It has been full on here in Tennessee. I am a finish carpenter and have been making hay while the sun is out so to speak. But this jello has been a good one to have in the fridge. Especially in the southern heat. I will bring some with me to work in my cooler and the tartness of the hibiscus is so bright and cool when the air is thick and the sun is hot. The fat of the coconut milk fills me up too. It has become a really nice and refreshing snack for the work day. This recipe uses a hibiscus concentrate which is really easy to make. You’ll have some left over if you follow my recipe, and that is a beautiful thing. You can add it to sparkling water, dilute it and drink it as is, cold or hot, or anything else you can dream up that needs that hibiscus magic. That dark rich color of this hibiscus is truly stunning.
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Ingredients
- 1 can organic full fat coconut milk
- 1 cans worth hibiscus concentrate
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup gelatin
- 1 pinch of sea salt
Instructions — Hibiscus Concentrate
- To make the hibiscus concentrate, place 1 cup of hibiscus in 1 quart of water and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Allow to steep and cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Strain out hibiscus. Your hibiscus concentrate is now ready to use. Store in a jar in the fridge.
Instructions — Jello
- In a mixing bowl add 1 can or organic full fat coconut milk.
- Use coconut milk can to measure one cans worth of hibiscus concentrate and add to the mixing bowl.
- Add a pinch of sea salt to the bowl.
- Add ¼ cup of honey to the hibiscus coconut mixture.
- I found that ¼ cup of honey gave it a pleasant sweetness without making it seem like a dessert, you might want to add more if you want a sweeter jello, I think children might appreciate a little more sweetness. The mixture is now ready to set with gelatin.
- Bloom ¼ cup of gelatin with about ⅓ cup water. Be sure to hydrate it all to avoid clumps later.
- Once bloomed add about ⅔ cup boiling water and mix thoroughly. It should all dissolve nicely into the hot water but it might take a bit of stirring. You’ll end up with about 1 ¼ cup gelatin mixture give or take. (I prefer to use gelatin this way to ensure that there are no clumps and it also allows me to set things like raw milk and fermented foods without heating them.)
- Once all the gelatin is dissolved add it to your coconut hibiscus mixture and stir really well. Pour into your mold and let set in the fridge. I have been repurposing a bundt cake pan for a lot of my jellos and think it makes them look beautiful.
- To release your jello from the mold all you have to do is fill your sink with hot water and dunk the bottom of your mold in the hot water briefly until the jello releases. f you let it sit too long in the hot water it can liquify the jello, so be careful not to dip it too long.
- Once the jello is released from the mold with the hot water, place a plate or platter on top of the mold and flip both over at the same time.
- Remove the mold and admire your beautiful jello!
- You might be tempted to try this with dairy instead of coconut milk as any good Weston A. Price Foundation follower might want to do. And if you do that it will curdle your milk. Hibiscus is acidic enough to curdle your dairy and even possibly your coconut milk, though it’s a lot less likely to curdle your coconut milk. I’ve had a couple of batches curdle a little bit with the coconut milk and they still turned out beautifully and were delicious.
Andrea Gutierrez says
Can’t wait to try this!
Trudy says
I can testify that hibiscus curdles milk! I had some hibiscus tea and decided to add some goat milk. It looked funky but still tasted fine, but I won’t do that again! And besides, coconut sounds like the best possible complement to hibiscus! I’ll be making this asap.
Helena Wald says
What are the dark specks in the photo?
S says
The specks are purple, so maybe they are from the hibiscus liquid that I know Tom Cowan sells in his store. Maybe they didn’t get processed enough with the gelatin.
Miriam says
I would add some cinnamon, cardamom, or something to add more flavor.
Jam says
Sounds delicious! (Well, besides perhaps the possibility of curdling) Wonder if I could use allulose syrup as a keto alternative sweentener. Miriam, your suggestion is awesome! Anyone try this Calendula or Lavender pedals or in addition to the Hibiscus instead?