Dandelion and burdock is a beverage originating and commonly consumed in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. It was originally a type of light

mead Mead (), also called honey wine, and hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alco ...

but over the years has evolved into the carbonated

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

commercially available today. Traditionally, it was made from fermented dandelion (''

Taraxacum officinale ''Taraxacum officinale'', the dandelion or common dandelion, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tuf ...

'') and burdock ('' Arctium lappa'') roots, hence the name.

History

Dandelion and burdock shares an origin with a number of drinks originally made from lightly fermented root extracts, such as

root beer Root beer is a North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla; also used to make a soft drink called sarsaparilla) as the ...

and sarsaparilla, supposedly as a health benefit. The dominant flavour in these other drinks is usually sassafras or

wintergreen Wintergreen is a group of aromatic plants. The term ''wintergreen'' once commonly referred to plants that remain green (continue photosynthesis) throughout the winter. The term ''evergreen'' is now more commonly used for this characteristic. ...

, both now derived artificially rather than from the plant itself, in part because during the 1960s, safrole, the major component of the volatile oil of sassafras, was found to be

carcinogenic A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and Biological agent, biologic agent ...

in rats. All of these drinks, while tasting similar, do have their own distinct flavour. Dandelion and burdock is most similar in flavour to sarsaparilla.

Imitations and variants

Ben Shaw, a

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

businessman, founded a company that made and sold the drink, first in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and then throughout Britain, between 1871 and 1993. Afterward, the enterprise passed through several hands and is now owned by Refresco, who still make and sell the drink.

Fentimans Fentimans is a botanical brewery based in Hexham, Northumberland, England. History Thomas Fentiman, an iron puddler from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, acquired a recipe for botanically brewed ginger beer in 1905 when a fellow tradesman appr ...

, a beverage company based in the United Kingdom, offers a version of the naturally brewed dandelion and burdock drink, containing extracts of both plants (although its main ingredients are sugar and pear juice concentrate). A.G. Barr, known for its Scottish soft drink Irn-Bru, produces a version of dandelion and burdock under the name ''D'n'B'', with the slogan "Tall, dark and drinksome". The last of the UK's original

temperance bar A temperance bar, also known as an alcohol-free bar, sober bar, or dry bar, is a type of bar that does not serve alcoholic beverages. An alcohol-free bar can be a business establishment or located in a non-business environment or event, such as ...

s, Fitzpatrick's in

Rawtenstall Rawtenstall () is a town in the borough of Borough of Rossendale, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The town lies 15 miles (24 km) north of Manchester, 22 miles (35 km) east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston and 45 miles (70 km) south east of Lanca ...

, Rossendale, which opened in 1890, still produces its dandelion and burdock to an original recipe brought over from Ireland at the end of the 19th century.

References

Bibliography

* {{refend British soft drinks Soft drink flavors

History

Imitations and variants

See also

References

Bibliography