Hibiscus blossoms as a food, drink ingredient

Hibiscus has gained buzz recently for its healthful reputation and potential medicinal properties, but chefs long have prized the flower’s full flavor, deep red color and its heritage as an ingredient used around the globe.

“I’ve used it hundreds of times over the years,” says Joshua Skenes, the 29-year-old chef of Saison restaurant in San Francisco, who most recently offered a hibiscus granité. Before that he prepared a hibiscus