Welcome to the Celtnet Herb Guide. As this site has grown and many more recipes have been added it's become evident that a guide to the various herbs available to the cook is necessary. With spices becoming more commonly available herbs have become the 'Cinderella' flavourings in the culinary world and more and more herbs are falling out of common usage. These pages are an attempt at bringing all the various culinary herbs together into one place so that you can see what's available and perhaps find something new to use in your own cooking. To use this Herb Guide simply click on the first letter of the herb name above or below. Alternativey why not just browse through the guide. All the herbs given here whether common or rare can be obtained via a specialist herb nursery.

This is the description page for Bissap (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the herb: Bissap.

Unless you have travelled to South America or West Africa then you will probably not be familiar with bissap. Most famous in Senegal where a tea is made from this herb, Bissap is actually the dried red flowers of the roselle Hibiscus sabdariffa plant (also known as 'jamaica' in Spanish); a member of the Malvaceae (mallow) family. The plant itself is a woody shrub that grows to about 2–5 m tall. It is an annual plant that takes some six months to mature, when the flowers are produced. These are some 8–10 cm in diameter, white to pale yellow with a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and have a stout fleshy calyx at the base. The flowers are picked and dried and are generally made into a tea.

As well as Bissap (the Senegalese name [by which it is also known in the Congo and France]) the herb is also known as meśta/meshta on the Indian Subcontinent, wanjo in the Gambia, zobo in Nigeria, karkade in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, omutete in Namibia, sorrel in the Caribbean and Jamaica (IPA: [xa'maika]) in Latin America, rosela in Indonesia. The red calyces of the plant are increasingly exported to America and Europe, where they are used as food colourings. Germany is the main importer. It can also be found in markets (as flowers or syrup) in some places such as France, where there are Senegalese immigrant communities.

A red dye can be made from the flowers by taking two cups of flowers, adding to two cups of cold water, bringing to the boil and boiling for about ten minutes. At this point the flowers can be removed and the infusion can be thickened by boiling further. The red colouring can be added to any foods that need to be coloured red. Traditional bissap tea (Jus de Bissap) is made by boiling three cups of the flowers with 2l of water and 1 cup of sugar. Once the mixture has come to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to seep for ten minutes. Filter to remove the flowers then add a sprig of mint and a teaspoon of vanilla sugar if desired. Alternatively add mint and half a cup of lemon juice. Transfer the strained drink to the refrigerator and serve on ice as a drink with any West African food. The drink is tart and brings to mind cranberry juice.

It is also common to make a double-strength drink by halving the volume of water. This can then be mixed with an equal volume of lemonade, soda water or ginger ale before serving. The leaves are also edible and taste a little like sorrel [hence the naming confusion between sorrel and hibiscus]. Indeed, one name for edible hibiscus leaves is 'Guinea sorrel'. They are often used in Senegalese and Central African cookery.

Jus de Bissap
Nyeleng
Sorrel Drink
Cream of Hibiscus Leaf Soup
Chubbagin Lélé et Raabie
Camel Chubbagin
Roselle Leaf Soup