Dandelion flowers are sweet and crunchy. They can be eaten raw, or breaded and fried, or used to make dandelion wine.
In recent years, Danish restaurants, smaller food producers and consumers have shown an increasing interest in using wild or cultivated flowers in cooking. However, there is not necessarily a history of using these plants in food – neither in Denmark nor internationally.
As part of a control campaign, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, assisted by the National Food Institute, visited 150 restaurants and local food producers from May-October 2016 and investigated their use of plants picked from the wild, cultivated in private gardens or market gardens. Among the species used were the flowers from 23 plants.
Researchers reviewed the literature to find available knowledge on potentially toxic compounds in the 23 flowers, descriptions of poisonings or other toxic effects in humans and animals following consumption, and evidence of their traditional use as food in Europe .
See also Please eat the dandelions: 9 edible garden weeds in Treehugger.