Making roselle hibiscus jam from my homegrown roselle plant had to be one of the highlights this growing season! I was so excited to make this jam and it blew my mind! It’s sweet, yet tart it packs a delicious almost berry punch! What makes this even better is the thickening agent comes from boiling the seed pods, which release pectin! Nature is absolutely beautiful.
How cool is it, that with just 3 ingredient you can have homemade jam! Full of antioxidants and deliciousness. I have a detailed post if you want to learn how to grow your own roselle hibiscus plant, check it out! To make this roselle hibiscus jam we do need to use fresh calyxes. I would encourage you to add this versatile plant to the garden its easy to grow and highly abundant! You may be able to source fresh calyxes at a specialty store or later in the season at the farmers market.
Before I grew hibiscus I really thought the part that was used was the dried petals of the flower. Turns out that what is used and dried is the calyx. After the flower blooms and dies back the seed pod begins to enlarge and the outer part of the seed pod is the calyx. That’s the part we are after it can be stored dried or used fresh depending on the use.
The pods have a dark red color that does stain. When removing the calyxes from the seed pods I recommend wearing gloves. The stain is similar to when you handle beets.
Aside from making homegrown hibiscus jam there are many other things you can do with it! Think agua fresca, cocktails, teas! A girl Defloured even made a delicious hibiscus frosting! Last year we used this jam in place of cranberry sauce for thanksgiving and it was a hit. I also ate too many slices of toast slathered with this jam and butter!
Like always I am so happy to share garden to table recipes that are simple and delicious.
Happy growing & cooking!
-Tahiri
Roselle hibiscus jam
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh roselle calyxes
- 1 cup Water
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
- Harvest Roselle calyxes when they are plump, separate red part from seed pods and rinse.
- Add seed pods to a pot and add water just enough for them to be all covered. Boil for 25 min.
- Strain seed pods from liquid. Keep liquid to use as a base.
- Bring a pot to a boil with the liquid adding in calyxes and sugar, for about 30 min. Stirring frequently.
- Let cool and blend if you want a smooth jam, I prefer it chunky!
- Pour into a container and store in the fridge.
