Cooking with Dandelion Greens: Eat Your Weeds

Typically, the last thing people will think when they see dandelions spring up in their yard each year is "Oh good, I can add those to my salad tonight," but the truth is, you can actually do that. Eating wild dandelion greens is a popular European culinary activity, but it hasn't caught on very well in the United States. This article will help you learn how to select, harvest and use wild dandelion greens in your cooking instead of being mad at them in your yard.

Eating Dandelion Greens: When to Harvest

Baby dandelion greens are far more tender and mild than mature dandelion greens, so it is best to harvest them before they get too big. If the greens are shorter than 4-5 inches, they are considered baby dandelions, and you should harvest them then. When you wait a little longer and they get out of hand, let them keep growing for a bit and harvest them when they get to 8 inches or longer, and follow the cooking instructions below for mature dandelion greens.

Eating Dandelion Greens: Health and Storage

If you suspect pesticides have been used in your yard, aside from those you use in your own garden and know are okay to eat, you should not eat the dandelion greens. If they are not covered in pesticides, bring them in and wash them thoroughly. You will want to pat them dry with a towel before storing them in a plastic bag in the fridge. Baby dandelion greens only stay fresh a day or two, but mature greens will be okay for up to a week.

Eating Dandelion Greens: Cooking Baby Dandelions

Baby dandelion greens are typically mild enough to eat raw, and they will add a bit of a bite to salads, with a flavor similar to arugula. If you are brave, you can even make a salad with only dandelion greens, although you must be warned that it is quite strong. A little bit of vinaigrette, some tomato chunks, and maybe even croutons will make a great dandelion greens salad.

If you prefer your greens hot, you can braise them similar to how you would cook raw spinach. Just chop them up and sauté them with a little bit of garlic and onion. Wilted baby dandelion greens are also delicious, and to do that, just don't cook them as long.

Eating Dandelion Greens: Cooking Mature Dandelions

With the bigger mature dandelion greens, you will want to blanch them to cut their flavor, which can be very spicy. Cook the greens for about 5 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water, and then proceed with using them as you might use cooked spinach.

Eating Dandelion Greens: Be Adventurous

Lastly, do remember that your dandelion greens are weeds, so you don't need to worry about wasting them. If you have an idea that you are aching to try, go ahead and cook them, and see how it tastes. You would have thrown the weeds away anyway, so it's no loss at all to you!