Strawberry Hibiscus Rose Sorbet
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I love going to ethnic grocery stores, buying random things, and hoarding them until juuuuuuust the perfect time. This was one of those times.
I found rose petal flower tea at an international grocery store that mostly specialized in Middle Eastern spices. I’ve been holding on to it for about 6 months.
The hibiscus was found at Poncho Villa, a Mexican grocery in North Park/City Heights. I’ve had this for about a month, glaring at me every time I walked into the kitchen. I made jamaica a couple of times but I knew I wanted to do something tastier.
I found some super sweet strawberries at the farmer’s market the other day, and knew instantly I wanted to make some sorbet, because SUMMER AND HOT AS HADES RIGHT NOW. Then I felt butterflies in my stomach (that’s how I know I’m about to make something really awesome) and thought “duh, Holly. Steep the hibiscus and the rose in the water to make the sorbeeeeeet”.
So that’s what we did. And that’s what you should do, too. Here.
You’ll need strawberries, dried rose flowers, dried hibiscus flowers, sugar and a lime.
Place the dried roses in a bowl…
… along with the hibiscus.
Pour boiling water over the flowers. How pretty is this? Cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
The hibiscus has such a deep, rich color.
Strain out the flowers and discard.
Add 1 cup of sugar to the flower water and stir to dissolve.
Add 1 tsp of lime juice, more to taste if you like. Stir in the vodka or rum if you’re using (see the notes).
In a large bowl, combine flower water and strawberries. Puree until smooth. You could also do this in a blender or food processor.
Chill the mixture thoroughly, about 2 hours. Add to your ice cream maker canister and churn according to your machine’s directions. It took mine about 20 minutes.
It’s pretty much soft serve. You’ll need to freeze it for a bit but please, taste how awesome it is already.
Freeze in an air-tight container for a couple hours before serving.
Look.
All of these flavors are pretty ridiculous together. The strawberry hits you first, and then this deep, caramel flavor from the dried hibiscus, with a faint rose aftertaste.
Totes impressed myself.
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers
- 1/4 cup dried rose flowers (see notes)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 lbs strawberries, rinsed and hulled
- 1 tsp lime juice
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp vodka or white rum (optional; see notes)
- hours before you even think about making this, put your ice cream maker canister in the freezer.
- In a medium sauce pan, bring water to a boil. Place hibiscus and rose flowers in a bowl, pour boiling water over and cover. Let steep for 15 minutes.
- Strain the flowers from the water and discard. Add 1 cup of sugar to the water and stir until dissolved. Add lime juice, a pinch of salt and vodka or rum, if using. Stir to combine. Puree the flower water and the strawberries until smooth. I used an immersion stick blender, you can use a blender, a food processor, your hands... just make it smooth.
- Refrigerate the mixture until thoroughly chilled through, about 2 hours. Churn according to your ice cream maker's directions; it took mine about 20 minutes.
- It's a little too soft serve-y right out of the machine, so place it in an air tight container and freeze for a few hours.
I found the dried rose flower tea at the Middle Eastern market (look, i love markets lol), or order on Amazon.
Adding alcohol to sorbet helps it not freeze super hard. It basically keeps it scoopable. Not necessary, and it doesn't impact flavor too much either way, just texture.
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