bissap soda syrup recipe
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Recipe type: Drinks
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Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
The flower used in this recipe is many monikered: it is also known as sorrel, hibiscus, or roselle.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups dried, unsweetened hibiscus
  • 2½ cups water, plus more to rinse hibiscus before cooking
  • Approx 1½ cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
  • Fresh mint, optional*
Instructions
  1. Rinse hibiscus well. I do this in a deep bowl filled with water. Agitate the hibiscus in the water, allowing the sand to loosen and sink to the bottom of the bowl. Skim rinsed petals off the top of the water and place into a small pot.
  2. Add 2½ cups of water to pot. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat slightly, and simmer for 5 minutes. (If using African hibiscus, my sister-in-law's friend recommends "boiling off the microbes" for 5 to 7 minutes before using.)
  3. Add mint if using and allow mixture to sit off heat for a few minutes.
  4. Strain the beautiful garnet colored liquid into a bowl, pressing down on solids. Discard spent hibiscus (and mint). There should be approx 1½ cups of liquid. Add the vanilla and orange blossom water. NOTE: Whatever amount of liquid you have is the amount of sugar to add in next step. Please adjust.
  5. Rinse the pot you just used, and pour strained hibiscus juice back in. Add sugar and stir to help dissolve. Turn on heat to medium to simmer gently to completely dissolve sugar grit. This may only take a minute or two while continuing to stir.
  6. Cool slightly and pour into jar to cool to room temperature before storing in fridge.
  7. There may be a skin that forms, like a syrupy thickening at the edges, after cooling. Heat gently and mix in a little water to thin.
  8. I love this as a cocktail mixture. Use a mix of hibiscus syrup, seltzer, and a non-peaty, non-smoky whiskey for a REALLY good sour cocktail. If going for a no alcohol drink, mix a few tablespoons of syrup with seltzer in a 10 ounce glass, stir well, and adjust fluids to your desired sweetness.
  9. The syrup stores well in the fridge for weeks.
Notes
*I find even a couple sprigs can be overpowering for some people. I've made it with and without and prefer without.
Recipe by story of a kitchen at https://www.storyofakitchen.com/drink-recipes/bissap-soda-syrup-recipe/