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Flowers and seeds / Pickled in vinegar

Pickled dandelion buds

Dandelion buds pickled with coriander and mustard seeds, to use in place of capers. From Theresa Baumgärtner’s book Frühlingserwachen.

Recipe author: Theresa Baumgärtner · ORF · Frühlingserwachen

Time
Brief cooking + chilling
Makes
1 small batch (1 handful of buds)
Season and ingredients
Unopened buds of common dandelion
Method
Vinegar pickling
Jump to the instructions ↓Ingredients and their stories ↓Download printable PDF
Pickled dandelion buds · Serving suggestion
Serving suggestion

Storage

Keep in a clean, closed jar in the fridge.

Instructions

Download printable PDF

Recipe card to download and print

0 / 4 steps completed

  1. Prepare the buds

    Rinse the buds and drain well.

  2. Briefly cook

    Bring the water, vinegar and seasonings to the boil in a small saucepan. Add the buds and boil for 10–20 seconds.

  3. Fill the jars

    Immediately lift out the buds and put into small screw-top jars. Pour over the hot pickling liquid and close the lids.

  4. Cool and refrigerate

    Allow the jars to cool, then refrigerate.

Tips

Notes from Fermentarnia

Pick only positively identified dandelions from an area free of pesticides and pollution.

This recipe uses vinegar for pickling; the buds are not fermented.

How to serve

Serve on buttered crispbread or add to a salad.

Ingredients / history / science

Discover the ingredients and their stories

What goes into the jar? Where does the flavour come from? Open a topic and explore its sources.

About the ingredientsOne small bud, many flowers

A dandelion’s yellow head is made up of many tiny flowers. Choose small, tightly closed buds for pickling. Older ones may open in the pickling liquid. Brief boiling is part of Theresa Baumgärtner’s recipe.

History on a plateDandelions have more than one use

Dandelions have a long culinary history. Kew describes young leaves and flower heads used in salads, and flowers used to make wine. The dried root also served as a coffee substitute during wartime rationing. Pickled buds offer another way to use the plant.

A closer lookA bud containing many flowers

What looks like one dandelion flower is a head made up of many tiny florets. The “buds” in this recipe are these flower heads while still tightly closed. Once the head opens, it is a different ingredient from the compact green buds chosen for this pickle.

Recipe sources

This recipe is based on the sources listed above.

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