# Survival > Foraging & Wild Edibles >  Is the dandelion stem edible?

## sofasurfer

Is the dandelion stem edible? The milky part?

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## Ken

All parts are edible. Even the roots.

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## canid

It won't taste any better thought  :Big Grin:

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## Ken

> It won't taste any better thought


He didn't ask about the taste.  :Innocent:

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## hunter63

I am beginning to realize that when some thing is 'edible' just means it won't kill ya, doesn't have anything to do with taste.

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## GreatUsername

I've heard that any part of a dandelion will taste "not bad, actually" if you fry it, or basically treat it the same way you would cook kale.

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## sofasurfer

I ate a dandelion flower...my first wildlife forage...and it was sweet. Just wondered if it was important to make sure the stem is not eaten with it. The stem is kinda gross to think about eating. Maybe I'll get drunk and try it.
Thanks.

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## Ken

> I ate a dandelion flower...my first wildlife forage...and it was sweet. Just wondered if it was important to make sure the stem is not eaten with it. The stem is kinda gross to think about eating. Maybe I'll get drunk and try it.
> Thanks.


Then why not try this! 

*Dandelion Wine Recipe*

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-...#axzz2TCecoRA3

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## Rick

> It won't taste any better though.




It won't taste any worse either.

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## greatgoogamooga

> I've heard that any part of a dandelion will taste "not bad, actually" if you fry it, or basically treat it the same way you would cook kale.


Or wrap it in bacon  :Rockon: 

Goog

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## canid

I found pickling to suit them sell.

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## Dux

Picked up the habit of chewing from the base of the stem to the flower by watching cottontails. Starts out slightly bitter then finishes on a nice note that way. Kind of noodle like when I boil the stems a while.

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## LowKey

I just eat the leaves. Boiled, Fried, or raw.
But only in the spring. Before they flower.
Too bitter otherwise.

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## Dux

I must have a high tolerance for bitter. I eat the leaves and stems raw and blanched all summer long.

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## Dux

> Is the dandelion stem edible? The milky part?


Is your confusion because of the milk like sap? Milkweed (appropriately enough) is milky and edible just as dandelions are. 

Remember the rhyme "leaves of three, let it be" about poison ivy? Jack in the pulpit, clovers, sorrels, etc, etc have three leaves and are edible.

IMHO there are many myths about the outdoors, especially wild edibles. I suspect that "in the olden days" there was a lot more mentoring and a whole lot less reading about such things.

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## thefemalesurvivalist

> Is your confusion because of the milk like sap? Milkweed (appropriately enough) is milky and edible just as dandelions are. 
> 
> Remember the rhyme "leaves of three, let it be" about poison ivy? Jack in the pulpit, clovers, sorrels, etc, etc have three leaves and are edible.
> 
> IMHO there are many myths about the outdoors, especially wild edibles. I suspect that "in the olden days" there was a lot more mentoring and a whole lot less reading about such things.


Good points, Dux, I agree we need more hands on from people who've been there, done that. I've decided other than shelf mushrooms, to avoid gathering mushrooms until an expert takes me out in the field for a real mushroom hunt.

this last week I hiked along the spring trail up in Colorado. Collected 6 edible plants, added them to my cooked spaghetti. Point being to get used to that wild taste. The fronds tasted like asparagus. The dandelion, grass, clover, and stinging nettle were all young and not bitter. The wild rose was sweet, a nice dessert by itself.

There were many plants along the trail I didn't know, so I left them alone for the time being.

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## Rick

It depends on where you pick dandelions too. I've found those that grow in shade to be less bitter than those that grow in the sun. Most plants require leaves before they can send up a flower stalk. Dandelions are an exception because they have a deep tap root where energy is stored they don't have to wait on food created by leaves to flower. Most dandelions will sprout leaves and flower stalk about the same time. So you have no guarantee that younger leaves will be bitter free. 

