The herbal and slightly earthy flavour of the woodruff matches very well with the sweetness of the strawberries.
Yield: 10 – 12 jars à 200 ml
Ingredients:
1 kg strawberries 500 ml woodruff syrup gelling agent 3:1 lemon juice
Instructions:
1. Sterilize your jars and lids by washing them with boiling water. Let them cool on a rack and dry them out.
2. Wash the strawberries, cut off the green leaves and let them dry in a colander.
3. Next, put the strawberries into a high pot and blend them with a hand blender.
4. Add the woodruff syrup, gelling agent and lemon juice and bring it all to the boil under constant stirring.
5. Let it boil for 5 minutes while constantly stirring. If foam forms, you can remove it if you like. It’s a purely optical matter and doesn’t impact storage or flavour.
6. Test if the jam sets. When it’s ready, fill it into the jars and close the lid tightly. Place the jars upside down onto a towel for about 5 – 10 minutes. This will help to build a vacuum within the jars.
7. Let the jars cool down and store them in a cool, dark place.
Strawberry Kiwi Jam
I would never have come across this recipe if I hadn’t been presented with a (very) large box of kiwis one day. The boys, of course, ate lots of them but there were still so many left that I had to find ways to preserve them. A day before the kiwis came into my life, I had been harvesting strawberries. So I decided it would be worth a try to combine these two fruits. I haven’t regretted it!
Yield: 6 – 8 jars á 200 ml
Ingredients:
500 g strawberries 500 g kiwis 500 g preserving sugar 2:1 lemon juice
Instructions:
1. Sterilize your jars and lids by washing them with boiling water. Let them cool on a rack and dry them out.
2. Wash the strawberries, cut off the green leaves and let them dry in a colander.
3. Peel the kiwis and chop them roughly.
4. Next, put the strawberries and kiwis into a high pot and blend them with a hand blender.
5. Add the preserving sugar and lemon juice and bring it all to the boil under constant stirring.
6. Let it boil for 5 minutes while constantly stirring. If foam forms, you can remove it if you like. It’s a purely optical matter and doesn’t impact storage or flavour.
7. Test if the jam sets. When it’s ready, fill it into the jars and close the lid tightly. Place the jars upside down onto a towel for about 5 – 10 minutes. This will help to build a vacuum within the jars.
8. Let the jars cool down and store them in a cool, dark place.
Strawberries! These sweet, bright red fruits are always a highlight in desserts and cakes. And above all in homemade classic strawberry jam! Enjoy it on freshly baked rolls and you have the ultimate indulgence for breakfast. You can easily capture the sweet taste of summer in a jar by making a classic strawberry jam. This easy recipe only requires three ingredients and about 30 minutes of your time. And when it has cooled down, you can use it for breakfast, in pancakes or even as a cake filling.
Why you should make your own classic strawberry jam
You’ll see: it’s so easy to cook your own strawberry jam and the result is a thousand times better than store-bought products.
Home-made strawberry jam is fresher and more flavourful, especially when you use fully ripe fruits from your own garden or a local market.
You can tailor the recipe precisely to your preferences. You can decide how sweet you want it – in this recipe, we’ll use preserving sugar 2:1 for less sweetness – and add other flavours like mint or woodruff.
You have full control over the sugar content and completely do without dubious additives.
Cooking jam makes you happy and you’ll always have a great gift for family and friends ready at hand.
Three ingredients for classic strawberry jam
Only three ingredients are necessary for a classic strawberry jam:
Only pick strawberries that are fully ripe and don’t show any white spots. They should be bright red and have a sweet smell. If they don’t smell at all, they most probably won’t taste at all either.
For sweet fruits like strawberries, I recommend using preserving sugar 2:1. That way, the jam won’t be too sweet and the characteristic flavour of the strawberries is more pronounced.
Lemon juice supports the gelation of fruits low in acid like strawberries. Furthermore, it helps to keep the red colour and adds a nice, fresh flavour to your jam.
My top tips for making strawberry jam
Sterilized jars will prolong the shelf life of your jam. Wash your jars and lids with boiling water and let them dry on a rack.
Cook the jam slowly. That way you make sure that it gelates evenly and doesn’t burn. Stir constantly to dissolve all the sugar.
