I have heard they are very healthy for people to eat in salads. Are
they OK to use as long as they have not gone to flower yet? My
Grandmother used to boil them and I did not like them that way,
sprinkled with vinegar. How do you harvest and prepare them? TIA

On Sun, 10 May 2009 16:33:01 -0700 (PDT), pamjd >
wrote:

>I have heard they are very healthy for people to eat in salads.

Gives a new meaning to BITTER. Too many other choices for the
palette.

On Sun, 10 May 2009 16:33:01 -0700 (PDT), pamjd wrote:

> I have heard they are very healthy for people to eat in salads. Are
> they OK to use as long as they have not gone to flower yet? My
> Grandmother used to boil them and I did not like them that way,
> sprinkled with vinegar. How do you harvest and prepare them? TIA

We used to have dandeions as weeds. I used to pop the tops off and
this milky whikte stuff would seep out. Don't get your fingers any
where near you mouth after that since it's the bitterest stuff on
earth. I can't imagine eating them.

I tried a leaf at the supermarket a few years ago. Same thing.

-sw

On May 10, 6:33*pm, pamjd > wrote:
> I have heard they are very healthy for people to eat in salads. *Are
> they OK to use as long as they have not gone to flower yet? *My
> Grandmother used to boil them and I did not like them that way,
> sprinkled with vinegar. *How do you harvest and prepare them? TIA

You should only eat dandelions (or any weed/natural plant) if you KNOW
it has not been treated with pesticides. Dandelion greens are only
edible very early - they get too bitter fast! You need the first
tender little leaves. People also use dandelion roots to make a
coffee-like drink. Think of chicory coffee like the cafe au lait they
serve at the French Market in New Orleans. Also edible are dandelion
"crowns" - the part just barely under the soil where the leaves turn
into roots. Fresh un-sprayed blossoms are used to make wine or
jelly. Baby leaves may be used raw in salads or cooked like spinach.
Lynn in Fargo
would rather have purslane or lamb's quarters