Recipes for:

Roselle Hibiscus, Rosella, Florida Cranberry, Australian Jam Fruit, Jamaican Sorrel

There are as many recipes for preparing the calyces of the Roselle Hibiscus as there are people that prepare them, but here are some basics and some links to other sites with more ideas.

First, the calyces should be harvested when they are easy to snap off the bush, this is about 10 -15 days after the bloom fades. If you have to cut them off with clippers, you've waited too long. This really just takes trial and error and you can still use the older ones. From my experience, the older they get the less pectin they have in them and they get more tart (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

After harvesting them, I remove the green seed pod from the bottom by cutting along the base of the calyx and splitting the side and pulling the whole green pod out. In some recipes, they say that it's not necessary to remove the seed pods but if you're making jams or anything that leaves the fruit in the end product, you will need to remove the seed pod. I'll post some pictures of how to remove them as soon as I can.

After washing the calyces, you are ready to go! Here are some recipes, adjust them to your taste (especially the sugar content), you can also make them stronger or weaker based on how many calyces you use and how long you cook them (longer cooking = stronger Rosella flavor).

Good luck and have fun!

Tea:

For a Quart of Iced Rosella Tea:

Place 16-18 calyces (seeds removed) in saucepan with 1 pint of water, bring to a boil.
Boil for about 3 minutes until the water turns dark red
Turn heat off and allow to set for an additional 3 minutes
Pour into a quart jar, straining the calyces out
Add sugar to taste (about 3-4 teaspoons) and stir until sugar dissolves
Add Ice Cubes until jar is 3/4 full
Check for flavor, if too strong, add more water and/or sugar

For a cup of Hot Herbal Rosella Tea:

Place 5-6 calyces (seeds removed) in saucepan with 1 cup of water, bring to a boil.
Boil for about 3 minutes until the water turns dark red
Turn heat off and allow to set for an additional 3 minutes
Pour into a cup, straining the calyces out
Add sugar to taste and stir until sugar dissolves
Check for flavor, if too strong, add more water and/or sugar

Alternative for Hot Herbal Rosella Tea:

Place 5-6 calyces (seeds removed) in a mug or coffee cup
In saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil.
Pour boiling water into cup over calyces and allow to set for 3 minutes
Add sugar to taste and stir until sugar dissolves
Check for flavor, if too strong, add more water and/or sugar

Jelly:

I'm still working on this, my first attempt didn't thicken. The Roselle Calyces are about 3% pectin, so, theoretically, you don't have to add fruit pectin to make jellies and jams. However, this didn't work for me, I THINK because I used calyces that were too old. Check back later and I'll update this page when I get it right.