C of L49 host finishes with a glass of dandelion wine on Sunday morning

[Robin Landseadel]

On Jun 14, 2009, at 6:59 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:

> That's AAALLL Folks...Next UP!

I picked one hell of a day to quit sniffing glue. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr4lB942U48

Yes, dandelion wine...grown in a cemetery—just one of those displaced/ 
disinherited things that comes up in CoL49. Note that Genghis Cohen is  
a compound pun, or at least is made a compound pun by virtue of the  
Grand Cohen Nicholas Nookshaft in Against the Day, where much of CoL49  
is expanded & extended. If The Crying of Lot 49 is a mystery [and it  
is], I volunteer that the GC knows full well what's going on & is in  
on the plot.
	
	The title refers to a wine made with dandelion petals and other
	ingredients, commonly citrus fruit. In the story, dandelion wine,
	as made by the protagonist's grandfather, serves as a metaphor
	for packing all of the joys of summer into a single bottle.

	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion_Wine

	Dandelion Wine (1)

	• 3 qts dandelion flowers
	• 1 lb white raisins
	• 1 gallon water
	• 3 lbs granulated sugar
	• 2 lemons
	• 1 orange
	• yeast and nutrient

	Pick the flowers just before starting, so they're fresh. You do not

	need to pick the petals off the flower heads, but the heads

	should be trimmed of any stalk. Put the flowers in a large bowl.

	Set aside 1 pint of water and bring the remainder to a boil. Pour

	the boiling water over the dandelion flowers and cover tightly

	with cloth or plastic wrap. Leave for two days, stirring twice

	daily. Do not exceed this time. Pour flowers and water in large

	pot and bring to a low boil. Add the sugar and the peels (peel

	thinly and avoid any of the white pith) of the lemons and

	orange. Boil for one hour, then pour into a crock or plastic pail.

	Add the juice and pulp of the lemons and orange. Allow to

	stand until cool (70-75 degrees F.). Add yeast and yeast

	nutrient, cover, and put in a warm place for three days. Strain

	and pour into a secondary fermentation vessel (bottle or jug).

	Add the raisins and fit a fermentation trap to the vessel. Leave

	until fermentation ceases completely, then rack and add the

	reserved pint of water and whatever else is required to top up.

	Refit the airlock and set aside until clear. Rack and bottle. This

	wine must age six months in the bottle before tasting, but will

	improve remarkably if allowed a year. [Adapted recipe from

	C.J.J. Berry's First Steps in Winemaking]



	http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/dandelion.asp