Always test if the jam sets. Put a spoonful of jam onto a cold plate. If the jam runs it’ll need 1 – 2 minutes further boiling. If it sets on the plate, it’s ready to be filled in jars.
Fill the jam immediately into the sterilized jars and close the lid tightly. That way you prevent the formation of mould and prolong the shelf life of your jam.
Store the jars in a cool and dark place to keep the freshness and taste of your jam.
Classic strawberry jam
Yield: 6 – 8 jars à 200 ml
Ingredients:
1 kg strawberries 500g preserving sugar 2:1 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions:
Sterilize your jars and lids by washing them with boiling water. Let them cool on a rack and dry them out.
Wash the strawberries, cut off the green leaves and let them dry in a colander.
Next, put the strawberries into a high pot and blend them with a hand blender.
Add the preserving sugar and lemon juice and bring it all to the boil under constant stirring.
Let it boil for 5 minutes while constantly stirring. If foam forms, you can remove it if you like. It’s a purely optical matter and doesn’t impact storage or flavour.
Test if the jam sets. When it’s ready, fill it into the jars and close the lid tightly. Place the jars upside down onto a towel for about 5 – 10 minutes. This will help to build a vacuum within the jars.
Let the jars cool down and store them in a cool and dark place. Or you just eat the jam up at once after cooling.
For quite a long time, I only ate asparagus with sauce hollandaise and young potatoes, topped with some bacon if I felt adventurous. Not because I like asparagus best that way but because I didn’t know it in any other way. So, when a short while ago, I tasted raw white asparagus for the first time I was thrilled by its fresh taste of young shoots. These days, whenever I buy asparagus, I have to force my willpower not to eat the whole bunch just like that. Spruce tips have a lemony, slightly dry taste and go well with the crisp asparagus. You can forage the spruce tips in April and May. The younger they are, the more delicate they taste. Alas, nothing is forever, and the season for both, asparagus and spruce tips is very short. What would be more logical than preserving both for when they won’t be available? And what better way than fermenting to keep the asparagus crisp and all the nutrients alive. The best thing is: you won’t need many ingredients for this simple recipe for fermented asparagus with spruce tips.
Fermented asparagus with spruce tips
Ingredients
Shelf life: several months
500 g white asparagus
salt
water
1 handful of spruce tips
Instructions
1. Peel the white asparagus and cut it into pieces of 4 – 5 cm (about 2 inches).
2. Mix the asparagus and the spruce tips with 30 g salt in a bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. Put the asparagus and spruce tips into glasses and fill them up with a salt solution of 3 % (30 g salt on 1 litre of water). Put a weight on top of the asparagus to keep everything well under the brine.
4. Close the lid and let the vegetables ferment at a dark and warm place for about one week.
5. When the taste is to your liking, store the asparagus in the fridge.
Both, asparagus and spruce tips are such great foods to experiment with. For example, have you tried out this recipe for tarte flambée with asparagus and walnuts? It’s delicious. Or get over here and read how you can make a very easy homemade spruce tip honey and preserve the flavour of a spring forest. I’m not done with trying out new recipes either. Stay tuned!
Every spring, the firs and spruces grow new, light green tips filled with the fresh scent of the forest. These tender shoots taste surprisingly citrusy – and with a little patience, you can transform them into a delicious golden-rosy syrup known as spruce tip honey.
I have been harvesting spruce tips every spring for years, and this recipe has become my favourite way to preserve their flavour.
This simple recipe captures the flavour of a spring forest and preserves it for the entire year.
Spruce Tip Honey at a Glance
🌲 Best harvest time: April–May
⏱ Active cooking time: about 2–3 hours
🫙 Yield: approx. 1.2 kg
🌿 Difficulty: Easy, but slow
🍯 Taste: citrusy, resinous, honey-like syrup
📅 Shelf life: at least 1 year
Is Spruce Tip Honey Real Honey?
Homemade spruce tip honey is not real honey; that’s only made by bees. It is, however, a vegan alternative made from foraged spruce tips and sugar.
The advantage is that we can benefit from all the valuable ingredients in the young spruce tips.
Fir and spruce tips contain a high amount of vitamin C and essential oils that are said to be expectorant, antibacterial and soothing.
What Are Spruce Tips?
Spruce tips are the young shoots that grow on the ends of spruce tree twigs. They start growing in April through May and can be identified by their light green colour, which distinguishes them from the older, dark green needles.
