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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Dandelion Capers with Ramps and Lemon

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Dandelion Buds for Capers

This is a variation on my original wild caper recipe, which at the end of the day is just simple pickle (the original is lacto-fermented). You can flavor the seasonings any way you like, but make sure to let them age a month or two before opening to age and let the flavors meld. Also, make sure to only pick the smallest, tightest dandelion buds, since mature ones will tend to open a bit as they sit in the pickling liquid.

You can use them just like you would regular capers, they’re vinegar-salty punch add excitement to everything from salads to pickle plates, but my favorite it tossing them into a lemon-wine sauce for piccata, scallopine, or fish, or mixing in with tomato sauce and a bowl of pasta.

Preserving

Canning your dandelion bud capers 

You can also preserve these for long term storage by processing pint jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes, some of the capers may open up a bit though since they get cooked through the canning process.

Another method is to simply pour boiling vinegar brine into the jars, filling the jars up to the brim. When the jars are completely filled, put on the covers and then immediately turn the jars upside down. When the jars are completely cooled, you’ll find they have formed hermetic seals, just as if you’d used a water bath canner.

Making sure the buds are tender

Raw, pickled, or just fermented in brine, some capers will be great (nasturtium are my favorite), some will need a little help. Dandelion capers, if not canned in a water bath, should be simmered in water to make them tender, then chilled, and pickled or fermented.

Dandelion Capers with Ramps and Lemon

Dandelion Capers with Ramps and Lemon
Print Recipe
4.5 from 2 votes

Pickled Dandelion Capers with Ramps and Lemon

Yield: 4 pint jars
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Capers, Dandelions, Pickled Ramps
Servings: 4 jars

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1.5 cups champagne vinegar or another vinegar you like
  • 2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • About 7 loosely packed cups of unopened dandelion buds you may be able to fit more in jars depending on the size of your buds
  • 4 cleaned ramps green leaves removed
  • 4 two inch pieces of lemon zest white pith removed

Instructions

  • Bring a pot of water to a simmer, then add the dandelion buds and cook until just tender, about 3-4 minutes, then drain and reserve.
  • Meanwhile, heat together the water, vinegar and salt together until the salt is dissolved, then cool.
  • Take the dandelion buds and fill half pint canning jars with them
  • Press the buds down to decrease air pockets, in each jar place a piece of lemon zest and a ramp. Leave at least 1/2 inch to an inch of headspace in each jar.
  • When you've pressed the buds down, fill the jars with the boiling vinegar brine, jostling them around with a toothpick to remove air pockets, then turn the jars upside down and cool, which should seal them, or refrigerate, and wait at least a few weeks before enjoying. See note.

Notes

Dandelion capers need to be cooked to soften them somehow. I like giving them a blanch to tenderize them, and pour the boiling pickle liquid in the jars to avoid boiling a waterbath in the summer, but you can also pour the liquid into the jars with the raw buds and process in a waterbath for 15 minutes to store them at room temperature. Both ways work. 

Related

Previous Post: « Seared Tenderloins with Hericiums and King Crab
Next Post: Chocolate Maple Mousse with Chokecherry Sauce »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bob lesnikoski

    January 22, 2016 at 1:00 pm

    Please add me to your email list

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      February 1, 2016 at 10:49 am

      I can’t do that manually, there is a button on the homepage where you can subscribe though.

      Reply
  2. Will K.

    January 25, 2016 at 4:06 pm

    Sounds good- bet that recipe would work well with common cat’s ear buds, too.

    Reply
  3. Jus

    March 10, 2017 at 8:52 am

    I have a (probably stupid) question. Do you pick these unopened buds when they first appear, or after they have opened, then closed again before opening up into seed?

    Reply
  4. McRae Anderson

    April 1, 2017 at 9:51 am

    Can’t wait… I have a plethora of dandelion, are you buying ramps or finding them in Minnesota? I’ve planted some I brought back from North Carolina but they need to mature. Also, do you have anything to make with creeping Charlie….I’ve got a bunch of that too.

    Reply
  5. Lehanna Green

    February 24, 2018 at 9:25 am

    I found this recipe (link) on your latest post about venison. Amazing recipes. I am going to share this one at my page on Facebook @Lick My Dish Lovely recipes and ideas. I’ve been following for a couple of years now. Thought I’d drop you a line to show my appreciation. Onward…

    Reply
  6. Deb

    May 7, 2018 at 11:55 am

    Where we live, “ramps” are another name for wild leeks…is that what your recipe refers to?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      May 7, 2018 at 2:50 pm

      Yes.

