Friday, January 2, 2009

"Aunt Fannie's Dandelion Wine"

I'm surprised at so many people that was born and raised in the South not knowing about the custom "If a Man Calls or visits your home on New Years Day, it's good luck...and the man of the house is to offer the man visitor a drink ", I remember that custom being done when I was a child (a very long time ago)....here is a funny story for you...I had an Aunt Fannie(who was straight from Texas) who made "Dandelion Wine" every Spring ( I have the recipe direct from her).Anyway, our first year living in NJ , Cecil was practicing the custom by visiting family, he visited Aunt Fannie and she gave him a glass of the Dandelion wine...Cecil thought to himself, (What does she know about making wine strong enough like most Southerns who knew how to make "Moonshine" it was bound to be weak as a kitten...so he took a big gulp!(Dummy) He almost had to be carried home it made such a wallop! :o), I made the wine one year and he politely said "No Thank You" Guess that was the end of making "Aunt Fannie's Dandelion Wine" ( This was a true story, Cecil was teased about it for years and now has the greatest respect when Aunt Fannie's name is mentioned.:o)

6 comments:

ladydi said...

Whoa! Morning does seem a bit early to be sampling the wine, especially THAT wine. Did she make it from the leaves? I had a friend who made raspberry wine and the bottle exploded, leaving her with a very red kitchen.

Eggs In My Pocket said...

Ginny, just like cotton I sent you... we have acres of wild dandelions I could send in case Cecil changes his mind. LOL. Thank you again for the sweet surprise. My heart and hands will never be the same! blessings,Kathleen

Deborah said...

How on earth does one make wine from dandelions? Fruit I can see, but "weeds"???

Gingerbreadshouse7 said...

Ladydi, the wine was made from the flowered tops....and don't forget Country men have a hardy breakfast before they venture out to give good luck wishes.
Kathleen, I love Dandelion greens with some corn bread, that's all you need...
Deborah, the wine is made from the Dandelion flower, and the greens are bitter greens and we love them...We have more gifts on Earth that we still don't recognize their use....

Deborah said...

I sure wish we had some dandelions around here. I know they are super healthy to eat.

I wonder how enough sweetness is gathered from the flowers to allow fermentation.

Connie said...

HA! This is a funny story, Ginny. :D

Thanks for sharing it. You made me laugh.

Poor Cecil! ha ha ha!