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Post by ronruble on Apr 8, 2014 22:14:22 GMT -5
I am making some of Grandpa’s Dandelion Wine that I found in back of his record keeping book dated 1918. The recipe is for making 10 gallons but I cut it back to just 3 gallons. Picked 10 quarts of dandelion blooms today and that took most of the afternoon. There are approximately 250 blooms per quart, so that equals 2,500 blooms for 3 gallons of wine. I remember mom telling me she did not like picking dandelions for the wine when she was little because they made 20 gallons at a time, my mom and her sister had to do all the picking (about 15,000 blooms for 20 gallons). I’ll post more pictures of the wine making as this goes along.. Recipe found in Grandpa's record keeping book dated 1918 -- Messy job picking dandelions - 10 quarts of blooms in bucket, ready for the next step
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Post by donmattera on Apr 9, 2014 5:48:43 GMT -5
Good luck with the wine. You're lucky to find dandelion flowers everyone in our area uses a lawn service to kill weeds. Even the park and rec service. I tried to pick enough flowers last year and couldn't get close to enough I currently have a peach wine ready to bottle. And a beet wine that taste like a good port Don
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Post by sporko on Apr 9, 2014 8:51:06 GMT -5
Wifey and I have dabbled (a little) in wine... but have never tried dandelion. What would you compare it to for taste? I have not a clue what I would expect.
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Post by cinnabar on Apr 9, 2014 19:05:01 GMT -5
Looks good ron, however nothing remotely green here . I tried Dandelion wine once, not good, had to toss it out., tasted like furniture polish smells. I'll bet this recipe is better. I did just bottle the pear wine and have a small batch of plum and grape that are still working. Beet wine is lovely!!. Have not made any, but years ago tasted it. Was very, very good. I always want to try it every fall , but.... I tend to eat the beets and greens before there are enough to make wine.
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Post by Chuckie on Apr 10, 2014 10:14:31 GMT -5
Looks good ron, however nothing remotely green here . I tried Dandelion wine once, not good, had to toss it out., tasted like furniture polish smells. I'll bet this recipe is better. I too tried to make dandelion wine back in my high school days with a buddy of mine, as it sounded like a 'profitable' venture. Well, ours came out smelling like cooked spinach--which neither of us could stand--so it was pitched! Guess we left too many backs on the dandelions or something. I had NEVER tried it before or since, and that was LONG b4 the internet, so I dunno what all we did wrong! Good luck w/yours, ronruble, and keep us posted how it turns out! CHEERS!! Chuckie
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Post by ronruble on Apr 10, 2014 11:39:29 GMT -5
I don't know how it taste - never made it before. When I put the boiling water with the dandelion blooms it stated to smell like cooked sparrowgrass (which I like) and the color changed to a dark brown. Today I am boiling the juice and it has this nice candy cooking smell which is making me hungry for dark chocolate. I hope this does not turnout like coffee for me – love the smell of coffee but hate the taste. I remember my mom telling me that it needs to set for a year or more before drinking it, so this is spring 2015 wine Staining before boiling and adding sugar.
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Post by sporko on Apr 10, 2014 19:38:48 GMT -5
I remember my mom telling me that it needs to set for a year or more before drinking it, so this is spring 2015 wine I think that's pretty common. We made Zin about a year and a half ago from a kit (the real zin, not that pink junk) and it is really just now coming into drinkable range. We've got a small batch of blueberry and another small batch of blackberry that say a year and a half by the recipe.
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Post by cinnabar on Apr 10, 2014 20:21:11 GMT -5
I find some start to be drinkable at 12-18months old. The blackberry I have made was drinkable in 3-6 months but really good after 12. If you can wait long enough...., that is the trick. Two years and it is all good. Speaking of which, should pop a cork on some different kind ...Rhubarb, Folly, Mulberry perhaps? BTW Ron, how is the stove progressing?
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Post by 58limited on Apr 11, 2014 12:35:41 GMT -5
Well, ours came out smelling like cooked spinach--which neither of us could stand--so it was pitched! Guess we left too many backs on the dandelions or something. CHEERS!! Chuckie I have never made dandelion wine myself but several recipes say to remove as much of the green part as you can to avoid bitterness. Plus if you use citrus peel in the wine, peel them very thinly (zest part only) otherwise the white pith will cause bitterness. I might have to pick a few quarts and make a dandelion mead...
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Post by ronruble on Apr 15, 2014 10:36:09 GMT -5
OOPS.... I may have bitter wine from this. After reading your note I remember my mom saying something about removing the greens. I did remove any stems from the blooms but there are some greens with the blooms The good part is I am making only 3 gallons. - (15 bottles) Tonight is it is going down to 27 degrees, so - in about 2 weeks there should be more dandelions in bloom - make 2nd batch maybe? At this point in time, it stills smells sweet - This batch will go into the ferment bottle Sunday. -
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Post by ronruble on Apr 21, 2014 11:34:30 GMT -5
On day 9 in the bucket the liquid changed color from a blue – brown to a lighter yellow – brown. The smell changed from a sweet candy smell to … something else; not bad smell but not something you would want to eat. Photo – day 10 straining, draining and getting ready to put it into the ferment bottle. PS – side note: Do not pour boiling water into 3 gallon plastic water bottle when cleaning … it’s not pretty
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Post by 58limited on May 25, 2015 10:31:28 GMT -5
Ron,
How did this turn out?
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