It’s the season! Dandelions everywhere, popping their indomitable little heads up in all the lawns and fields. Every year I like to make dandelion fritters with my students. It’s easy and fun and I think they’re delicious…your child may or may not agree, but it’s a great outdoor project to do together!
First, make sure you can identify dandelions accurately. Most people know them, but there are a few inedible look-alikes, so it’s good to double check if you feel unsure. You could bring a field guide and use it with your child. You’ll want to find a dandelion source that is away from roads, untreated with chemicals, and preferably a place with lots of the yellow flowers (which shouldn’t be difficult)!
I like to ask the entire field for permission. I’ve never heard a “no” from dandelions, but it’s always good to ask, and kids usually love talking to plants. Asking permission is a way to increase connection between us and the other-than-human world, and it’s also a great way to model consent! You and your child can ask permission, then wait quietly for a second. I usually ask children what answer they heard. Once you have your answer, give your child a small basket, and send them out to gather the dandelion flowers. If they don’t know how, you can show them how to pop the heads off (you don’t need the stems). Dandelion picking is great fine motor work for little hands!
After your harvest, you could find the white, fluffy seed heads and blow them away. Lots of us grew up learning about this as a wish-making activity, but you could also frame it as planting seeds to help the dandelions! It makes the activity one of reciprocity, rather than just a one-sided gathering mission.
This is all doable for even very small children. I’ve done the entire project with kids as young as 2.5/3, and I’m sure you could facilitate even younger kiddos (of course you will need to monitor the frying portion of the activity no matter the age of your child).
Once you’ve got enough (1-2 cups of flowers is really plenty, but usually kids get so into it that they’ll pick more), you can take them home to the kitchen and get ready to fry!
This is a recipe adapted from Martha Stewart’s version, but you can really dip the dandelions into any basic batter, including boxed pancake mix batter.
Ingredients
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup fine cornmeal
1/5 tap pepper
1/2 tsp chile power (optional)
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk or milk substitute
2 cups oil for frying
Directions
1. Add 1tsp salt and lemon juice to a medium bowl filled with cool water. Place dandelions in bowl and push them down into water several times to clean. Drain them upside down on paper towels.
2. Mix flour, cornmeal, remaining salt, pepper, and chile powder. Mix well. In a separate small bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Pour egg mixture into flour mix and stir until it becomes a batter.
3. Pour 1 in oil into a pan or skillet, heat oil (but not so hot that the oil is popping). Dip each dandelion, head first, into the batter. You can really coat the flower with the batter- the more batter, the more likely kids will eat them! Carefully place each into the hot oil, and fry until golden (about 2 minutes), then flip and fry a little longer. When done, remove and drain on paper towels.
4. Once the fritters are cool enough, I like to serve them with various dipping sauces. Maple syrup is the best, obviously. I also like tamari, or pesto. But you could use any good dipping condiment. It could be fun to do a test of which dipping sauce is best!