As soon as the first dandelions bloom and the young fir cones are just visible, it's time for a special wild-harvested bounty. This syrupy ‘honey’ is made from two plants you'll often find just by the wayside: the dandelion and the fir tree. Perfect for a cheese board, stirred into yoghurt, or spread on a pancake. Wild-harvesting expert Katja Wezel of wilderlust.nl show me how to make it!
Vegan pine cone and dandelion honey
For ease, we call this wild-foraged recipe ‘honey’, but no bees are involved. You make this vegan syrup from pine cones and dandelions, and it tastes delicious over sweet or savoury dishes and can even be diluted with water and drunk as lemonade! Ooh la la... a super idea for a wild-foraged mocktail or cocktail then! The combination of pine and dandelion might sound a bit unusual, but it works surprisingly well. The young pine cones are still small, soft, and green when you pick them in the spring. Their flavour is slightly sweet, resinous, and a bit citrusy, as if you're putting the forest in a jar. They give the honey an earthy, spicy undertone that complements the floral notes of the dandelion beautifully.
The bright yellow flowers are sometimes wrongly dismissed as weeds, but they are bursting with nectar and flavour. And they're incredibly versatile: earlier we already made vegan dandelion honey and Homemade dandelion lemonade Pine. In this recipe, they work together to create a soft, sunny syrup with a surprisingly deep flavour. And as a bonus, it's also healthy: pine acts as a soothing agent for coughs, and dandelion supports your digestion.
YOU MAY ALSO FIND THIS INTERESTING: Making pine needle oil, delicious with Italian dishes and salads. You can also make this in spring from fresh pine needles.
Recipe: Dandelion-Pine Honey
Kitchenware
- Large pot with lid
- fine sieve or cheesecloth
- Clean pot(s) with lid
Ingredients
- 50 g dandelions Just the yellow petals, without stalk and calyx
- 10 small young pine cones (stalk-less)
- 250 g unrefined cane sugar
- 250 ml water
- 2 3 slices of organic lemon
Instructions
- Pick the dandelions in a clean spot, preferably on a sunny morning as they have the most flavour then. Do not wash them, to preserve nectar and pollen. Remove the green calyx underneath the flower for a milder taste.
- Put the petals in a pan, add water until they are just covered and bring to the boil.
- Remove the pan from the heat as soon as it boils. Let the mixture infuse with a lid for 24 hours.
- Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth or sieve, collecting the liquid in a pan and squeezing well.
- Add sugar and lemon slices. Heat the mixture over a low heat, uncovered, so that it slowly thickens. Do not let it boil, just simmer gently.
- Has the syrup almost reached the desired thickness? If so, add the pine kernels and let them simmer gently for another 20 minutes.
- Pour the honey into clean (!) jars, screw on the lids and leave them to cool upside down. Clean glass jars and bottles thoroughly? First, pour boiling water over them (don't forget the lid) and then place the jar/bottle in an oven at 100°C for ten minutes.
Notes
Neat game picking
Cooking with pine needles, twigs and apples is wonderful to do, but don't forget: foraging is officially forbidden in the Netherlands and is often only tolerated. In some places stricter rules apply, or it is absolutely not allowed. And you are also not allowed to pick certain species. Therefore, always pick with respect for nature: only for personal use, never take more than you need, and leave enough for animals, the tree itself, and other nature lovers. Want to know more about what to look out for? Here is a handy overview of the game picking rules.
Would you also like to go on the road with Katja? Check out her website wilderlust.nl with all the information about its wild-picking walks and courses.
More wild foraging ideas for spring
- Also see: make loose butter.
- Also see: Making elderflower cordial.
- Also see: Wild garlic pesto with ground elder.
Photo credits: Wilderlust (pine cones), Nicola Barts, Pexels (pot of honey), thegreenlist.nl (dandelion).
