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Sorrel was once thought to only come in the Christmas season and no Jamaican home would be without. Now with the advancement of technology we can now have the drink all year round. It was  and still is an integral part of all Christmas celebrations in Jamaican and Caribbean homes.

Officially called the Roselle plant ( hibiscussabdariffa), it is a specie of hibiscus native to the Old World tropics.

It is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based sub shrub, growing to 2–2.5 m tall. The leaves are deeply three- to five-lobed, 8–15 cm long, arranged alternately on the stems.

The flowers are white to pale yellow with a dark red spot at the base of each petal and has a stout fleshy calyx at the base, which enlarges  to a fleshy fruit with bright red colour as the fruit matures. Some species remain white when matures. The drink is now becoming more famous as it has been proved to help in the prevention of diseases such as cancer.

In Jamaica the drink is now marketed all year round. At Christmas time it is always spiked with white rum ,but many household for health or religious reason do have it without rum

We typically reap sorrel  towards the end of the year, between November and December just in  time for Christmas. The drink is a good accompaniment for the Jamaican Fruit cake.

Ingredients

• 1 pound sorrel
• 1/2 gallon water
• 2-3 cups sugar
• 2-4 oz. ginger
• ½ cup Rum (or wine)
• 3 cinnamon  leaves or 2 ins. stick
• Pimento (allspice) grains- a few (optional)
• I/2 tsp angostura bitters

Preparation

1. Wash sorrel thoroughly, drain and place in bowl.
2. Peel and grate ginger and add to sorrel.
3. Add pimento berries and cinnamon
4. Boil water and pour over sorrel. Allow to stand for at least 4-6 hours.
5. Strain, then sweeten and add rum to taste, and bitters.
6. Serve chill.

NB. Do not steep in aluminum container use glass or stainless steel