There are different categories of people when it comes to celebrating Valentine’s Day. Some love it, some hate it and some make fun of it. I fall in a different group, the one with folks who like to celebrate any day that calls for yummy food, good drinks and quality time with your loved ones! And irrespective of the occasion falling on a weekend or a busy weekday, our kind figures out some way to make it special. I cherish this day, which is celebrated all across the globe where every one is speaking one single language – Love! The day is filled with chocolates, champagne, roses, love notes, kisses and the world is painted red.
Keeping in mind the color of love, I have this sexy red, flavorful hibiscus syrup for you. Drizzle a little on fruit or salad vinaigrette, swirl it on ice cream or yogurt and on a special evening, stir it with your choice of alcohol and get a little tipsy.
Our Valentine’s Day was like any other busy weekday except with more yumminess involved. There was a grown up version of mac and cheese for lunch, a citrusy cocktail and gnocchi with basil pesto for dinner followed by late night chocolate fudge cake. Eating out would have been more relaxing but then again, who likes to spend a romantic evening in a crowded restaurant. While he was busy at work, I stayed active in my tiny kitchen preparing our favorites.
Good homemade syrup always comes handy. It’s easy to make and you can flavor it the way you like. I added some ginger, lemon peels and couple of star anise in it. As it boiled, the color got darker, it released the flavor and in about 15 minutes or so, I had a bottle of hibiscus syrup ready to be used.
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 3/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers
- 1 inch ginger, finely grated
- 2 whole star anise
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup sugar (add more if you like it sweeter)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
- In a deep pan, mix all the ingredients and bring it to a boil.
- Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, cover it with a lid and let it steep for 5 more minutes.
- Strain it through a sieve and store the syrup in an airtight bottle.
Did you ever make hibiscus syrup? If yes, where did you use it later? I am looking for more ideas, please share with me if you have any!
Wow..an absolute must for me..my Hibiscus shrubs will thanks you for it! Am sure the syrup could be used to make a warm Hibiscus tea also..lovely clicks, Kankana.
I love homemade drinks. Amazing photos! 🙂
Exquisite syrup and photography! The flavor of hibiscus is so interesting.
Cheers,
Rosa
I LOVE Hibiscus n your photography is just mind blowing! I guess I do need to move to CA to learn from you 🙂
I don’t care what you reason is, just move here babe 😀 We will have fun doing things we both enjoy!
What a stunning gift!
Beautiful!!!
I am loving the the deep red color of the syrup… You know I have tried hibicus glazed fruit once… Now you have inspired me to try my hands on it at home 😉
Stunning Shots as always…
Wow! Gorgeous shots….love the rich red color! I have never tried hibiscus syrup…but this does make me want to try it out soon!
I have never heard about it. The pictures are mind blowing too.
Regarding the Valentines day celebration, there is the fourth group, like me, who is confused. To celebrate or not to celebrate. To surrender to the Hallmark, Archie and Macy’s sale for love or just be myself and celebrate love everyday.
Never heard of a Hibiscus Syrup, but i bet my Hus would love this, as he is crazy abt Rose syrup…I’m not a fan of flowery syrups though…high time I changed my mind 🙂
Love the pics and that blue board or backgrouns you are using…
Regards,
Manju
http://manjuseatingdelights.blogspot.com/
Never would have thought to make this, but I’m loving it! Looks amazing. The photographs are absolutely beautiful too. Love the dark background with the red syrup, great contrast.
Gorgeous styling and delicious recipe!! You take amazing cocktail photos!
I like everything involved ginger and when i read your recipe, i fall in love! great clicks Kan
Very romantic K! Love the colour and am sure it tasted great too! Am sure it could be put to a hundred uses in dessert- maybe thickened a little and made like a coulis to drizzle over panacotta, icecream, pudding,.. or to poach pears and other fruit?
Oh I love the idea of using it in poached pear! 🙂
I love, love the first vodka shot….Makes me want to grab it even though I don’t drink (alcohol) at all!
omit the vodka and enjoy 🙂 It’s still tastes good!
Wow, never heard of this…how do you get these ideas ? Fantastic clicks, as always
Oh I make syrup with several things, it’s one of my fav thing to store in pantry 🙂
I’ve had hibiscus tea in Egypt and the flavor was exquisite. The sound of adding ginger and lemon to it makes me want to make the syrup. Where do you find dried hibiscus?
I found it in a middle eastern store. I don’t think it’s that tough to find. You can also look for it online 🙂
I had never heard of this gorgeous syrup before. Just Loved the red!! Thanks for introducing me to something new Kankana 🙂
I recently discovered this Mexican staple “agua de Jamaica.”
And, I love it!
Now, add vodka? What a cocktail!
wow , what an amazing idea ! And I loooove your beautiful pictures !
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
kind regards from vienna
melanie
Thank you Melanie. I am on love with your photography and your blog 🙂
Wow, this sounds amazing!
Kankana, Very creative and appealing presentation of Hibiscus syrup. I have never made syrup but my mother used to make hibiscus oil by boiling fresh/ dried hibiscus flowers in oil, that is remedy for hair growth. Some times hibiscus and Brahmi leaves were combined to make oil.
Here locally (NC)many ladies save hibiscus flowers in summer to make oil…Last year I missed, going to do this summer.
Thanks for sharing this post.
Usha.
I have horrible hair. I definitely should try the oil. So which oil should I use ?
Kankana,
I will suggest you to use pure coconut oil.You can first try making with 2 cups of oil..give first preference to fresh red color hibiscus flowers (original desi color), if you don’t find go with dry ones. You can use one cup full coarse dry crushed flowers, for more benefits add 1 heaped tbsp soaked methi seeds, grind it to paste. Mix everything in oil, slow boil for 10-15 minutes, later simmer over low heat for 25-30 minutes.( You can use slow cooker too, but do it without closing lid, let it go for 2 hours on high or more time on low setting). Let oil sit in pot for one or two days, then filter using coffee filter or cloth. You will experience not so pleasant aroma so apply on a restful day, leave for few hours before washing hairs.
