Taraxacum officinale amélioré à Coeur Plein

The Improved Full-Hearted Dandelion is a highly productive variety that offers beautiful, densely packed rosettes. Although commonly known as an adventive, the dandelion is full of both dietary and gustatory qualities. Sowing from March to June for a harvest from November to April.

The Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), also known as Dent-de-Lion, is a perennial plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family. Is it necessary to introduce this wild plant? The striking yellow of its flowers, the characteristic tooth-like shape of its leaves, and its fluffy seeds make it one of the most well-known "weeds."

The common dandelion can be found naturally in meadows, along roadsides, but also in the middle of city pavements and even in the best-maintained lawns, where it is often relentlessly hunted down!

And perhaps it is because of this banality that its qualities are overlooked: rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, naturally diuretic, draining, and detoxifying, its young leaves are excellent in salads. They are also very tasty when cooked, like spinach, quickly with a bit of garlic and a drizzle of lemon juice. Its flowers are also edible and can be used to make jelly, syrup, and a delicious amber-colored aperitif wine.

In the garden, the Dandelion can tolerate ordinary soil, even heavy and compact soil. It prefers full sun or partial shade.

Harvest: young leaves are harvested from November to April, when they are still young. Flowers are usually picked in April.

Storage: leaves can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator or for a few months in the freezer, after being blanched for a few minutes in boiling water.

Gardener's tip: to obtain very tender dandelion leaves, it is possible to blanch them by covering them with a small mound of soil, about 15 cm (6in) high, or by covering them, as the British do with rhubarb, with a large clay pot.