The bitter is something called Sesquiterpenes found in the plant. the % of S goes up when the plant becomes dehydrated and/or is subjected to sunlight (the leaves will make S because of the sunlight). Since sunlight is not overbearing in the spring and plants tend to be more in wet or damp ground the plants are less bitter. Once the sun rises overhead in late spring and spring rains stop the sun dries the ground and turns on S. production in the leaves. So...find dandelions in the shade where the ground is still damp and you'll find dandelions that are less bitter overall.

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## flatlander88

^^^Exactly why I like this site :Smile:

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## crashdive123

> ^^^Exactly why I like this site


And here I thought it was our charm and ruggedly handsome looks.

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## flatlander88

> And here I thought it was our charm and ruggedly handsome looks.


I thought that went without saying.

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## rcooley

I wouldn't eat it. There might be some harmful chemicals so no, thanks

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## mountainmark

> I wouldn't eat it. There might be some harmful chemicals so no, thanks


Hmmm.... How many harmful chemicals do you think are in the produce section at the grocery store?

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## Rick

I don't think he's picking it on the front lawn of the Monsanto plant.

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## Woodmaster750

In Korea dog and dandelion go great to gather.

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## Rick

I'm hoping you mean like a fire hydrant. 'Cause otherwise..............

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## bigroynow

hello everyone i new to this i want to learn about this stuff tho because you never know whats happening to the us

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## Rick

It's not even about survival. There are a lot of plants that are nutritious and have excellent flavor that you can add to dishes every day through the summer. Some stuff in winter too but the pickin's are slim. Veggies, fruits, berries and fungi. All sorts of stuff.

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## bigroynow

i have been reading online about ediable plants and i didnt know you could eat dandillion

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## Rick

In a salad, fried up as fritters and even as a coffee substitute. That will get you started.

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## M.Demetrius

To help with the bitterness of many herbs--dandilion, prickly lettuce, sow thistle, etc--mix in some sorrel with the greens.  They're lemony-flavored, and the two seem to mix well.  The stems of the sorrel are more juicy than the leaves.

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## M.Demetrius

> I wouldn't eat it. There might be some harmful chemicals


In most lawns and yards, people are prone to spray strange things on the plants.  Next to a roadway, there could be automotive chemicals.  For the most part, though, the woods are free of all those things.

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## trollchicken

the aboringinals used to collect dandelion roots and they would bake the in holes in the ground where they would melt half down into a sweet dark coloured juice.

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## TXyakr

> In a salad, fried up as fritters and even as a coffee substitute. That will get you started.


Rick is correct also several other uses

Some folks have blames these blasted weeds on the American/British Pilgrims but who knows some dang Europeans they ARE invasive non-native weed!!!
But with many "edible" uses. A bitter herb before a meal increases your appetite read about it in the Torah (Moses wrote 1000s years ago.)

more information here "We Came over on the Mayflower, Too!":
http://eattheinvaders.org/we-came-ov...mayflower-too/

"Americans spend more than $500 million each year fighting a losing battle with weeds like dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) that stubbornly crop up in their yards. They could save a lot of money and avoid a lot of chemicals by taking a cue from early colonists, gathering the tender, young leaves for salad and the golden blooms for flower wine. There are numerous exotic speciesrelished in their native lands but abundantly ignored herethat require no sowing or garden plots. European brought many of their favorite herbaceous plants to North America, where they quickly took root. Some were intentionally introduced as garden plants; others arrived as weeds in soil or livestock fodder."

http://eattheinvaders.org/weeds/

My silly theory is that the pilgrims wanted to spend more time reading the Bible and Praying so brought this weed over to save time, and had no clue about native plants and sure as heck were not going to ask for instructions from the savage, pagan indigenous people already living there. Heck NO!

That's my wise A$$ theory and I'm sticking to it!

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## hayshaker

given the fact that dried dandilions cost about 25,dollars a,lb it would be good to have a mound of sand say 12yds worth
to plant dandilion,burdock and other medicinal plants where harvesting the root is important.
the looser the soil the easier for them to grow and thus maximize root lengh and for harvest.
in japan gobo or9BURDOCK) IS USED IN SOUPS AND OTHER DISHES. DANDILION ROOTS DRIED 25,OO A LB.