      Reply
  7. Alex

    April 25, 2020 at 2:22 pm

    5 stars
    After picking the buds (only the tightest/smallest) I could find, I washed them to remove grass bits and they bloomed while I prepped the rest of the recipe. I am using them anyway and hoping for the best. Do you think they will be bitter because of blooming?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      April 25, 2020 at 3:42 pm

      You’ll be fine. Make sure to taste them after a while for tenderness, if they’re not tender to your liking, simmer them in the liquid for a bit and they’ll soften. Most other capers don’t have that issue with tenderness, only dandelions.

      Reply
  8. Calvin

    May 21, 2020 at 2:16 pm

    I’m new to pickling and recently made the fiddlhead recipe on this site as well. I was wondering why that recipe calls for pouring the pickling liquid into the jars when it’s hot and then inverting the jars to seal the lids, but this recipe calls for pouring in the liquid once it is cooled and doesn’t mention inverting the jars. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      May 21, 2020 at 2:23 pm

      Sorry that was unclear. I adjusted it to read better. See the note in the bottom of the recipe.

      Reply
      • Calvin

        May 21, 2020 at 3:11 pm

        Thanks for the quick reply! Looking forward to trying these!

        Reply
  9. Lara

    April 27, 2021 at 9:29 am

    Have you ever tried making capers with the buds of bidens alba? I don’t see many dandelions in my area, but those plants are everywhere.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      April 27, 2021 at 10:37 am

      I haven’t

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dandelion Recipe Roundup • One World Herbal Community says:
    March 14, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    […] – Dandelion Capers with Ramps and Lemon from Forager […]

    Reply
  2. A Recipe For Venison Osso Buco With Dandelion Capers and Red WIne says:
    December 12, 2019 at 4:57 pm

    […] You'll need to saw the bones off your venison shank to make them look like this.  It might seem strange to braise meat with anchovies. This is an Italian braising trick that adds salt and umami, the orange peel in the bouquet marries perfectly with the subtle flavor the anchovies give. If you'd like to flavor the braise with something different though, go for it. Putting coffee espresso, and/or a little bitter chocolate in it is another favorite trick of mine. The caper garnish uses my dandelion capers. See that recipe here.  […]

    Reply

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Alan Bergo
Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each instead of the pound. 

Good day today, although my Twin Cities spots seem a full two weeks behind from the late spring. 2 hours south they were almost all mature. 

76 for me and 152 for the group. Check your spots, and good luck! 

#morels #murkels #mollymoochers #drylandfish #spongemushroom #theprecious
The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natu The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natural secretion of water I typically see with plants. 

I understand it as an indicator that the mushrooms are growing rapidly, and a byproduct of their metabolism speeding up. If you have some clarifications, chime in. 

Most people know it from Hydnellum 
peckii-another polypore. I’ve never seen it on pheasant backs before.

Morels are coming soon too. Mine were 1 inch tall yesterday in the Twin Cities. 

#guttation #mushroomhunting #cerioporussquamosus #pheasantback #naturesbeauty
Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a grocery store. 

#groceryshopping #sochan #rudbeckialaciniata #foraging
Italian wild food traditions are some of my favori Italian wild food traditions are some of my favorite. 

Case in point: preboggion, a mixture of wild plants, that, depending on the reference, should be made with 5-23 individual plants. 

Here’s a few mixtures I’ve made this spring, along with a reference from the Oxford companion to Italian food. 

The mixture should include some bitter greens (typically assorted asters) but the most important plant is probably borage. 

Making your own version is a good excercise. Here they’re wilted with garlic and oil, but there’s a bunch of traditional recipes the mixture is used in. 

Can you believe this got cut from my book?!

#preboggion #preboggiun #foraging #traditionalfoods
Oh the things I get in the mail. This is my kind Oh the things I get in the mail. 

This is my kind of tip though: a handmade buckskin bag with a note and a handful of bleached snapping turtle claws. 😁😂 

Sent in by Leslie, a reader. 

Smells like woodsmoke and the cat quickly claimed it as her new bed. 

#buckskin #mailsurprise #turtleclaws #thisimylife #cathouse
Bluebell season. Destined for a Ligurian ravioli Bluebell season. 

Destined for a Ligurian ravioli as a replacement for the traditional borage greens. 

#mertensiavirginica #virginiabluebells #spring #foraging
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