Recipe: Hibiscus and Rose Hip Soda

In today’s world of processed foods and too much sugar, it can seem impossible to find truly natural ingredients that taste good.

Look no farther than your backyard! Hibiscus and roses are two common flowers that can be used to make natural soda that tastes fresh and have healing properties.

The following is an excerpt from Full Moon Feast by Jessica Prentice. It has been adapted for the web.

The names of herbs possess much poetry. I also hear in their names a kind of ancestral memory— an ancient wisdom that wants to be remembered. The plants seem to be calling to me through their names. They remind me that once upon a time they were honored and valued; they were the primary source of healing. The herbs themselves and the gardens they grew in were our medicine chests, instead of today’s brand-named plastic bottles filled with pharmaceutical pills.

Herbs were a part of daily life—a familiar, everyday, working knowledge—just as aspirin and vitamin C are to us today. The World Health Organization recently estimated that 80 percent of the world’s population still relies on botanical medicine for a majority of health problems. I find that statistic a potent reminder of how important plants are in treating illness.

I must admit that I have had my skeptical moments about the healing power of herbs. I have been dubious that the leaves of a certain plant could really cure a cough, or that the flowers of another could treat depression, or that the root of still one more could clear up the skin.

Plants seem like such mild, simple, common things to have such powers.

But everyone who was at my thirtieth birthday party and anyone else who has ever smoked marijuana knows that a plant can have a very powerful effect. So does anyone who’s ever gotten poison oak or poison ivy. And of course we all know that certain plants can be fatal if eaten. So whenever I find myself doubting the power of plants, I remember that if plants can make us hallucinate, or make us itch like crazy, or kill us, it is only logical that they can heal us as well.

Hibiscus and Rose Hip Soda

Hibiscus and rose hips are both full of vitamin C, which is damaged by heat. That is why I use a cold infusion. This is a delicious and beautiful drink.

Makes 2 quarts or 2 liters

Ingredients

1/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers, available at herb stores (or in Mexican markets as jamaica)
1 tablespoon dried rose hips, available at herb stores or online
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup kefir grains or 1 cup yogurt whey
1/2 organic lemon
Filtered water

Procedure

1. Put the hibiscus, rose hips, agave nectar, and whey or kefir grains in a 2-quart jar.
2. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the jar and add the rind as well. Pour in enough filtered water to fill the jar.
3. Screw the lid onto the jar and put it in a warm place for 2 days.
4. Strain into two glass bottles with screw tops. I use the bottles from the mineral water Gerolsteiner.
5. Put an even amount into both bottles. If they are 1-quart bottles, they should be full; if they are 1-liter bottles, add enough water to fill to the top.
6. Screw the lids on tightly, label and date the bottles, and return to the warm place for another 2–3 days, or until the soda becomes slightly bubbly.
7. Transfer to the fridge. Once they are cold you can enjoy them anytime!
8. When you are ready to drink the soda, open the bottles carefully because they may have built up a lot of carbonation. Open them outside or over a sink. Turn the lid very slowly to see if the drink begins to release foam. If so, then allow it to release some of the carbon dioxide by not opening the bottle all the way and letting out some of the pressure, then opening it more and more, bit by bit. This way you won’t lose your drink to its carbonation.

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