Spruce tips contain essential oils, but not as much as the older needles and the wood. They taste slightly citrusy and sweet, and you can eat them directly from the tree.
When to Forage Spruce Tips
Note on foraging:
Only take what you can classify without any doubts. Foraging and using foraged plants is at your own risk. Remember that some plants are toxic.
Children, pregnant women, people under medication and those with chronic diseases should additionally consult with their medical practitioner before consuming foraged plants.
Never forage near busy roads.
Depending on the weather, you can forage spruce tips from mid-April until the end of May, just as long as they are still light green. When they get darker and their colour adjusts to that of the older needles, their content of essential oils decreases, and they become harder and more resinous.
To ensure that we don’t weaken the trees, we only pick 2 – 3 spruce tips per twig – we don’t want to steal all the new needles from the tree. Even better, pick the tips from different trees.
By the way, this is a great project for children, especially as the outcome will be something sweet. 😊
How to Identify Spruce Tips Safely
Spruces (Picea) are common needle trees in Mid- and Northern Europe and Northern Asia, as well as in large parts of North America and Canada.
Their needles grow regularly around the twig (in contrast to firs that grow their needles vertically). When you touch a spruce twig, the needles will prick (again in contrast to firs, which are soft to the touch).
Spruce cones hang down from the twig, whereas fir cones grow upwards.
If you’re completely new to the topic of trees, there’s a slight risk of confusing spruce (or fir) with yew trees, which are highly toxic. To avoid that, check the needles (yews’ are very round, soft and dark green to almost black). Also, yews don’t have cones but red berries, and they grow bulbous instead of conical.
Spruce tips have been traditionally used in Northern and Central European herbal traditions for syrups, cough remedies, and spring tonics.
Let’s dive into how to make spruce tip honey at home.
Spruce Tip Honey
Ingredients
Yield: about 1,2 kg spruce tip honey
Shelf life: at least one year
300 g spruce tips
1 litre of water
approx. 750 g sugar
1 organic lemon (optional)
How to Know When the Honey is Ready
If you’ve never made spruce tip honey before, it can be a bit tricky to know when it’s ready to fill into jars. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about…
Too early, and it stays runny and will drip off your toast; too late, and it becomes too thick to spread, and you’ve got to hammer it out of the jar.
However, making spruce tip honey is less about timing and more about learning to read the syrup.
There are a few indicators you can observe to check when the honey is ready for filling:
The syrup’s colour turns to gold or rosy
The simmering mixture develops a fine bubbling foam on the surface
The syrup covers the back of a spoon and slowly drips off
When you pour some drops on a cold (!) plate, it thickens to a honey-like quality
The honey becomes even thicker when it’s cool, so it’s better to fill it sooner rather than later.
Before You Start: Helpful Tips
Once you get the knack of it, spruce tip honey is an easy-to-make staple. Just observe these tips and avoid the following mistakes:
Forage “clean” plants, that means get into the forest and never forage near busy roads.
Harvest only soft, light-green tips. Older ones don’t taste as good and are too thick to release essential oils.
Don’t skip the soaking, cooking and resting time. Each step releases flavour and essential oils.
Stay near the syrup when you boil it and stir it regularly so that it doesn’t scorch.
Check your honey for readiness and fill it immediately.
2. Wash the spruce tips and put them into a pot. Pour the water over them and cover them with a plate so that they stay beneath the surface level. Let them rest there for about 12 hours (best overnight). During soaking, the spruce tips release pollen and thus flavour into the water.
3. Cut the lemon into slices and add them to the water and spruce tips.
4. Bring the mixture to the boil and keep it at a low simmer for about 45 minutes. The water will turn cloudy; that’s perfectly normal, it’ll turn transparent again during cooking.
This simmering process slowly releases the essential oils.
5. Let the brew cool down and let it rest for another few hours. I usually let it rest overnight, which is perfectly fine.
6. Now, strain the mixture through a fine sieve or cheesecloth off the spruce tips and collect the liquid. Press the tips out thoroughly.
7. Measure the amount of liquid you gathered and add the same amount of sugar.
8. Bring the mixture to the boil while constantly stirring. Make sure that the sugar has dissolved completely. Let it simmer over a low flame for about 1-2 hours (mine took 1.5 hours). Make sure you stir the mixture from time to time so that it doesn’t scorch.