I will be doing few experiments this summer, I will let you know.Look for “eclipta alba” (Maka or Bhringraj)in google for more hair benefits.
What a gorgeous color! I like the bottle too. I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day.
Hibiscus Syrup is amazing with champagne. Pour small amount of syrup in bottom of a fluted glass and top with champagne. YUM!!
Your syrup looks wonderful!
Thanks! I will try with champagne next time 🙂
love it creative recipe and going to restaurants is crazy at valentines so busy, Hope your well hugs Rebecca
We had many hibiscus plants around our bunglow long ago. But they flowers always made it to dress the Gods and Goddesses, they never made it to our dining tables! I have never heard about this syrup. The pictures are brilliant Kankana.
yeah, it’s a tradition in my parent’s house too. My dad loved gardening and has several pots of hibiscus flowers of different colors, which gets offered to god every morning 🙂
Incredible! I can’t get over the stunning color, and I can just taste the cocktail! So beautiful! I’m glad you had such a delicious Valentine’s Day 🙂
We make a hibiscus syrup several times a year for drinks. I have used the syrup as a glaze for fish and pork. That is delightful! I have come up with desserts like poached or baked fruit or a topping for ice cream and add just a little for color and slight flavour to whipping cream. Thank you for sharing and posting your lovely pics.
I love your idea of using it with fish. That’s what I will do tonight! Thanks a lot Nonie 🙂
Kankana this is beautiful..i have never heard of this but so want to try it..perhaps the baby’s Gerber bottles will come to use now 🙂
ha ha ha that would make a nice prop 🙂
I love the color of that syrup, and I’m so curious about the flavor! Fantastic idea for a drink!
What a great gift idea…my girlfriends would love this! Is there somewhere you can buy dried hibicus flowers? How long do you think this would keep? I can’t wait to try this…would be so yummy over so many different things. I can’t wait to try.
I bought it from a near by middle eastern store. I don’t think it’s very difficult to find and you can always look for it in amazon! I am so glad you liked it 🙂 I usually make small batches and keep it for couple of weeks maximum. Never kept beyond that!
What an adorable gift idea! Lovely photos by the way. Can I ask what type of light source you’re using?
Thank you Jenn 🙂 I shoot only by the window in day light!
Sounds great. You can find dried hibiscus flowers also in many Mexican groceries. I think this would be great to flavor ice tea. How long will it keep?
Thanks Abbe 🙂 I never make any syrup in a huge quantity so it usually finishes faster. It should stay good for few weeks in the refrigerator and if frozen, probably it will last even longer.
So stunning! I love your photography, such a beautiful style. I’ve been wanting to make hibiscus syrup for a while but lack a hibiscus plant. My neighbor down the street has one, however, and I am tempted to ask them if I can have a few of their dried up blossoms so I can give this a try.
I too hope you find some from your neighbors! And thanks so much for you kind words. I am a huge fan of your photography.
This is absolutely gorgeous! I make homemade kombucha and have made a few simple syrups in order to flavor it. I’ve never made anything using hibiscus, though I’ve had store-bought hibiscus tea and love it! I’m going to make your recipe and flavor my kombucha with it! Thanks for the handy dandy recipe!
This is absolutely gorgeous!! Love the color of the syrup 🙂
There is a restaurant in Auroville Pondicherry which serves hibiscus soda and my husband loves it. Never thought about making it at home. Where did you buy the dried hibiscus petals?
Thanks Chinmayie 🙂 I fond it in a middle eastern store. I am not sure if you can find it in India but I know this flower is very popular in India. So I guess you can always dry it and then use it for syrup. Or you can also look for the dried ones online in Amazon.
Kankana, the syrup looks so so beautiful! Stunning colour. And great pics too! Love all of them 🙂
I like the way you think…celebrating Valentine’s Day with good food and drinks. This syrup and that drink are gorgeous!
I am definitely with you on that, Kankana. I love any day and celebrations that involve good food, and fun and that’s the way life should be. Your photography is stunningly gorgeous. I hope you are having a wonderful week, Kankana! 🙂
Kankana, I love that you look at Valentine’s day as an excuse for deliciousness! Perfect. And your hibiscus syrup is brilliant. The addition of citrus and ginger… sounds divine.
xxoo
E
the color is just beautiful! So elegant and rich and yet sweet! LOVE
lovely syrup:) amazing pictures.
Oh my God! Totally stumped by this post… I had a Hibiscus Drink in one of my holidays recently but absolutely forgot to ask the resort how they made it. I think this is the most beautiful post in your blog till now, or is it the love factor that’s making me think this way? Sharing… and drooling!
This is one hot sexy drink to make on the Valentine’s Day! Hibiscus is Malaysia’s national flower, so it is definitely a great idea for me to keep a bottle at home whenever we have guests over.
Wow! I’m so happy to have discovered your blog. I’m a big fan of hibiscus tea but I’d never seen a recipe for the syrup before. Your photography is beautiful. I’m your newest fan.
Wowww.. looks too good and awesome.. Love the color 🙂
so pleased to find this recipe. Brought hibiscus dried flowers back from Egypt and wondered how to make a preserve for them Have only had already made syrup with flowers, but wanted to make my own. I hope to take them (300miles) to use in sparkling wine for grandaughter’s wedding next week!! Any tips on how to keep flowers afloat in ordinary wine glasses?
You inspired me to make hibicus simple syrup frozen ice cubes for my iced tea. Thank you!