Dandelion Wine

You will need

• Dandelion petals (green bases removed), lightly packed1 L
• Sugar1.3 kg
• Raisins, chopped250 g
• Oranges and lemons, juice of1 each
• Waterto 4.5 L
• White wine yeast1 sachet
• Yeast nutrient1 tsp

Picking it at the right moment

• Dandelion

  Pick fully open, flat, bright flowers on a sunny morning; they close up in cloud and toward evening.

Method

1. 1

   Sanitise. Pull the yellow petals from the green bases — the green is bitter, and this is fiddly but decides the flavour.

2. 2

   Pour 2 L of boiling water over the petals and leave, covered, for two days, stirring once a day. Do not soak longer or it turns rank.

3. 3

   Strain onto the sugar, chopped raisins and citrus juice; stir until dissolved and top to 4.5 L.

4. 4

   When cool, add the yeast AND a proper measure of nutrient. This is the lesson: a flower or vegetable wine has almost no natural nourishment for the yeast, unlike grapes, so without added nutrient the ferment sticks halfway and smells of drains. Feed the yeast and it finishes clean.

5. 5

   Ferment out under airlock, rack off the sediment, and again a month later.

6. 6

   Bottle clear. A pale, honeyed country wine; keep a year.