Hibiscus Syrup

I thought I would give flavored syrup making a try as I intend to get seeds started early this year so I can have a more bountiful harvest from the herb garden and in turn create more with my plant cuttings. One of the projects I want to do, and will probably make for Christmas gifts next year as this was a very simple recipe to follow, is to make garden syrups. With a stash of dried Hibiscus flowers hidden in the cupboard I figured this would be a great chance to give the recipe a try. Unfortunately I cannot remember where I first read this recipe(most likely in a borrowed herb gardening book from our local library) but none the less it is very simple and most likely a common recipe as it's easily adaptable.

Three ingredients are all you'll need to create this syrup: dried herbs, sugar, and water, or more specifically:

Ingredients:

1/2c. ~ Dried Herb/Flowers
1c. ~ Sugar
1c. ~ Water
1oz. ~ Vodka(optional)

Kitchen tools needed:

~ small pot
~ whisk
~ measuring cup
~ fine mesh strainer
~ jigger cup(optional)

For this recipe you'll be placing all ingredients(sans the optional vodka as you don't want to cook the alcohol) together in a small pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk the mixture as it cooks to ensure the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. The mixture will start to darken as it cooks and will slightly thicken when it's ready to cool. Keep in mind that the syrup won't properly thicken while still hot, that will happen as it cools, yet it will be slightly thicker than water when it's ready to be removed from the heat and left to cool at room temperature. This took about 10 minutes for the syrup to reach the desired consistency; don't be fooled by cooking floral petals as they made the mixture look thicker than it really was. Mostly they hang out at the top of the cooking syrup so you'll need to stir occasionally to check that the syrup is ready.

When the syrup is cooled(I let it get to room temperature, so not cold and slightly warm) you'll need to strain it before bottling it. This is where a fine mesh strainer would really be handy, I unfortunately had misplaced mine so removing the Hibiscus petals took more time than I wanted to give but in the end it was worth the effort so as not to having floating plant bits in the syrup.

I keep old juice bottles on hand(if they're glass), the more interesting the better and in this case these small glasses were perfect for storing my homemade syrup.

When your syrup is completely strained you have the option to add in an ounce of vodka which will serve as a preservative for your syrup(also you can store your syrup in the freezer if you add the vodka to it). Without the vodka you may only have a week or two to use your syrup but with it you should be able to keep it three to four weeks, but in either case remember to store your syrup in the refrigerator.

 This recipe ended up making a little over a cup of syrup, so not a lot but really a great amount to start with if you haven't made your own syrup before. It's a simple recipe that is easy to double or triple if you want to make a larger batch.

Some things to consider here as well(for the health conscience reader and those who may just be interested): While a cup of sugar may look and sound bad this recipe is intended for mixing in drinks, a little should go a long way. I haven't mixed it in anything yet but am looking forward to using it to make my own Hibiscus soda drink.

One more thing to note, if you plan on doing this with Hibiscus(as I'm not certain with other herbs/florals) this floral is STRONG. With as much sugar as this recipe took it's still very tart but tasty. Now this may be because my dried Hibiscus petals were intended for brewing tea but this floral does have a very unique flavor(great when paired with green tea by the by) that comes out strong. Really looking forward to trying this again with Lavender from the garden.

You can find an alternative to this recipe here using Prickly Pears.