Tag Archives: Hibiscus sadariffa

Belize, Food

Hibiscus (Sorrel/ Roselle) Spring Rolls.

Munchkin.More.EatingHi Everyone!!  There was no post yesterday because we had a power-cut in the evening.  We had to rummage around in the dark for all our candles…it was most inconvenient.  We really need to get energy independent one of these days.

Again, boredom and excitement (what an oxymoron) are stimulating us to run around like busy little bees.  Right now we are starting our day at 5.30am… as soon as the sun comes up.  After that, it is a race to get things done before the on-slaught of heat!  Today, Gnome was mashing and his comment of the day was, “I had good results from the Mashing today, tomorrow I will be Sparging.”  Other than that, he didn’t say much else.  He also made some nice sandal-wood scented soaps.

I have posted up a recipe for Hibiscus Spring Rolls…catching up an a back-log of old recipes. Hibiscus is also known as Roselle; here in Belize, everyone calls it Sorrel.

Sorrel Plant with Flowers.
Sorrel Plant with Flowers.
Fresh Sorrel.
Fresh Sorrel.

And these are my yummy Hibiscus spring rolls with shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots (my own, of course) and water chest-nuts.  No meat, so they are vegetarian spring rolls.  The hibiscus adds colour, crunch and a mild sourness to the whole culinary experience.  Lovely!!

Hibiscus Spring Rolls.
Hibiscus Spring Rolls.
Belize, Farming, Plants

The Mind-Boggling Truth Behind Biomass.

Attacking.MunchkinAs Gnome would put it, “Biomass is a Bitch!” and I truly agree with him, after the amount of work I have done in gathering medicinal herbs to dry.  As mentioned before, we are working in partnership with BotanicaBelize to produce a line of facial products.  One of the products is a facial tea which is jam packed with an array of medicinal herbs and plants (according to the season in which they are picked).  This entire week, I have been picking Red Head (Hamelia patens), Plantain, Bamboo, Hierba del Cancer, Lemongrass, Hibiscus (Sorrel), Sage, Basil, Chanca Piedra, Noni Leaf, Mint, Culantro and Jackass Bitters.

Hamelia patens or Read Head.
Hamelia patens or Read Head.
Fresh Chanca Piedra.
Fresh Chanca Piedra.

And it is not just a few plants here and there as I gaily skip from one plant to the other.  No, it is actually a real labour of love where I gather bunches and bunches of each plant in a wheel barrow.  I sweat and I use muscle power (Munchkin Power!).  You will not believe the amount of fresh stuff that I have had to harvest to get a final dry weight…for every 2oz (60g) of dry weight in material, I have to gather 1.5 lbs (600g) of fresh herbs!  And this is dried noni leaf…about 2oz dried.

This was 600g of Fresh Leaf!
This was 600g of Fresh Leaf!

So, when you buy any dried tea like chamomile or mint, to give an example, each teabag is actually 1 oz (30g) of fresh herb.  It is totally mind-boggling…plus a lot of work if you do it yourself!

Anyway, I am glad I have done it!  It is nice to hoard everything in jars to display:

Jars of Herbs.
Jars of Herbs.
More Jars of Herbs.
More Jars of Herbs.

Yay!!  I managed to get all the herbs gathered and dried in time, despite Gnome’s frenzied time with Miso (!) Everything is All Right and I managed to finish off all the drying process this afternoon despite a surprise early afternoon blustery storm.

Belize, Food, Plants

Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce.

Food.MunchkinThe Roselle plant (known as Sorrel in Belize) can keep on producing fruit if you pick it regularly.  I am on my third picking and still drying the sepals for tea.

Fresh Sorrel For Sun-drying.
Fresh Sorrel For Sun-drying.

In my research, I have not seen much culinary use for this hibiscus except for teas, drinks and jams.  Because of this, I have decided to come up with a few ideas of my own.

My first invention is Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites:

Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.
Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.
Serving Suggestion 2: Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.
Serving Suggestion 2: Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.

The chicken is seasoned with cinnamon and cumin which compliments the subtle berry-tones in the sweet and sour sauce. Wow…look at the colour…it is such a gorgeous red!!

If you are interested, read my full recipe in Sweet and Sour Roselle Sauce with Chicken Bites.

Belize, Food, Medical Related, Plants

The Christmas Plant of Belize: Sorrel.

Munchkin.Another.LookEvery year, Sorrel flowers and fruits in the months of December and January.  That is why I call it the Christmas Plant of Belize.  It is also green and red so it fits in with the whole theme.

Sorrel Plant with Flowers.
Sorrel Plant with Flowers.

I have been a busy little bee collecting sorrel over the holidays.  It is quite intensive work so you really have to like the plant to do all this.  After harvesting, the fruit needs to be removed from the seed pod and this involves scoring around the base of the fruit to pop out the pod.  This gets quite repetitive especially after the hundredth one!

Seed Pods Separated From the Sorrel Fruit.
Seed Pods Separated From the Sorrel Fruit.

I had quite a bit of sorrel so I sun-dried the fruit to store in jars.

Fresh Sorrel For Sun-drying.
Fresh Sorrel For Sun-drying.
Jar of Sun-dried Sorrel.
Jar of Sun-dried Sorrel.

The fruit of the plant can be used to make a tea or a cool drink and it has a lovely, berry-like tart flavour.  To make a tea simply use between 10 to 20 calyces per cup and boil for about 5 minutes until it is a deep red colour.  This hibiscus has many medicinal properties including lowering your blood pressure so it is well worth the effort.  It you would like to know more about the useful properties of Hibiscus sabdariffa, check out my link in the library.