{"id":6074,"date":"2012-08-01T21:18:42","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T04:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/?p=6074"},"modified":"2012-09-27T15:45:59","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T22:45:59","slug":"summer-spritzer-from-hibiscus-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/summer-spritzer-from-hibiscus-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer spritzer from hibiscus flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first time I sipped hibiscus flower tea was at a short-lived Caribbean barbecue joint in Milpitas. Served over ice, the tea was tart and refreshing with a flavor faintly reminiscent of cranberries.\u00a0 The owner called it jamaica<\/em>, I assumed after his homeland.<\/p>\n

As is often the case, though, as soon as I was aware of\u00a0 jamaica, <\/em>I began to spot it on the menus of<\/em> Mexican restaurants everywhere I went in the South Bay.\u00a0 Jamaica<\/em> (ha-mike-a), it turned out, is Spanish for hibiscus.\u00a0 I loved the underlying flavor, but the Mexican version was usually too sweet for me.\u00a0 I would order it with ice and then wait for the cubes to melt and dilute the drink.<\/p>\n

When I spotted the familiar red beverage at a Portland farmers market recently, it felt like time to try to make my own.<\/p>\n

Finding hibiscus flowers was the first task.\u00a0 Any well-stocked Mexican market should have the dried blossoms among the spices. Dashen International Groceries on Glisan Street had them on a back shelf.<\/p>\n

The blossoms are almost black and not terribly appetizing.\u00a0 Don’t be deterred.\u00a0 The flavor is outstanding.<\/p>\n

The traditional recipe is very simple.\u00a0 Dried flowers are steeped in boiling water with spices and sugar, then the mixture is strained after it cools.\u00a0 To the usual cinnamon stick, I’ve added a couple of star anise for more character.\u00a0\u00a0 I also introduced another layer of flavor with orange juice and slices of lemon and lime.<\/p>\n

This citrusy tea is a great base for a summer spritzer or a light sangria \u2013 sweet but tart and nicely spiced.<\/p>\n

It works well for parties because guests can choose whether they’d like alcohol or not. I serve it in a pitcher and suggest they add sparkling water to taste for a thirst-quenching spritzer. A splash of dry ros\u00c3\u00a9 \u2013 I like Marqu\u00c3\u00a9s de C\u00c3\u00a1ceres from Spain \u2013 produces a light sangria.<\/p>\n

This is a festive drink, just made for hot August nights.\u00a0 I plan to serve it often this summer.<\/p>\n

JAMAICA SPRITZER<\/strong>
\nMakes about 8 servings<\/em>6 cups water
\n1 1\/2 cups sugar
\n2 cups dried hibiscus flowers (about 3 ounces)
\n1 cinnamon stick
\n2 star anise
\n1 medium orange
\n1 lemon
\n2 limes
\nIce
\n1 bottle sparkling water
\n1 bottle ros\u00c3\u00a9 wineBring water to boil in a large saucepan.\u00a0 Turn off heat.\u00a0 Stir in sugar, hibiscus flowers, cinnamon stick and star anise.\u00a0 Let steep while the water cools, about an hour.\u00a0\u00a0 Strain the liquid into a large pitcher and discard the flowers and spices.\u00a0 The base can be made and refrigerated up to a couple of days in advance at this point.<\/p>\n

A couple of hours before serving, squeeze orange and add juice to the base.\u00a0 Thinly slice lemon and limes and add.\u00a0 Chill.<\/p>\n

To serve:\u00a0 Place ice in a glass and fill a little more than halfway with jamaica<\/em>.\u00a0 For a non-alcoholic drink, top off with sparkling water and stir.\u00a0 For sangria, add a good splash of wine, top off with sparkling water and stir.<\/p>\n

Aleta Watson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The first time I sipped hibiscus flower tea was at a short-lived Caribbean barbecue joint in Milpitas. Served over ice, the tea was tart and refreshing with a flavor faintly reminiscent of cranberries.\u00a0 The owner called it jamaica, I assumed after his homeland. As is often the case, though, as soon as I was … Continue reading Summer spritzer from hibiscus flowers<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6074"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6273,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6074\/revisions\/6273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}