Ok, I'm trying out my first attempt at making dandelion wine. I have
about three cups already and I know I need at least another 4 more in
order to get one gallon going. Does anyone out there have a fast, easy
way to get the petals out of the pod? I just pinch and twist and pull.
I spent two hours for three cups! I hope this stuff tastes good.

Thanks.

You can attempt to remove the petals if you like, but it is a very
labor intensive process. I made two batches two years ago, one batch
with just the petals and the other made with the whole flower (stem
removed). I thoroughly enjoyed both, but the difference between the
two was slight at best. The wine made with the whole flower was a
little nicer golden color, it had a bit more body and I personally
preferred it over the wine made with just the petals. BTW, both were
Jack Keller recipes.

Paul

Try a pair of scissors. Just trim off the petals. You will not get 100%
but it should be faster.

Ray

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Ok, I'm trying out my first attempt at making dandelion wine. I have
> about three cups already and I know I need at least another 4 more in
> order to get one gallon going. Does anyone out there have a fast, easy
> way to get the petals out of the pod? I just pinch and twist and pull.
> I spent two hours for three cups! I hope this stuff tastes good.
>
> Thanks.
>

wrote:
> You can attempt to remove the petals if you like, but it is a very
> labor intensive process. I made two batches two years ago, one batch
> with just the petals and the other made with the whole flower (stem
> removed). I thoroughly enjoyed both, but the difference between the
> two was slight at best. The wine made with the whole flower was a
> little nicer golden color, it had a bit more body and I personally
> preferred it over the wine made with just the petals. BTW, both were
> Jack Keller recipes.
>
Ditto. The whole flower worked just fine for me.

> Try a pair of scissors. Just trim off the petals. You will not get 100%
> but it should be faster.
>

I haven't made it but a friend made 5 gallons; he used scissor too. It
was unbelievably good. He said it was too much work also but I would
say the end justified the means for once...

Joe

Thanks guys. I ended up getting two quarts to make one gallon. It's a
lot of work and I don't have enough time to do more. We'll see how it
turns out. Figure I'll let it age for a year before I pop one open. I
may just use the grolsh bottles, that way I have more bottles and can
save it longer.

On 21 Apr 2006 02:59:35 -0700, wrote:

>
wrote:
>> You can attempt to remove the petals if you like, but it is a very
>> labor intensive process. I made two batches two years ago, one batch
>> with just the petals and the other made with the whole flower (stem
>> removed). I thoroughly enjoyed both, but the difference between the
>> two was slight at best. The wine made with the whole flower was a
>> little nicer golden color, it had a bit more body and I personally
>> preferred it over the wine made with just the petals. BTW, both were
>> Jack Keller recipes.
>>
>Ditto. The whole flower worked just fine for me.


I agree with Paul and Matt. Trim the stms. I do it as I pick the
flowers. My thumbs stay dyed dark green/brown for a week and hurt
like mad, and the wine is a nice golden color.

My trouble is waiting for clarity.

Just bottled a batch last night (10 bottles) and I am surprised how
much dandelion you taste, even with the lemon/orange as called for in
Jack's recipes.

Greg

Apparently (Jack says) you can trim the base of the flower off or not
trim it off. If you do, the wine is drinkable in a year. If you do
not it will take 3 years. This year I am going to try the untrimmed
version.

this is information taken from Jacks Wine blog BTW,.
Hoss wrote:
> On 21 Apr 2006 02:59:35 -0700, wrote:
>
> >
> wrote:
> >> You can attempt to remove the petals if you like, but it is a very
> >> labor intensive process. I made two batches two years ago, one batch
> >> with just the petals and the other made with the whole flower (stem
> >> removed). I thoroughly enjoyed both, but the difference between the
> >> two was slight at best. The wine made with the whole flower was a
> >> little nicer golden color, it had a bit more body and I personally
> >> preferred it over the wine made with just the petals. BTW, both were
> >> Jack Keller recipes.
> >>
> >Ditto. The whole flower worked just fine for me.
>
>
> I agree with Paul and Matt. Trim the stms. I do it as I pick the
> flowers. My thumbs stay dyed dark green/brown for a week and hurt
> like mad, and the wine is a nice golden color.
>
> My trouble is waiting for clarity.
>
> Just bottled a batch last night (10 bottles) and I am surprised how
> much dandelion you taste, even with the lemon/orange as called for in
> Jack's recipes.
>
> Greg

On 22 Apr 2006 08:23:30 -0700, "Joe Sallustio" >
wrote:

>
>> Try a pair of scissors. Just trim off the petals. You will not get 100%
>> but it should be faster.
>>
>
>I haven't made it but a friend made 5 gallons; he used scissor too. It
>was unbelievably good. He said it was too much work also but I would
>say the end justified the means for once...
>
>Joe

Dandelion is a "hard labor" wine. I made 6 gallons of petal-only and
6 gallons of whole-blossom last year. My two daughters each prefer
different wines. The "whole blosson" wines generally place better in
our State Fair wine tastings.


Later,
A. J. Rawls
Anchorage, Alaska, USA