I would like to thank Rhonda Jean for her inspiring blog, Down to Earth.  As many of you are aware she has readers from all over the world but I feel particularly blessed as we live in the same general area and therefore her posts regarding the use of seasonal produce strike a familiar chord for me.  When I needed a recipe to make rosella cordial I did not search my recipe books or online via Google but straight to the Down to Earth blog.  I was not disappointed as I found an entry from 2007 for making your own fruit cordial.  You can find several recipes for Fruit Cordial there.

I made rosella jam a few years ago with fruit I bought from a farmgate stall but this year we grew our own.  Rosellas, (part of the hibiscus family) are easy to grow and appear to have to no pests.  They do require a growing season of 5 months so need to be planted early in the summer and are best suited to the warmer areas of Australia.

There is only so much jam you can eat so I am constantly looking for alternate ways to use the fruit we grow and cordials seem the perfect option.

I increased the quantities in the recipe as I had 5 cups of chopped calyces to use and here is the result.  I ended up with about 1.6 litres.  It will make a special festive occasion drink when mixed with the soda water we make using the Soda Stream soft drink maker.

Finally, I saved the residue after straining the syrup.  It is frozen and I am going to mix it with stewed apples to make Apple & Rosella Crumble.  I will let you know how it goes.