Hibiscus flower in syrup and tea

It’s quite hard to find fresh hibiscus flower in London so I was delighted to find some at Brixton Village last weekend. They are also known as sorrel and according to the market sellers, the fresh flowers are only available on sale in the UK at end of November to mid-December.  However, you find them dried in bags the whole year round. They are very pretty with a deep red colour. I usually make tea with them by adding fresh ginger, cinnamon bark, cloves, orange peel and sweetened with honey. A Caribbean lady in Brixton Village has also suggested to serve it very cold with a splash of rum – that’s the way to drink it during the Summer!  I also heard of hibiscus jam, but I haven’t tried it yet. 

Tea

 This time I decided to find a  recipe for hibiscus in syrup. It can be quite expensive to buy them in jars from the shops or online. They are about £8-9/ jar for approximately 11 flowers.  Well, at the market I bought 40 fresh flowers for £1 (yes, One British Pound). The whole recipe cost me around £1.50 and yield 40 flowers in syrup. They will keep well in a  airtight container in the fridge for ages. Add them to your glass of bubbly and celebrate the festive season!  Cheers!

bubbly

Here is the recipe I found at downunder blog Morsels and Musings
Recipe from Wild Food by Juleigh Robins

Hibiscus in Syrup

Hibiscus flower in syrup
Ingredients:
2 cups cold water
2 cups caster sugar
2 cups fresh hibiscus flowers, washed and chopped
40 fresh hibiscus flowers, whole , washed

Method:

1. Place the water, sugar and chopped flower in a wide stainless-steel saucepan over medium heat.

2. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently until the volume of liquid has reduced by a third.

3. Remove from the heat and strain to remove the solids.

4. Return to the pan, add the flowers and bring to the boil.

5. When it starts to bubble, remove from the heat and pour into sterilised jars.

If anyone have a recipe for hibiscus jam do let me know please. 
Have a  good weekend. Cheers!