How do you eat them?

I find them much too bitter to deal with.
I was thinking of marinating/kneading them the way I do kale: with lemon juice garlic etc.

any other suggestions?

thanks!

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

shaine - I usually pick fresh dandelion greens, they're wonderful veggies(super nutritious) that are composed of a ridiculous amounts of inulin(the precursor of insulin).
-It is true that they are rather bitter, but I find the taste usually pleasant.
But pungent herbs& spices and a dressing/sauce w/a higher fat content masks the bitterness quite well.


> Myspace: [www.myspace.com]
> Blog: [chefdemocha.blogspot.com]

oh man, you better stay away from my endive and raddichio salad then! i love the bitter foods.

i can't really taste dandelion when it's mixed in with other greens. have you tried just a bit sprinkled in a salad?

thanks mocha.

coco-I could do that. But when I get a bunch, I guess I figure i'd like to eat it as the main ingredient--since there's so much. I have trouble only using some of something...I'm all or nothing I guess.

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

Your method sounds fine Shaine. The above suggestions are good too. You can always sprinkle with a few nuts....and just go to town.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Hi Shaine,

I make a dandelion/apple 'smoothie' or juice: 100 g dandelion + 1 Fuji/Gala/Braeburn apple + 1/2 cup water to blend.

Best Wishes.

This may not help you if you choose not to accept it, but it is a basic principle of some traditional food/healing systems (including Chinese) that one should have some of each of the basic flavors in the diet, including "bitter". In fact, many, perhaps most, of the foods that are best for the liver and for detoxing are bitter foods.

If you have to, go ahead and find ways to combine or cover-up the bitter tastes so that you get your share of bitter foods in the diet, but it might be just as well to teach yourself to like them, or at least to dislike them less. Eating them regularly (starting with small amounts and gradually increasing them) should accomplish this.

All tastes --except those which are clearly wrong for us (and even some of those, like garlic for people with high toxicity)-- are "acquired tastes" to a large degree, so why not acquire a taste for bitter foods, too?!

Just offering another viewpoint for you to consider. Perfectly understandable if you choose not to adopt this approach.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2007 12:01PM by Arkay.

I like that idea, arkay.

I've been eating in such a way, where I only eat what appeals to me--looking for real needs in my body. I suppose that looking for a way to mask the bitterness doesn't fall into that mode. I'll incorporate your suggestion of learning to like the bitter flavor, and if that doesn't work, I'll not buy dandelion again; it's so simple, but sometimes my mind wants everything be fixable.

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

i have to blurt this out

dandelions truly are one of my most FAVORITE foods

in salads and also as juice

it is good

do whatever to make them an enjoyable experience for you

i think dandelions are the "veggies of the God(esses)"

the lowly " make a wish" herb

is so appealing to me

i eat both green and red dandelions

sometimes i just eat them plain

sometimes i make it in a salad

sometimes i juice them

sometimes i just worship them LOL

i just had an idea pop into my head

making a little crown ( like those people did during the first olympic games in athens?)

they put a crown of ( oh i think laurel? leaves to the victor?) oh i don't know

but it sounded good for a moment

I like them for their great nutrition, but mostly juiced them.Yesterday I tried again to marinate a bunch and eat it as it is and it was not fun. I just ate it because I never throw out anything lol.Marinating works great with spinach, but for some reason not with dandelion....I like stuff when it gets all soggy

I have been eating the red dandilion and really like it I just chop it up real small and mix it with lettuce and dressing of oil and vineger. I noticed it tasts real bitter alone but with other greens it is o.k. I also really went through the arugula craze this summer so bad that next year I want my whole yard to be arugula and dandilion. would'nt that be yummey?

I honestly can't stand dandelion greens on their own or in a salad. The only way I consume them is mixed in to my green smoothies in very large amounts but masked with something sweet like banana or mango.

I miss my juicer.

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

Dandelion greens are, in my experienced opinion, a powerful food. A few tender young leaves in your salad will probably pack more punch than a whole head of domestic lettuce. The older leaves are more palatable when minced fine and added to a salad, dressing, sauce, atop other foods, or green smoothie. The roots and flower buds are also potent. I don't think it does dandelion justice to be the "headliner" in a salad; it likes to be mingled with other veggies.
Dandelion has been my staunch ally. I believe it helped me sail smoothly though menopause without any interference from doctors.

I say green smoothies. or juice with pineapple

Hey.. can anyone please tell me if the nutrient value of false dandelion is comparable to the normal stuff ?

What is a "false dandelion"?

Mocha are you sure that inulin (which is a soluble fiber known to be very good for probiotic bacterial growth) is a precursor to insulin (which is a hormone)? Intuitively, I don't think they have much to do with each other.

I think that the season or what stage of their growth affects the dandelion's flavor. i would try to research that. Sorry i do not have more info.

A lot of bitter leaves are milder when they are younger. When I pick dandelion leaves out of my yard I usually look for the smaller, younger ones. That said, I rarely pick enough to be more than a minor ingredient in a salad, or sometimes just a few leaves to nibble on, so I don't get the concentrated punch of bitterness that you would buying a large bunch of them.

Veganlife :
false dandelion looks very similar to normal except it produces multipull flower heads per stalk insted of one as with dandelion. Its also got slightly hairy leaves.
So does anyone know if these plants are prety much the same in nutrition. Does anyone know what other weeds or common garden plants are good to eat ?

I've seen a bit of stuff claiming that comfry has a toxin in it and is not good for digestion but I'm inclined to believe that this is probably a typical act of sabotage against the reputation of a natural product because of its geniune effectiveness, competition with drugs and lack of marketability. Does anyone know if this is true ?

How about garden sorrel ?

sorrel YES! lemony. comfrey, erm, dried as a medicinal tea, sure. to eat the leaves? not sure but i vote no. it's so furry!