9. When the mixture starts to form a bubbly foam and gets slightly thicker, check if it’s ready (see “How to know when the honey is ready”) and fill it into the jars.
10. Securely close the twist-off lids and let the honey cool down.
For a printable version with exact measurements, use the recipe card below.
Spruce Tip Honey
Capture the essence of a spring forest with this delicate spruce tip honey that transforms young evergreen shoots into liquid gold with bright, citrusy notes.
Sterilise the jars and lids you want to use for your homemade spruce tip honey.
Wash the spruce tips and put them into a pot. Pour the water over them and cover them with a plate so that they stay beneath the surface level. Let them rest there for about 12 hours (best overnight).
Cut the lemon into slices and add them to the water and spruce tips.
Bring the mixture to the boil and keep it at a low simmer for about 45 minutes. The water will turn cloudy.
Let the brew cool down and let it rest for another few hours or overnight.
Now, strain the mixture through a fine sieve or cheesecloth off the spruce tips and collect the liquid. Press the tips out thoroughly.
Measure the amount of liquid you gathered and add the same amount of sugar.
Bring the mixture to the boil while constantly stirring. Make sure that the sugar has dissolved completely. Let it simmer over a low flame for about 1-2 hours (mine took 1.5 hours) and stir it regularly.
When the mixture starts to form a fine bubbling foam and gets slightly thicker, check if it's ready (see "How to know when the honey is ready") and fill it into the jars.
Securely close the twist-off lids and let the honey cool down.
Notes
Stored in a cool and dark location, spruce tip honey can be stored for at least one year. Once open, store the jar in the pantry and consume it within several months.
How to Store Homemade Spruce Tip Honey
Once the honey is cool, store the jars in a cool and dark place (like a basement or pantry). There it’ll last for at least one year. I usually store mine in the pantry, where it easily lasts until the next spring harvest.
Boiled sugar syrups can last significantly longer, but, honestly, I can’t tell you from experience how long, as we always eat it up well before the first year’s up.
Once a jar is opened, you can keep it in the pantry (no need for refrigeration). It can crystallise when it stays open for too long, but that’s only a matter of aesthetics and won’t alter the taste.
Uses for Spruce Tip Honey
Spruce tip honey is a wonderful vegan alternative to bees’ honey, and it can be used exactly like that.
Spread it on a warm buttered slice of bread and enjoy it for breakfast.
Sweeten your tea with a teaspoon of spruce tip honey. Its essential oils are said to help fight off colds.
Instead of sugar, add homemade spruce tip honey to salad dressings
Glaze roasted vegetables with spruce tip honey.
Use it in marinades for meat and fish. It adds a more complex array of flavours.
No — spruce tip honey is not made by bees. It is a thick herbal syrup made by extracting flavour from young spruce tips with water and sugar. Because of its colour, texture, and sweetness, it can be used much like traditional honey.
2. When is the best time to harvest spruce tips?
Spruce tips can usually be foraged from April to late May, depending on the weather and altitude. Harvest them when they are still soft, bright green, and easy to pinch off. Once they darken and become firm, they develop a stronger resinous flavour.
3. How do I know if I picked the right tree?
True spruce trees have:
sharp needles growing individually from the branch
needles that roll easily between your fingers
hanging cones (if present)
Always identify trees with certainty before harvesting, as some evergreen species are toxic.
4. How long does spruce tip honey last?
When poured hot into clean jars and sealed properly, spruce tip honey keeps for at least one year in a cool, dark place. After opening, store it in the pantry and use it within several months.
5. Why is my spruce tip honey too runny?
The syrup usually thickens as it cools. If it remains too thin, it likely needs more simmering time to reduce the liquid. You can gently reheat it and simmer a little longer until it coats the back of a spoon.
6. Can I reduce the amount of sugar?
Sugar is essential for preservation and texture. Reducing it significantly may shorten shelf life and result in a thinner syrup. If you prefer a less sweet version, make a smaller batch and store it refrigerated.
7. What can I use spruce tip honey for?
Spruce tip honey is wonderfully versatile. Try it:
in tea or warm water
drizzled over yoghurt or porridge
in salad dressings and marinades
as a glaze for vegetables or cheese
as a soothing syrup during the cold season
Spruce Tip Honey – a Cheap Evergreen Staple for Your Pantry
We gardeners, homesteaders, cooks and bakers always try to make the most of all we can harvest. It’s only natural, then, that we want to preserve the flavour of each season to use it all year round.
