Dandelion Power

Don't Mow Them. Use Them.

By Mariah Baca

Over the years, herbicide companies, perhaps with a bit of initial nudging from the 19th century horticulturalist Andrew Jackson Downing, have trained us to think that dandelions — those yellow, flowering, resilient, and adaptable plants — are to be dreaded, that a well-kept yard is one that’s devoid of dandelions.

Don’t believe it. Dandelions — their leaves, flowers and roots — have been cherished as power-packed food and herb by humanity for much of recorded history.

I have my own favorite use for dandelions (Taraxacum officinale). It involves activating their benefits by infusing the dried flowers into oil and vinegar to bake, cook or simply rub all over my skin.

Mariah Baca is Berkshire Botanical Garden’s manager of Membership and Development Operations. Follow her on Instagram for more herbal recipes @mariahsrepository

Try out this recipe to unlock the power of Tarataxum officinale:

What you will need:

Basket

Dandelions

Olive oil

Vinegar

Canning jars

Optional — dehydrator, cloth

Instructions

1 Grab your basket and perhaps a friend, and head outside to pick dandelions. The more, the better.

2 Pop the tops of the dandelion stem off and place them in a dehydrator or simply on a cotton cloth in a sunny place. Allow flowers to completely dry.

Note: Don’t discard the leaves! They make an excellent addition to a salad.

3 Fill a bell jar halfway with dried dandelion flowers, then fill the jar completely with vinegar or olive oil (or an oil of your choice!)

4 Practice patience — wait three to six weeks for your infusion to be ready. Every other day, give the jars a little shake.

5 After three to six weeks, strain your pedals out of the vinegar or oil with cheesecloth (not required — we like the added texture of the petals).

6 Enjoy! Use the infused olive oil as you normally would when cooking or baking — or for skin care! Or use the vinegar to make a dressing for your salad.