Things You'll Need:
- 350g dandelion flowers
- 5 liters of water
- 10g active dry yeast
- 2.5 kg white sugar
- 2 oranges
- 1 lemon
- 1 Spoonful Ground Ginger
- Plastic tubing
- Cheesecloth/Blotting Paper
- Jug/Demijohn/Fermenting jar
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Step 1
First of all, after gathering the dandelion flowers you should always rinse them thoroughly. Often dandelions are regarded as pests and are usually sprayed with pesticides on public property. Also some places have laws preventing home wine making, so you should check your local laws to make sure that you aren't doing anything illegal.
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Step 2
Boil the dandelion flowers in water for 5 minutes and then leave to stand for a further 5. Make sure that the water is no hotter than about 90 degrees (32*C) as yeast has to be at a cool temperature to prevent it being burned and rendered useless. Next slice and add the lemon and orange, and also add the yeast, ginger and sugar and stir together.
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Step 3
Pour the mixture into a fermenting jar and lock the lid in place. If you cant find a fermenting jar them also a demijohn or regular jug with cheesecloth secured over the top will also work. Now let the mixture sit for about two weeks to ferment in a cool place out of the sun.
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Step 4
After 14 days check the mixture for consistency, clear generally meaning that the fermentation has been completed. Sediment at the bottom of the container is normal, and should be ignored. Siphon the wine out of the fermentation jug using a clean piece of hosepipe or tubing. (tubing can be bought at pet stores for use with aquariums)
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Step 5
Lastly pour the wine through some cheesecloth or blotting paper to remove all of the pith and waste pieces. Now decant the wine into smaller containers and leave to sit for another few days (around a week) and then enjoy. To change the strength of the wine, fermentation times, and the amount of sugar added can be experimented with.
