Last year the lovely
African Aussie sent me some rosella (Wild Hibiscus) seeds and it if now harvest time.
You can read more about rosellas by clicking on the "Rosellas" label in the side bar.
I only planted out 3 plants but they are quite prolific and will provide more than enough for our needs.
Each branch is loaded with fruit and as the fruit matures another one grows as well.
This afternoon I picked a bucket full and you could hardly see where I had been. I will pick some more on the weekend and then next week is the local show so I need some for that too.
I spent this evening peeling the fruity calyx away from the inner seed pod.
It is just a matter of running a knife around the base of the fruit and then the seed pod is easy to remove. I know that you need to keep the pod if you want to make jam as it has pectin in it but as I am not making jam I am discarding mine.
I will be using some as a stewed fruit, some as cordial and this year I want to try drying some to use as a herbal tea. It costs a lot to buy $6 for 20 tea bags. But has some great reported health benefits
Health Benefits:
- Lowers Blood Pressure
- Lowers Cholesterol
- Maintains healthy blood lipid levels
- Very High source of active Anthocyanin Antioxidants shown to fight cancer and abnormal cell growth
I am not sure what else I could make so if you have any ideas let me know.
Have you cooked with rosellas before? What did you make?
Wow, what a great harvest Fiona, I'm still waiting for mine to be ready, but I don't think I'll get that many, I will be planting heaps more next summer! I have been given some by a friend though, and have dried most of them for tea (yum!) and made some into a fermented drink (like ginger ale).
ReplyDeleteOh I am so glad that yours did so well Fiona. This year was a complete flop for mine. Some sort of bug attacked them, and they never quite got over it. Oh well - hopefully next year will be better.
ReplyDeleteNice! I wonder if they'd grow down here.... I have a friend that loves putting them (the preserved in syrup ones) in her champagne. Not a fan myself, but love the look of the plants.
ReplyDeleteFantastic harvest Fiona! Loved this post as I have always wondered about growing rosellas but not sure to do it or use them really...thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteWow, so much fruit. I'll have to learn your secret. Mine never do that well. Maybe I baby then too much??? My mum grew them when I was a child and made rosella jam & cordial - yummy memories.
ReplyDeleteLove rosellas, what a haul from your three plants!
ReplyDeletesuch a beautiful harvest, I love rosellas in syrup they're exquisite. I'm amazed how prolific they are, I suspect they wouldn't like the cold where we are but I'd love to grow them.
ReplyDeleteHey there! don't buy tea bags - we sell stuff like tea brewers etc at drinkteaa.com...but if you want something super easy (like tea bags), look up Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker. it heats up the water and auto drips like a coffee maker. Put ice in the pitcher and boom, iced tea. We dont sell those, just google it. I think we picked ours up at walmart. Love your hibiscus!
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