How to Make Dandelion Jelly
Delicious dandelion jelly is one of the first flower jellies you can make in the spring. It brings all the sweetness of the season, is super easy to make, and is the perfect topper for a variety of baked goods and breakfasts.
Servings: 2 8-ounce jars
Equipment
- 1 sieve
- 1 large jar
- 1 medium saucepan
- 2 8-ounce canning jars with bands and lids
- 1 canning pot and jar lifter tongs optional
Ingredients
Dandelion Tea
- 2 cups dandelion petals
- 2 1/4 cups water
Dandelion Jelly
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp powdered pectin
- 2 cups organic raw sugar
Instructions
Dandelion Tea
- Bring 2 1/4 cups of water to boil.
- Place flowers into a heat-safe jar. Pour boiling water over flowers, stir, and let sit for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, move jar to fridge and let set about 20 hours. After 24 hours of steeping, strain the flowers out of the tea using a fine strainer. This should yield about 2 cups of dandelion tea.
Dandelion Jelly
- Add dandelion tea to a medium pot and bring to a boil.
- Add lemon juice and stir. Add pectin and stir. Boil for one minute.
- Add sugar to the tea mixture. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly, and then remove the pot from heat.
- Working quickly, ladle the jelly into boiled jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top of each.
- Wipe down the tops of each jar and secure the lids with rings and allow jars to cool then place in fridge.
Canning Instructions (Optional)
- Fill a canning pot or other large, deep pot with water and bring it to a boil. The pot needs to be deep enough so that the jars are completely submerged. I recommend using a wire rack in the pot to keep your jars safe and elevated.
- Using jar lifter tongs, place the sealed, filled jars onto the rack at the bottom of the pot so they're completely submerged. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove the jars and allow to cool for 12 to 24 hours before moving to storage.
- Sealed jars can be stored in the pantry for one year.
Notes
- Double or triple the recipe, if you can. This recipe only makes two 8-ounce jars of jelly. If you have enough dandelions (and the time to collect them all), feel free to double or triple the recipe to make canning the jars worth your time.
- Canning isn’t required. If you’d rather make a small batch, don’t feel obligated to can the jars. As long as you keep the jelly in the fridge, it will last about 3 weeks.
- You may need a filter. If a fine sieve still allows small debris into your finished tea, try running it through a coffee or nut milk filter. This should give you a cleaner product.
- Pick your sugar. Using raw sugar adds a bit of dark coloration to the final jelly (as you can see from my photos. If you want a brighter yellow jelly, you can use white sugar. Other sugar types and alternative sweeteners can work, but you’ll have to experiment with the amounts.