Dandelion Flower Jam
from New Zealand Gardener Magazine special edition "Homegrown"

Warning, you need to have lots of patience or hire a dandelion picking pro (such as your young daughter - they are great at picking dandelions). It takes a lot of dandelion petals to fill 2 cups. Dandelion Jam tastes yummy. Just slightly floral and lemony, not at all bitter.

2 cups dandelion petals
juice and zest of one lemon
2 cups boiling water
3 cups sugar
1/2 packet of powdered pectin

Pick off the dandelion petals, avoiding the green bits of the stalk as they are bitter. Steep along with the lemon zest in the boiling water overnight. Strain through muslin cloth to squeeze out as much of the flavour as possible. Discard the zest and petals.

Boil up the dandelion infusion with the lemon juice and sugar, then add the pectin and boil for 10 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and pour into sterilised jars and store in the fridge for up to a month.

I tested mine after 10 minutes to see if it would set but it still seemed quite runny so I added a bit more pectin and boiled a bit more. In the end I think I over cooked it as the sugar started to caramalise. If I'd waited much longer I think I could have had dandelion toffee - which doesn't actually sound too bad.