Dandelions and Gratitude
In stressful times, I've found solace in the edible gifts of spring.
As readers of this newsletter, you’re already aware of the sudden and far-reaching challenges that have disrupted my lab and so many others in the scientific community. With funding abruptly withdrawn, I’ve spent countless long days and late nights at my computer—scrambling for solutions and trying not to slip into a state of despair.
In one of my darkest moments, my husband gently pulled me away from my desk and out into our backyard. “Come look at the plum tree,” he said. “I think we’ll have fruit for the first time this year!” He’s let the grass and a charming mix of wildflowers grow to create a small meadow, and as I walked barefoot across the soft green lawn and through clusters of clover, I felt my stress begin to melt away. At the plum tree, I lifted leaves and peered along the branches, finding—much to my delight—a bounty of small green fruits.
Then he led me to our vegetable garden, where five years ago he’d built fifteen raised beds to grow our annual supply of herbs, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and cucurbits. I’ve been so consumed by work that I’ve neglected my usual weekend gardening and haven’t yet started planting. But in the herb beds, rosemary, mint, lemon balm, and catnip were already flourishing—resilient, reemerging from seasons past.
We pulled up chairs in the garden and simply sat, taking it all in. I grabbed a sprig of lemon balm, rubbing the leaves between my fingers and deeply inhaling the refreshing scent. I noticed the clematis had returned in full force along the garden’s entry trellis, showing off its beautiful purple blooms. And there was the muscadine vine, spread along the fence line, its broad green leaves hanging like nature’s own drapery. As I crossed my legs, I glanced down and saw a yellow flower tucked between the split toe of my prosthetic foot—a dandelion. That made me think, what’s for dinner?
If you’ve never experienced the joy of foraging for your own food, dandelion greens are a great place to start. They are easy to identify and can be found even in suburban lawns. On our property, we don't use herbicides or pesticides, and we harvested our dandelion leaves far from the roadside, right in our backyard. Dandelion leaves are best collected in the spring, when they are still fresh and tender.
The scientific name for the common dandelion is Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg., a member of the Asteraceae, or daisy family. Dandelion leaves are popular in food cultures that value bitter flavors. In the early 2000s, I conducted research in small communities of southern Italy (inland from Naples) to learn more about their traditions of gathering and preparing wild bitter greens in the springtime. In their culture, bitterness is closely associated with health, and dishes featuring bitter greens—first blanched and then sautéed with garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes—are a cherished part of a spring health boost. These sautéed greens are often served on their own with a slice of freshly baked bread or layered over durum wheat pasta. They are also chopped up and cooked with beans and other vegetables in hearty soups. Simple, healthy, and delicious!
Every part of the dandelion is edible—whether the roots, flowers, or leaves. The roots make an excellent tea. The flowers are delicious in fritters, and the leaves are tasty in soups or sauteed with olive oil.
In some communities of southern Italy, dandelions are called cicoria, though in others, cicoria refers to a related plant with similarly bitter leaves, Cichorium intybus L.—better known as chicory. Like dandelions, both the leaves and roots of chicory are edible. If you’ve ever enjoyed the famous coffee from Café Du Monde in New Orleans, you’ve tasted roasted chicory root—the secret behind its distinctive flavor!
Check out this post I wrote two years ago about the health benefits of dandelion:
Spring has sprung! Bring on the dandelion greens!
As the weather warms in the transition to spring, these golden beauties will start appearing in lawns and meadows. Dandelions are a resilient and dependable source of wild food (and medicine). Yet, at the same time—they tend to get a bad rap. Some people even go to a lot of expense and effort to eradicate them from their lawn and landscaping. I’ve never understood this—why poison your environment with herbicides all in an effort to kill an incredibly useful and beautiful plant?
On this spring evening, after harvesting leaves from several dandelion plants, we decided to use them in a hearty white bean, chorizo, and brown rice soup, along with an assortment of other vegetables we had on hand—carrots, onion, and celery. While my husband and I happily devoured it, I have to admit that our teens were not the biggest fans of the soup’s bitter flavor. I suppose it’s a flavor that’s best appreciated with age!
If you’d like to learn more about how to prepare dandelions, checkout these fun videos from one of my favorite foragers, Alexis Nikole Nelson! She shares how to make fritters from dandelion flowers and a tea from the roots.
Bon Appetit!
Yours in health, Dr. Quave
P.S. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of the readers who so generously donated to my lab’s research account. Thanks to your support, we successfully raised a couple thousand dollars to use toward filling the void of our unexpected funding loss! Your gifts mean the world to me and my research team. We are deeply grateful for your kindness and generosity in helping to bridge this critical time as we work toward securing long-term funding for our research. 💚💚💚
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a Guggenheim Fellow, CNN Champion for Change, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, recipient of The National Academies Award for Excellence in Science Communication, and award-winning author of The Plant Hunter. Her day job is as professor and herbarium director at Emory University School of Medicine, where she leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription to Nature’s Pharmacy or donation to her lab research.
The Plant Hunter is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and e-book formats!
Dear Cassandra. What you have been doing is of tremendous importance and valuable. As a regular reader please know that I have deepest gratitude and respect for you.