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The pickled dandelion buds are arranged in a bowl. There are dandelion leaves and flowers decorated around.

Dandelions grow in so many places, so chances are you’ll know this hardy plant with beautiful yellow flowers. When I learned that the plant is edible, I was curious about how to use it in the kitchen. All parts of the dandelion — the leaves, roots, and flowers — are edible. Today, I’ll make dandelion capers from the still tightly closed bud of the plant. They make a tasty exotic garnish, for example, as a salad topping or on a sandwich! You can use them just like you would use normal capers in cooking.

Ingredients for making Dandelion Capers:

Freshly collected closed dandelion buds
Salt
Peppercorns
Juniper berries
Mustard seeds
Water
White wine vinegar
Sunflower oil
Twist-off glass (8cm high, lid 8cm diameter)

I picked the firm buds from the stems from a calm meadow. Later, I learned that it is even better to forage the buds when the flower is still hard and firm in the rosette of leaves on the ground and has not yet sprouted a stem. The caper is then much crisper when picked this way. I’ll collect them right at the beginning of spring next year, as I was a bit too late this year. I collected the flower buds from the stalks in April, and when you chew them, you can tell that the petals inside the buds have already developed, but they are still delicious as capers!

How to make Dandelion Capers:

First, we must visit a meadow where dandelions are growing.

Hand with collected dandelion buds outside on a meadow.

It’s best to take your jar to see how many you need to collect. Once you have the jar full, we put our buds in a bowl with water to wash them well. Leave them there for 5 minutes.

Then, fill the jar with a boiling solution of 50% white wine vinegar and 50% water.

Hot vinegar water from a pot is poured into a preserving jar filled with dandelion buds and spice seeds.

Add all the spices to the jar and close it tightly. When the jar has cooled to room temperature, put it in the fridge and let it rest for four days.

One hand holds a spoonful of spices and sprinkles them into the jar of dandelion buds.

Salting & Preserving them in Oil:

Two bowls, one with salt and the other with dandelion buds, are on a wooden underground platform. Next to the salt is a jug with oil.

Pickled dandalion buds
Salt
Sunflower oil

Next, take your jar of dandelion capers out of the fridge and pour the contents into a sieve over the sink. Rinse them well with water; otherwise, they have too much of a vinegar taste. Shake off the water and place the dandelion buds and spices on kitchen paper to dry.

Now, put them in a bowl and add a generous amount of salt.

A hand with a bowl of salt pours it over a bowl of dandelion buds.

Mix everything well and put them back into the sieve. Shake all the excess salt off.

Shake off excess salt from the dandelion buds in a sieve.

Put the salted mixture back into the preserving jar and add the sunflower oil to preserve it. Pour in enough to cover everything well.

Oil from a jug is poured into a preserving jar filled with salted dandelion buds.

Finally, your dandelion capers are ready; think of a beautiful spring meadow while enjoying them! They should keep fresh for a couple of weeks if stored in the fridge.

A jar with pickeld dandelion buds stands with open lid on a wooden underground. There are dandelion leaves and flowers decorated around.

I hope you enjoyed this dandelion caper recipe. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Dandelion Capers

Ingredients for making Dandelion Capers:

How to make Dandelion Capers:

Salting & Preserving them in Oil:

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