1. Harvest bright yellow, fully open dandelions from a chemical-free area. Snip off only the yellow petals, avoiding the green base, until you have 4 tightly packed cups.

2. In a large pot, combine the 4 cups of petals with 3 cups of the water. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cover, and steep for 1 hour.

3. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing gently on the petals. You should have about 2 ½ cups of dandelion tea. Discard the spent petals.

4. Pour the dandelion tea into a heavy-bottomed 6-8 quart saucepan. Stir in the ¼ cup of lemon juice.

5. In a small bowl, whisk the powdered pectin into the remaining ½ cup of water until smooth. Pour this slurry into the saucepan and stir well.

6. Bring the mixture to a full, rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.

7. Immediately add all 3 ½ cups of sugar, stirring vigorously until dissolved.

8. Return the mixture to a hard, rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring non-stop.

9. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam. Stir in 1-2 drops of yellow food coloring if using.

10. Immediately ladle the hot jelly into sterilized half-pint jars, leaving ¼-inch of head space. Wipe rims, apply lids, and screw on bands fingertip-tight.

11. Let jars cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours until set. For shelf-stable storage, process filled jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.