Dandelion Wine

Dandelions are out in force at the moment, so why not benefit from them and make yourself some wine. There are so many of them that there will still be plenty of little rays of sunshine left to brighten your day, or not, depending on where they are growing!

Best picked in the morning, in sunshine. It will take you about half an hour but all that bending will be good for the waistline.

Ingredients

Pick enough heads so that the petals loosely fill a gallon container

4.5 litres of water
1.5kg sugar
Zest and juice of 4 lemons
500g raisins, chopped or squashed by putting in a carrier bag and pounding, or 200ml can of white grape juice concentrate
1 sachet of white wine yeast
Yeast nutrient


Hold the base of the head of the flower and snip the petals off. You will get sticky fingers!
Boil the water and pour over the petals, cover and leave for a couple of days, giving the mixture an occasional stir.
Pour the mixture into a large saucepan and add the lemon zest (try not to include pith as that can make it bitter).  Bring to the boil then stir in the sugar until dissolved. Continue to boil for five minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and the crushed raisins or grape juice concentrate.
Pour the mix into a clean fermenting bucket and cover until cool, then add the yeast and yeast nutrient and cover once again. If your fermentation bucket has a lid, still cover it with a cloth to make sure fruit flies can't enter it. 
Ferment for three or four days then transfer into a demijohn using a sterilised sieve and funnel. Fit a bubble trap and allow to ferment for a couple of months. Rack off into a fresh demijohn, leave it until clear then bottle. Enjoy.