I have a favorite farmers market and it’s up in Oxnard at the Channel Islands Harbor. I always find the most delicious produce up there. But this time, I had found something that I had never seen before. These strange looking red flowers in the produce tables instead of the florists section. The seller told me that they were hibiscus, also known as jamaica or roselle. I have dry hibiscus at home for tea.
She said that I could eat the petals as part of a salad. If I wanted tea, then steep the whole calyx. However, she said that the seed pod was not edible.
So for $5, I grabbed a bag from her and off I went to explore recipes. One of first things that came up were jams. So here we are today and I am teaching you all about this fabulous roselle hibiscus jam!
And guess what! It makes its own pectin. All you need are these flowers, water, and sugar. its flavor is like a cross between a cranberry and a raspberry.
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh roselle calyxes
1 cup water
3/4 cups sugar
Directions:
Separate the calyx petals from the seed pods. Bring to a boil and simmer the seed pods for 30 minutes in just enough water to cover them. Discard the seed pods and reserve the liquid. You have now created the pectin necessary for this jam.
To this liquid, add the flowers, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes.
Once the flowers soften, you can blend them with an immersion blender to make a smoother jam. This is optional.
While this is happening, I freeze a small dish and when I see it start to thicken, I test the hot jam on the cold dish and see if it gels up. I should be able to push it with my fingertip and it stay.
Once you have achieved this, then you can ladle it into a sterilized jar. This gave me 1 jar of jam. I usually make small batch jams.
Let me know of you try this!
Kali Oreksi!
on xenia street 