Recipe ideas for rosellas

[Shalem]

I just bought rosellas for the first time and not sure what to do with it all. The minimum purchase had to be 3.5kg. I was keen to buy this as I had not seen where else I could source this locally. Before deciding to buy this bulk quantity, I tried to find some rosella recipes and thought about which people I could share this beautiful flower with. I'm not sure but I suspect most Australians have personally not seen a rosella. I did not see one until very recently and I've lived in Australia for 33 years. Though I could use all these rosellas to make jam, it would be nice to use it in a variety of ways. I have a couple of rosella jam recipes and can easily see how these pretty flowers would decorate desserts and cakes wonderfully. I haven't found many other recipes, though I am still researching. Has anyone tried some nice rosella recipes? Also, these flowers have a large hard green bulb structure in the centre. Please excuse my lack of botanical experience but does anyone know what this bulb is, and how could I easily peel the petals and calyx away from this so the flower appears pretty and in tact for decorations? I'm intrigued how the flowers do not have this bulb in the "Hibiscus flowers in syrup" product.

[Bluetongue]

Hi Shalem,
that's an intriguing couple of questions! I've only got internet access at the library at the moment, so will look at my books at home over the long weekend and see what I can come up with in terms of recipes.

I have no idea about the bulb that you mentioned. I grew a different hibiscus for the flowers (H. heterophylla maybe) and didn't encounter such a thing. Hopefully someone else can help.

Have a lovely weekend,
Ali

[Shalem]

I'm sorry I should've read my Wild Lime book before posting this subject. I have since discovered that what I bought is not the native rosella but the wild rosella which is an introduced plant from Asia. Wild Lime book has several recipe ideas for this rosella, which will keep me going, and it also gives instructions on how to remove the green seed. Apparently this wild rosella is the one used to make rosella jam so I'm glad I bought it for at least that. I didn't realise there was more than one rosella. The native rosella is referred to as hibiscus, and apparently comes in pink petals with white edge and purple seed. The wild rosella petals are one burgundy colour with green seed inside. As I bought a product once called "hibiscus flowers in syrup", in which the flower was exactly the same as a wild rosella, I assumed that it was the native hibiscus flower, but it is not. I believe I have interpreted correctly from this book and from talking to a member of the SGAP branch.

[Bunyip]

I love the rosella!
Yes, otherwise known as the hibiscus.
I use them to garnish meats but love drinking as a juice.

Mind you, the ones you have make a lovely tea.

[Shalem]

WILD ROSELLA FLOWERS

Hibiscus sabdariffa




I bought these incredibly cheap from one store, up to 10 times cheaper than 2 other stores. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to buy them.

These ones come with the seed pod inside the flower, which is closed as in the above photo, but deseeded wild rosellas are available commercially.



I manually removed the green seed pod inside each flowers. Simple to do by chopping the base with a knife and pushing the pod through with a slim instrument like a pen. Well worth the effort, which wasn't difficult, to save hundreds of dollars. After that, the flowers tended to stay open.

[Shalem]

Home made Wild Rosella flowers in syrup.

Recipe: Wild Food book - Juleigh Robins

Easy to do on the stovetop.

Commercial ones also available.

Can be used in drinks as a garnish inside the glass.

[Shalem]

Wild Rosella Jelly


Recipe: Wild Food book - Juleigh Robins


Easy to make. I used a whole sachet of gelatine powder. The gelatine packet advises how much to use per amount of liquid.

Tasted similar to commercial strawberry/raspberry jelly, but I found it to be more firm than those, which is good.

[Shalem]

home made Wild Rosella Jam.

more info Breakfast topic.

[Shalem]

Well I'm so glad I had the opportunity to buy those wild rosella flowers at an amazingly cheap price because I thoroughly enjoyed cooking and tasting them.

*** What an interesting flower to cook, eat and decorate with! ***

(1) JELLY: I was very impressed with that wild rosella jelly. That is the best jelly I've ever made, having stuck mainly with commercial jelly crystals prior to that. This jelly was not only tasty & had a beautiful colour, but I was amazed at how firm and solid it was to cut, and how it stayed that way, whether I'd placed it in a trifle or just plain as is in the fridge. All the commercial jelly crystals I'd used never stayed firm, & always "melted" in my trifles!

(2) JAM: This is the 2nd time I've made home made rosella jam, and it's one of my favourite jams. I'm not a big jam fan (especially supermarket ones), but am of this one. Not only is it so tasty, without being too "sickly", but seems to stay fresh for far longer than a standard jam I bought out of a can, that went "off" after a while. Plus I really like the vibrant colour.

Green Seed Pods contain Pectin: Yesterday, flicking through "Country Classic" cookbook, i happened to stumble on their Rosella Jam recipe. What I discovered was very interesting & I'd never read it anywhere else. Author keeps green seed pods from rosellas, boils them in water till soft, strains liquid, which then gets used to set the jam. They believe pods have to be green, indicating presence of pectin. (I used Jamsetta Sugar to set the jam, and sweeten it at the same time.)

(3) DRIED ROSELLAS: When I dried rosella flowers, that were soaked in sugar syrup, in my Dehydrator, I thought they tasted like a particular dried fruit, eg dried mango or pawpaw, but my husband said it was like toffee apple.

(4) WILD ROSELLA SYRUP: I made tasted like caramel toffee syrup to me and Mum. Going by no 3 above, it is interesting that perhaps wild rosellas can have a toffee/caramel characteristic when used with white sugar. Question: Does anyone know why this is?

[Shalem]

HUEY'S KITCHEN TV SHOW

When I had Huey's Kitchen running in the background last night, I noticed they were broadcasting rosella flowers. David Taylor of Alice Springs showed how to remove the green seed pod with a knife by cutting around the base of the flower, push your thumb in then hook the knife onto the pod & remove it all. Seems easier than the method I described above in which my husband cut the tip of the base then pushed the pod through with a sharp point. He also confirmed what I wrote above: save some of the seed pods & pop them in the pan with your jam ingredients as it will release its pectin to set the jam. As there's some confusion as to whether or not these flowers are native to Australia, the chef confirmed they are not native but introduced. (According to Wild Lime book, they seem to get mentioned with Australian bushfood area because the Aboriginal people use them).

The chefs cooked the Rosella flowers with a balsamic reduction with buffalo fillet. I suppose if you were keen you could serve this Kangaroo or emu fillet! They made a Rosella syrup first, followed by the addition of balsamic vinegar to make a jus that can be drizzled around the fillet for a striking presentation.

Huey's posted these recipes on his website http://www.hueyskitchen.com.au under Recipes of course or you can do search on Rosella (I know you can work it out, just trying to help).

On the broadcast, the chef mentioned how to make a Rosella drink. As this isn't listed on Huey's site, I've written it below:
Rosella syrup, vodka, squeeze of lime, ice & soda.

[Shalem]

Rosella cupcakes www.bushtuckershop.com