Making spruce tip honey is more than a recipe — it is a way of bottling spring itself. Long after the fresh green tips disappear from the trees, their bright forest flavour remains in every spoonful.
And whenever you flavour your morning toast or yoghurt with homemade spruce tip honey, when you glaze an array of roasted vegetables with it or when you stir it into your tea on a cold winter evening, you’ll not only remember the wonderful time in spring but also bite into the concentrated flavour of the forest.
For more information about preserving, you can visit my preserving site, and if you’re also interested in gardening, you might want to look at my gardening hub.
A meadow full of blooming dandelions looks like the sun is shining from the ground upwards. It’s such a pretty sight! Thinking about the lifeforce and vitality of dandelions, however, I have seen gardeners go crazy: no matter how often you cut them off, they’ll always get back. Even if you try to pull out their roots and not get every last bit out, they’ll be right here again. And once they start to develop those pretty little seeds, you know you’re doomed.
Instead of fighting against those little bursts of sunshine, however, we can use them for our health and palates! A wonderful way to preserve not only the taste but also the health benefits of dandelions is by making a “honey” out of the dandelion flowers.
In my garden, there are rarely any dandelions. I’ve eaten them all. It’s still lovely to watch the look of horror passing over people’s faces when they watch me eating a dandelion flower. Ah, the little pleasures in life… Anyway, on the adjoining meadow there are numerous dandelion flowers every spring and believe it or not, I’m grateful for that. Where would I else get the flowers for a sweet and tasty dandelion honey?
Dandelion honey – Recipe
Yield: 5 to 6 glasses (ca. 120 ml)
Ingredients:
about 500 g dandelion flowers (about 4 hands full)
1,5 l water
1 kg sugar
juice of one lemon
Instructions:
1. After you’ve gathered the dandelion flowers, put them into a bowl or flatly onto a tray and put them outside for about an hour. All the insects, especially those little black beetles will go away. Wash the flowers carefully and put them into a large pot.
Freshly picked dandelion flowers. As you see, I’ve also added some daisies.
2. Fill the water into the pot and press the flowers down into the water so that they are covered by it. Let them sit for two hours.
3. Bring the water with the flowers to the boil. Boil rapidly for 20 seconds, remove the pot from the heat and let it sit overnight (12 – 24 hours).
4. The next day, remove the flowers with a slotted spoon and ladle them into a cheesecloth. Press them out thoroughly, every drop counts.
5. Add the sugar and lemon juice to the dandelion brew and bring it to a boil under constant stirring. Make sure the sugar dissolves completely, otherwise it may set at the base of the pot and burn.
6. Let the syrup simmer without a lid for about two hours. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool down for about half an hour (or completely if you have more urgent things to do.
7. Bring the syrup back to a boil and let it simmer again while stirring it from time to time. Do not leave the pot for long. When bubbles start to form that will not dissolve when you stir, the time to pour the thickened “honey” into jars has come. Even if it seems to be too liquid, don’t worry. It’ll thicken up when it has cooled down.
When the dandelion honey starts to look like that, it’s ready to be filled into jars.
Determining the right time to fill the jars can be tricky but when you’ve made some “honeys”, you’ll get the experience. If you’ve filled the honey too soon, it’ll stay a bit too liquid to spread onto your bread. In that case, just put the stuff back into a pot and let it simmer a bit longer. If you’ve waited too long, however, the honey may get a slightly burned taste and become too thick, sometimes even solid. In that case, the only thing you can do is throw off the whole batch (good luck with removing it from the jars). There is no chance of making a too-thick honey liquid again.
Dandelion honey: Tasting
Let the jars sit overnight until they’ve fully cooled down. Your sirup will now have a wonderful brown colour and a honey-like texture. Try it on some buttered bread or a braided yeast bun. It’s sweet, tastes a bit like a spring flower meadow and very similar to real honey.
This is a great way to not only get rid of unwanted weeds but also preserve them at next to no cost. Adding to that, it’s totally easy! You only have to watch out for the right time to fill the honey in jars (remember: better too soon than too late).
And when you open one of these jars next winter and thickly spread the honey onto your buttered bread, it will certainly bring back the sunshine to you.
