Costa Rican Sorrel Wine Recipes

ORANGE PEEL WINE

Steps:

• Open the wine. Pour out 1/2 cup to enjoy while you carry on with the recipe. (This is not greed; a bit has to come out or the bottle with overflow when you add the other ingredients.)
• Shave the zest from the orange with a vegetable peeler. Remove every trace of bitter white pith from the back with a sharp knife. Poke the orange zest into the bottle of wine. Funnel in the sugar. Drop in the coriander seeds, if using. Recork the bottle. Turn it upside down and right side up a few times until the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate for 1 week, giving the wine a shake once a day.
• Strain the wine into a carafe and serve well-chilled as an aperitif.

SORREL DRINK (TRINIDAD)

Steps:

• In a non-corrosive pot, bring 10 cups of water to a boil then add the sorrel, sugar, cinnamon stick, whole cloves and orange peel and stir continuously while the mixture boils for one minute.
• Cool and cover with foil or plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature to steep for 2 hours or overnight. I have seen recipes that say let it steep for 2 -3 days but quite frankly in my household we can never wait that long to drink this!
• Taste for strength and sweetness. If it is too potent, add water or if too tart add more sugar. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a jar and refrigerate. (Discard the spices left in the sieve). NB. The sorrel will stain so use a non-reactive glass jar or bowl. Don't use plastic.
• For the adult version:.
• In a non-corrosive pot, bring 10 cups of water to a boil then add the sorrel, sugar, cinnamon stick, whole cloves and orange peel and stir continuously while the mixture boils for one minute.
• Add the rum. Cool and strain through a fine sieve into a jar. Discard the spices left in the sieve.