What is Roselle?
Roselle is a flower that is edible. Roselle is in the hibiscus family, and is what is used to make things like hibiscus tea.
Roselle is often sold at farmer’s markets, and you may get it in a farm-share box.
The plant has a vibrant dark red calyx, which surrounds an inner white colored seed pod. Most recipes remove the red calyx from the seed pod, and discard the seed pod.
If you got your roselle from a gardener or farm share box, you might want to ask the person you got them from if they would like the seed pods back. The seeds can be used to grow more plants.
The flavor of roselle is tart and earthy. It tastes somewhat similar to a pomegranate seed or a cranberry.
Hibiscus Tea
In many parts of the United States this is referred to as agua de jamaica, which is the Spanish name for hibiscus tea. If you do not have fresh roselle pods, you can buy dried roselle for tea online.
Equipment
Pitcher or jars to store tea
Ingredients
Roselle pods, about 1 cup
Water, to mostly fill the stock pot
Directions
Fill the stock pot up the majority of the way up with water.
Turn on the burner and put it on high heat to start the water boiling.
Pluck the red calyx off of the white seed pods and discard the seed pods.
Rinse the calyces to make sure there is no dirt and they are clean.
Put the red calyces into the stock pot.
Let the pot come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer for ten minutes.
Turn the heat off and let the tea sit for a while, about twenty more minutes or so.
The water should now be very dark pink.
Strain out the calyces from the tea, and store the tea in your contaier. It will store well in the refrigerator for a while.
How to serve
I like to drink this plain over ice as an iced tea.
You can also try it hot. If you want you can add flavorings to the hot tea like cinnamon, ginger, or honey.
Salad
You can use the calyx part of the roselle and put it in a salad to add a punch of flavor. Put it in any green salad the way that you would add pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries.
Take a handful of roselle pods and remove the red calyces from the inner white seed pods. Discard the seed pods.
Rinse the calyces under water to make sure they are clean.
Tear the calyces into smaller pieces. Add the pieces to your green salad.
Hibiscus Jam
Equipment
Sauce pot, roughly 1 quart
Large bowl
Ingredients
Roselle pods, roughly one pint
Water
Directions
Separate the red calyx from the white seed pods.
Rinse the red calyces.
Rinse the white seed pods. Break up the seed pods some by gently squeezing them between you fingers, and put them in the sauce pot.
Cover the seed pods with water. Put a lid on the pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
Put the large bowl in your sink. Strain the seed pods out of the cooking water, being careful to reserve the cooking water in the bowl. Discard seed pods.
Put the cooking water from the seed pods back into your pot.
Add the red calyces into the cooking water. Do not put lid back on pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.
Let the red calyces simmer in the cooking water until it cooks down and thickens, about 20 minutes.
Add about 2 tablespoons of honey to the pot. Bring to boil and then lower the heat to a simmer until it thickens to your desired consistency, about 20 more minutes.
Take it out of the pot and put it in a jar to eat when it cools. If it is not sweet enough for you, add more honey next time. You can also add cinnamon if you prefer.
Hibiscus Syrup
Equipment
Ingredients
1 cup of roselle pods
2 cups of water
1 cup of granulated white sugar
Directions
Rinse roselle pods in water.
Remove red calyx from white seed pods. Discard seed pods.
Put red calyces in sauce pot. Cover with the water.
Bring pot to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for twenty minutes.
The water should be a vibrant dark pink color.
Remove the red calyces from the water and discard.
Slowly add sugar to the pink water in the pot so as to not splash. Stir sugar slowly to dissolve.
Keep pot at a simmer until it cooks down and thickens to your desired syrup consistency.
To serve:
You can add two tablespoons of the syrup to a glass with ice, and pour mineral water over to make a carbonated drink.
Add the syrup to lemonade to make a unique flavor.
Add some syrup when you are making a vinaigrette dressing.
Roselle Sauce
This sauce is similar to cranberry sauce, but uses roselle instead.
Equipment
Stirring spoon
Ingredients
5 cups roselle pods
1 cup sugar
2 cups orange juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
Directions
Remove the red calyces and discard the white seed pods.
Rinse red calyces.
Chop the red calyces into smaller pieces.
Put all ingredients in the stock pot and stir.
Bring pot to a boil, then reduce temperature to a simmer for 20 minutes while the pot thickens.
Put the sauce in a container and allow it to cool. Refrigerate the sauce and serve it as you would a cranberry sauce.