Spring is here, buds are bursting open everywhere and enveloping the world in a beguiling scent. A wonderful time of the year for all epicureans – unless the pollen bothers you. The fragrant products made by preserving and indulgence expert Daniela Posern are completely allergen-free. The ingredients for it are on every corner, the preparation is what you can call “meditative”.
Dandelion Honey/Dandelion Syrup
No bees had to toil for our dandelion honey, which is not real honey at all, but collecting and plucking the flowers is a lot of hard work. In terms of taste, however, it is always a vegan alternative to honey and can also be used.
For about 5 small glasses you need:
- approx. 250 g dandelion flowers without stem
- 1 kg of sugar
- 1 liter of water
- 1 Bio-Orange
- 1 Bio-Zitrone
Collect flowers on a sunny day, as far away from traffic as possible, shaking off any creepy-crawlies. Pluck the petals from the green parts of the flower. Cook with the water and the sliced orange for about 10 minutes. Then cover the broth and let it steep for 24 hours. Strain the contents of the pot through a cheesecloth, then bring them to the boil together with the sugar and lemon juice. The liquid should be boiled down to about half. Important: Check consistency from time to time. If you put 1 tsp on a cold plate and you can draw a dividing line, it’s done. Now only fill the hot liquid into sterilized glasses.
lilac syrup
Everything goes a little faster with the syrup made from lilac blossoms, and the result is still flowery, spring-like and fresh and gives every sparkling wine and every soda that certain something.
For approx. 5 bottles of 200 ml each you need:
- ca. 6 Fliederdolden
- 500 grams of sugar
- 1 liter of water
- 1 packet of citric acid powder
- 1 Bio-Zitrone
Do not wash lilacs, just shake them off lightly to drive away animal guests. Pluck the blossoms from the stalks into a sealable jar or pot, pour in water, add sliced lemon and citric acid. Allow the mixture to infuse for at least 2 days in a cool environment. Then strain/squeeze the mixture through cheesecloth or a very fine sieve. Now just boil the stock with the sugar until it has dissolved. From there into sterilized bottles. Have fun imitating!
