Further, it seems to be peak blooming season for Rose of Sharon out here. As a result, I have an explosion of Rose of Sharon flowers, which only last a few days before falling off the bush. (I also have an explosion of purple litter in the yard.) So, I've been trying to figure out if I can put any of my surplus of blooms to good use.
As it turns out, Rose of Sharon is a member of the hibiscus family, and anyone familiar with herbal teas will recognize hibiscus flowers as a common ingredient. Hibiscus tea is high in vitamin C and is supposed to lower your blood pressure if consumed on a regular basis. A quick disclaimer: the hibiscus used in herbal teas is a different species from the hibiscus known as the Rose of Sharon, however I found many recipes that made use of common house plant varieties and figured that I'd give it a go with my plants as well.
For my recipe, I gathered about 8 flowers from my bushes, and made sure to include the sepal (the little green petals that cover the colorful petals when the flower is still a bud) because real hibiscus tea is made from the sepals of the flower.After picking off all the ants from my flowers, I put them in my french press with a dash of cinnamon and filled it with boiling water. Immediately, the petals turned white and the water started taking on a smokey color. I then let them steep for about 15 minutes before pressing out the flowers and pouring of the resulting tea into another container. I read that it is important not to leave the flowers in too long as it will ruin the flavor of the tea.
Since it is summer here, I decided to try my new hibiscus tea sweetened over ice. It had a very nice fruity flavor, and the cinnamon added a nice compliment. Although it was not weak, I think I might try to make it stronger next time, especially if I am going to drink it as an iced tea. I have found a good use for all these flowers in my yard!
- add more flowers for a stronger tea
- brew with sticks of cinnamon (I didn't have sticks, so I used the powdered variety)
- add lemon juice to the tea
- sweeten with honey
2 comments:
Neat! I bought some roses the other day, and the first few have started to droop. As I was putting them in the trash (I think I might want to figure out urban composting, but that's another entry) I was thinking about possibly using the petals to make tea or ice cream, which is supposed to be very good. Probably not the best idea with conventional, probably pesticide-laden roses, though.
Yeah, I've heard that roses from the store often have pesticides on them, unless you find some labeled "organic." I did come across a neat recipe for flower butter, however. Basically, you cut up the flower petals really fine and mix them into softened sweet butter. You then put it all back in the refrigerator for a few days to let the flavor set in. I might try that with my Rose of Sharon.
Oh, and definitely post on your urban composting. It's something I've been wanting to figure out too.
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