Here are some tips for making a rich, flavorful drink. The biggest tip? A long soak! That’s the key to a deep color and nuanced flavor.
Here’s what I’ve learned from numerous experiments with Zobo.
Ratios
The ratio of calyxes (what we typically call flowers which aren’t the petals – but are the sepals) to water is key. I use 1 cup of calyxes for 2 litres of water.
Prep – clean & wash calyxes
I find my zobo calyxes quite sandy. To overcome this issue, I shake the calyxes in a bag or cloth so the sand gathers at the bottom. Then I wash.
I know, your heart will break when you see the colour seep from flower to water. You’ll wonder how ever, if ever you’ll get a rich drink. Worry not, you will.
What I do is have a few bowls with water, like I do for leafy greens. I put calyxes in a bowl, swish the calyxes around then lift them up and out. The sand, and sometimes stones pool at the bottom. I lift out as much as I can and then I drain the last bits in a sieve, being careful not to pour the pooled sand. I rinse the portion in the sieve with some water, add it to the bulk of the calyxes and repeat the entire process two or three times.
Soaking
Once clean, I soak the calyxes in clean water. The same water I’ll brew/ infuse them with. I find the flavour and richness of the calyxes improves considerably with an overnight soak. As can be expected.
Flavouring
Cloves and dried ginger are my go-tos. They are considered ‘Kayan Kanshi‘, in Hausa/ the Arewa Kitchen – things that smell nice. Because of how flavourful dried ginger is, I don’t discard it after the first use. I remove and store in the deep freezer and reuse till the flavour dulls. I generally use a 1/2 a teaspoon of cloves and 2/3 slices of dried ginger per cup of zobo calyxes . I add fresh ginger sometimes if I want to up the flavours.
Brewing period
The next morning, after the soak, I set in a pot, with the flavouring. I bring this to a boil on medium to high heat. Once it comes to the boil, I reduce the heat to low, and allow simmer for 15 minutes. I turn off the heat and let it cool.
Once cooled, with a slotted spoon, I remove the flowers, and decant the drink into containers. I refrigerate till ready to serve, when I sweeten it.
Sweetening
Once you add sugar to the mix, it begins to ferment so what I always do is separate by zobo and my sweetener, often a ginger simple syrup. When it’s time to serve, I combine both as desired. My daughter sometimes uses maple syrup, I know others who use pineapple juice – whatever floats your boat!
You can make simple syrup by combining equal amounts of granulated (white) sugar and water.
Storage
My zobo can keep for a week or so in the fridge, and a couple of weeks in the deep freezer. Unfortunately, I can’t give up upper limits because it never lasts that long for us. Never, ever. As soon as we make it, we ‘race’ (well almost, it seems like 🙂 ) to drink it down!
So, those are my top tips for making great zobo. What are yours? And yes, a few recipes for you:
- A drink, actually a few drinks 🙂
- Jelly
- Sauce
- And more
