HOMEMADE DANDELION WINE

    Austerity measures in the UK mean expensive booze... or something like that, maybe. I dunno... anyway we decided to make some ourselves to save putting our well blagged loan pennies in the hands of Whitehall's greedy felines. Hops 'nd such being another fund sink, flowers seemed a sensible and importantly 'free' source of boozy brilliance. Welcome the Dandelion; tongue tarnishing bitter bastard of childhood exploratory plant noshing sprees.

Here's what we did:

Pick aprox. 2 ltrs of Dandelion heads and give 'em a good proper rinsin' to get rid of any dog piss 'nd ants.

Delicately remove all the green bits (these can be chucked) leaving a nice big bowl of yellow florets.

Cover with 4ltrs of boiling water and leave to soak for 2 days (but no more) stirring occasionally.

Add 1.2kilos of sugar and the zest (but none of the pith) from 4 oranges or lemons(we chose a bit of both and chucked in a little extra lemon for good measure)then boil for 10 minutes. Allow the mixture to stand and cool to room temperature. 

Pour through a fine muslin cloth or sieve into a sterilised brewing vessel, adding the juice from your chosen citrus and a pack of wine yeast.  Pop an air trap in the top and allow it to sit until fermentation had completed and the wine is clear. Finally bottle and rack leaving it to mature for at least 6 months. For best results a year is recommended. 

Sit back and relax comfortably in the knowledge that this time next year you'll be sitting on a deck chair gettin shitted up on flower juice. Fantastic!