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## hayshaker

DOG IS REAL BIG IN ASIA NUMBA WON CHOP CHOP.
IN pi, it,s blackdog adobo
korea,kalbi dog
vietnam.numba won chop chop.
i,m just saying

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## TXyakr

Ya should have seen the hundreds of dandelions in the front lawn of my property when I purchase it from a Bubba about 23 years ago. If only I had known I cudda dried and sold them for $25/lb I would have put up a few strands of aluminum wire and electrified it to keep out the hound dogs. Don't want them diggn', peen' and shippn' on my cash crop. LOL

As it was my wife was mortified to be living in such a "Bubba" homestead and sent me to the local hardware store to purchase some herbicide to eradicate this pilgrim cash crop. Oh well, financial windfall lost. Now my kids will need to go to State school not Yale or Harvard. Dog gone it!

Edit: Also the neighbors, complained more about the electric fence zapping their tiny dogs and small children reaching for the pretty white dandelion white balls than the fact that they are invasive weeds, so I had to eventually take it down or pay the city a big fine… OH that is just a joke not actually true, ha ha ha.

Had'ta search all over the internet for it but finally find the photo someone posted of a muppet attempting to cross my electric fence to steal my crop of d'lions:
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

That was the last time that lil' monkey suit dressed fool messed with my cash crop of goodness. ha ha ha

Actually he is holding one 110VAC line with electrical sparks photoshopped in. If it was real he would be holding one or more "hot" ariel lines and the bottom neutral "return" line. A squirrel pet monkey of mine did that once, had to knock it down with a bamboo pole. It was stealing neighbor stash of fruit or something I think. OH well dang monkey stank, spread out on the wires and stiff like that freaked out my sister, females are SOOOO sensitive.

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## edr730

You can parboil the greens if they are too bitter.

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## Lamewolf

Yes they are, and the flowers are delicious dipped in batter and deep fried !

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## Rick

I find the flower pretty bland. To each his own.

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## Duece

I read somewhere that the roots can be roasted and ground up and used as a coffe substitute,pretty sure there is no caffeine but.....

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## crashdive123

Yes they can.  No they don't.  Not that great......more like a punishment for being ill prepared and not having enough coffee.

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## Duece

Lol kinda what i thought,
I like my coffee,always try to make sure i have some with me.thermos full or just bagof grounds or some instant.funny thing though,before i went off work for surgery i was a coffee freak slowed down quite a bit while off work now i have crazy sensitivity to caffeine,one or 2 cups and im shaking like a junkie lol.
D

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## Roel

Eat them, but use the younger leafs, they are less bitter.

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## jessica_alinari

I've heard that dandelion stems reduce the sugar level in the blood and strengthen your immune system. Have you noticed this effects on you? I tried to chew some, but they have indeed bitter taste. However, I'll continue to add them to my diet until I get used to the taste.

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## hunter63

> I've heard that dandelion stems reduce the sugar level in the blood and strengthen your immune system. Have you noticed this effects on you? I tried to chew some, but they have indeed bitter taste. However, I'll continue to add them to my diet until I get used to the taste.


I guess I'm curious as the where that came from?......and also who your question is addressed to?

Did find this.
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/dandelion

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## crashdive123

A source (trusted) would be good.  I don't know that I would 


> continue to add them to my diet until I get used to the taste


if I didn't care for the taste and was not sure of the health benefits.

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## Wildthang

My dad picked a bunch of dandelion leaves and wilted it with bacon grease and vinegar in a cast iron skillet on time when we were camping out. He told me they were mustard greens and of course back then I didn't know the difference. It was actually pretty good mostly because of the bacon grease I think..........LOL After we ate he finally told me what it was!
I don't know if that is the standard recipe for dandelion eating but it really wasn't bad!

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