Roselle Holiday Sauce
Ingredients
1c Water
1c White Sugar
4c Fresh Hibiscus Flowers, seed pods removed
2T Fresh Ginger, grated
Juice and zest from 1 Orange
1/2t Cinnamon
Pinch of Nutmeg
Once the roselle petals are removed from the pods, give them a rough chop. There should be four cups of petals, not pressed down. Add the water, sugar, roselle, ginger, orange juice and zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a heavy bottomed pot.
Bring the ingredients to a boil over high heat, stirring often with a long handled, wooden spoon or heat proof spatula. Once the ingredients reach a boil, reduce the heat so the mixture sits at a lively simmer. The sauce may spit and sputter a bit, so be careful. Stir regularly and bring the sauce to your desired consistency. You may decide to remove the pot from the heat once it reaches a thick sauce, or you can keep it on the heat until the ingredients have reduced a bit to a thick jam.
Once the sauce has reached your desired consistency, remove the pot from the heat and transfer your Roselle Holiday Sauce to a glass jar or heat proof storage container. Once cooled to room temperature, cap and store in the refrigerator for up to one month. Enjoy!
Roselle Sauce for the Holidays with Monkeypod Jam!
For the six weeks following Halloween, this Roselle Holiday Sauce was a staple in our Monkeypod Jam kitchen. All hands were on deck, peeling cases of prickly, rubber-like petals from the seed pods of this seasonal, tropical flower. Once peeled, the petals were given a quick chop by the preserves chef, then added to a copper jam pot along with sugar, freshly pressed orange juice, and warm spices. The natural pectin in the petals quickly firmed the bubbling flower juice into a perfectly, jammy consistency. Our front-of-house team shared their favorite uses for this holiday favorite.... on ricotta toast, wrapped in a baked brie en croute, traded out for cranberry sauce on your Thanksgiving table, stirred into a cocktail or spritzer, spooned in a sandwich cookie, swirled through your brownie batter, or dolloped on your favorite scoop of ice cream.
Roselle, also known as Culinary Hibiscus, is the flower used in Red Zinger Tea. As a jam or sauce, the flavor profile is similar to cranberry. The Roselle plant is native to West Africa. It thrives in tropical and subtropical climates including Hawaii, where it is grown by our small farmers for its edible parts and medicinal properties. We invite you to make a small batch to serve at your Thanksgiving feast!