Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus Water)
Mexico's crimson flower water — dried hibiscus petals steeped in just-boiled water until the liquid turns a deep, jewel-like garnet, then sweetened, squeezed with lime, and diluted into a tart, floral agua fresca that is at once refreshing and complex. The colour alone stops you in your tracks.
Ingredients
For 4 servings · tick what is ready
Use the scaled ingredient list. Steps and temperatures stay unchanged; use a larger pan or dish if needed. Seasonings to taste stay to taste.
How to make it
Place the dried hibiscus flowers in a heatproof pitcher or bowl. Pour the boiling water directly over them — the water will turn crimson almost immediately. Stir once to submerge all the petals, then let them steep uncovered for 20 minutes. A shorter steep yields a thin pink agua; a full 20 minutes produces a deep concentrate that holds its colour through dilution. Stir in the sugar while the concentrate is still hot so it dissolves completely.
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large jug or pitcher and pour the sweetened hibiscus concentrate through it. Press the spent petals gently with the back of a spoon to extract every last drop — but do not force them through the mesh, as they will cloud the liquid. Discard the spent petals. The strained concentrate should be a clear, deep ruby-red with a glossy sheen from the dissolved sugar.
Pour the cold diluting water into the pitcher and squeeze in the lime juice. Stir well and taste: a good agua de jamaica should be emphatically tart, with the sweetness playing a supporting role. If it tastes flat, add more lime juice. If it's too sour, add a little more sugar. Refrigerate until cold — at least 30 minutes — and serve over plenty of ice. The colour will lighten from garnet-red to a vivid cranberry-red as it dilutes, which is exactly right.
About this recipe
By ForkRecipe Kitchen · Source: ForkRecipe / FoodML and contributors. Recipe content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Serving count is an estimate; check quantities in the source recipe.