What the hell are we looking at?
At first glance you might not know what the hell you’re looking at. Some kind of barbecued baby cuttlefish, perhaps? Some weird Taiwanese gummy candy that was dropped on a dusty floor? Maybe some kind of alien spore that is only the first wave of an silent invasion that occupies our bodies and replaces our souls with some sort of implacable hive-mind drone entities? Or perhaps it’s jellyfish jerky with a lovely char sui glaze?
Well, if you guessed any of those you’re totally wrong, and you already know this if you actually read the headline of this post. Flowers, yes! Candied and dried hibiscus flowers, indeed!
At the Culver City Farmer’s Market on Tuesday afternoon I picked up (in addition to tomatoes and enough peaches to make me stagger a bit under the weight) a few bags of snacks — little rice crackers, lightly salted roasted cashews, and these really fantastic dried, candied hibiscus flowers. If you’ve ever had jamaica (pronounced ha-my-ka) agua fresco, that fantastic hibiscus cooler common to Mexico, you’ll know right off the bat what this will taste like. The drink tastes a bit like very sweet but still quite tart cranberry juice, with an un-surprisingly floral note. I absolutely love the stuff poured over lots of ice, as a fresh summer drink that drive away the heat. A shot or two of good vodka in the drink makes for a fantastic variant on a Cape Cod cocktail, btw.
The dried flowers have a chewy and slightly crumbly texture, much like dried mango, but the flavor is all hibiscus. That is, it tastes very similar to dried sweetened cranberries. A very interesting and delightful snack, for sure. My eight-year-old son popped them in his mouth without hesitation and polished off the bag, greedy little bugger.
Delightfully sweet and slightly tart candied hibiscus. No, it’s not squid.
I was so intrigued by these that I’ve given some thought to drying some myself. I’m sure I can do it without suflur dioxide, although I’m frankly not really concerned about using it in tiny quantities. Stay tuned, lovely people, perhaps I’ll have another post about homemade candied hibiscus soon.
If you see these, give ‘em a try.
I used to work for a small tea company where my boss would hand blend tea, and when she used hibiscus, it smelled delicious. I can only imagine how tasty these candied versions are. I will be keeping an eye out at the farmer’s markets!
Hi,
I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could e-mail me?
Jillian
please do post a homemade recipe but if you can leave out the dehydrator for those that don’t have one it would be much appreciated. thanks!
Can you please tell me where you purchased these? I had some from Trader Joe’s and they no longer carry. I am desperate to find these as I use them in Christmas cookies. Thank you for any help! I would need them to be shipped to me via USPS.
If you’re in LA some of the Farmer’s Markets carry them. Sorry I don’t know the specific seller but I got them from a stand at the Culver City farmers market (Tuesdays 3-7PM).
Try this link to find the vendor –some guy who sells packaged nuts and dried fruits.
http://www.culvercity.org/Business/AboutEconDev/FarmersMarket.aspx
I also am bummed about Trader Joe’s no longer carrying them. The local Food for Less carried hibiscus in bulk, so I grabbed me a pound. I boil it and make fresh water with it. I’m wondering if you have a recipe for making the candied hibiscus. My thought would be to use simple syrup and let dry, but would love some suggestions, too. Thanks!