About the Recipe
Jamaican Sorrel is a delicious addition to your holiday table. Beautiful, bright and refreshing!
Ingredients
5 1/4 ounces (150g; about 3 cups) dried sorrel (hibiscus), rinsed with cold water in a colander or strainer
3/4 pound (350g) peel-on fresh ginger, washed and grated (see note)
10 whole cloves
10 allspice berries, roughly crushed with the side of a knife
1 pound 1 1/2 ounces (495g; about 2 1/2 cups) sugar
Preparation
In a 4- or 5-quart pot or Dutch oven, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add sorrel, grated ginger, cloves, and crushed allspice, and boil until the sorrel begins to plump and swell, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand until cool. Then, continue to steep in an airtight vessel in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.
Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a large pitcher, pressing on solids to express as much liquid as possible. If needed, strain again until it is clear of any ginger remnants. Discard solids.
In a 2-quart saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil with the sugar. Continue to cook, stirring, until sugar has completely dissolved. Remove simple syrup from heat.
Stir simple syrup into the strained sorrel, 1/2 cup at a time, until it reaches the desired sweetness level,
Chill until ready to drink. Serve over ice.