This recipe is taken from the fantastic book Mexican Food Made Easy by Thomasina Miers. It has the most delicious fruity, berry flavour to it that is sweet but has a tang similar to cranberry juice. Topped up with a little sparkling water, this cordial makes the most refreshing and delicious non-alcoholic drink or for a party it would make a great base to a cocktail, especially when served with a hibiscus flower as a garnish.
Hibiscus
Cordial
Makes
approx. 1 litre (easy doubled – I halved the recipe from the
original)
30g
dried Hibiscus Flowers
300g
sugar
1125ml(4
½ cups) water
1 ½ –
2 limes
To
serve:
Sparkling
water
While
hibiscus flowers (see below)
Lots
of ice
Put
the dried hibiscus flowers, sugar and water into a medium sized pan
and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for
30 minutes then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cooled
strain the juice into a jug and keep the flowers aside for later.
Squeeze in the juice of 1 ½ limes and taste to see if it needs any
more lime or a touch more sugar depending on your tastes.
Fill
some glasses with lots of ice and pour the cordial over the top then
finish off with some sparkling water (I tend to do two thirds cordial
to one third water but it depends how strong you want it). Serve
garnished with a hibiscus flower.
Hibiscus
Flowers in Syrup
I
absolutely love Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup and until recently always
bought them at a rather expensive price. Now however thanks to the
above recipe I always have some in my fridge ready to pop into a
drink for an elegant garnish. The sweet fragrant syrup is also
delicious and makes a refreshing change to any cocktail. Try my Wild Hibiscus Royale the next time you have friends over and wow them with
your homemade Hibiscus Flowers and syrup.
Reserved
hibiscus flowers from the cordial
1 cup
sugar
1 cup
water
Put
the reserved hibiscus flowers into a jar and set aside. Put the sugar
and water into a small pan and bring to a boil, stirring from time
to time to help the sugar dissolve. Once the sugar has dissolved let
the syrup simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat and allow to
cool slightly before pouring over the flowers. Leave to cool then
keep in the fridge and use as needed in your drink of choice.
yum Lynz sounds so good!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tereza! It's so good and just that little bit different. BTKD has hibiscus flowers as well as Marigold (I think) if you want to give it a go :)
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