A Chilled bottle of Zobo Summer, 2024
Zobo is a popular Nigerian drink made from steaming dried hibiscus flowers. I had always thought it was only a Nigerian thing before Natalie, my Ghanaian friend here at Rice, called it zobolo. Apparently, it is very common in Ghana, too. However, it is not just a West African drink; Westerners drink it as infused tea bags, which they call hibiscus tea or sorrel drink. With my new culinary experience, I have understood that most foods (like rice) cut across cultures, zobo included! Zobo is loaded with lots of vitamins A and C, and it is also good for refreshment during summer. As a bonus, it is great for detoxification, as long as the sugar content is cut entirely out. However, I will share an authentic Nigerian zobo recipe with you, my darlings, because it is cost-effective, healthy, and refreshing for the summer.
Let’s dive right into it!
Basic Ingredients:
- 2 cups of zobo (dehydrated hibiscus leaves)
- Half a cup of sugar (optional)
- A whole queen pineapple / A whole/half watermelon (optional, any or both )
- Fresh/powder ginger, cloves, star anise, or cinnamon (optional)
Directions
- Wash the dry leaves in salted water to remove dust and sand. Ignore the colours you are losing, there will still be more than enough left for you to extract.
- Put the zobo in a pot, add water that will quarter-to-fill the pot (so it will not run over the lids while boiling) and bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
- Add the ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and other spices of your choice, the peels from your cut pineapples and watermelon (my mum said they are medicinal) at this point and boil for another 20 minutes.
- Allow it to cool, and while it is cooling off, blend your watermelons, pineapple, or even both if you have not already done so, and keep aside.
- With your colander, sift the zobo flowers out of the cool zobo liquid.
- Optionally, add half a cup of sugar or more to sweeten it as you please.
- Add your blended fruits at this point to sweeten and enrich the zobo.
- At this point, you can gradually stir everything together.
- Strain some more if you want to remove any more debris.
- Now pour yourself a generous amount of some of that truckload of natural antioxidants and enjoy! Do not forget to add ice cubes for a more refreshing effect.
- Store the rest in the fridge in small containers and jugs for repeated enjoyment!
I use watermelon to make this drink during summer because the fruit is currently in season and the gigantic sizes are on sale at HEB and Randalls. Zobo is an excellent way to use up that extra-large watermelon. In Nigeria, we primarily use pineapples for that authentic taste, mainly because they are affordable and readily available. You can get the zobo flowers on Amazon, but most preferably, from any African stores nearby.
Now, try this new version of this flower drink you already know, and let me know what you think. And… what do you call it in your country?
About the author:
Osinachi Okafor was born in Aba, Abia State. She hails from Ebenator village, Azigbo town in Nnewi LGA of Anambra State, Nigeria. She is a current Ph.D student in Art History. She got her B.A in Fine and Applied Art at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria in 2017. Read more.
Further Reading:
Coloring Outside the Lines: On Ruts and the Art of Doing Something Just Because
A taste of Africa in Houston: Discovering African Markets around Rice University
Introduction to the International Buddy Program (IBP) at Rice