Hibiscus
Herbs & floral· floral

What it is
Hibiscus is the dried calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa, a tropical plant used to make infusions and syrups.
What it tastes like
On the nose: almond, fatty, orange-rose, citrus. Among its measured molecules: isoamyl butyrate, butanone, methyl acetate, 5-methylfurfural, pentanal.
What goes with it
- Peachboth carry methyl acetatecite
- Honeydew melonboth carry methyl acetatecite
- Oliveboth carry methyl acetatecite
Salt and acid
Salt
Sodium 4 mg per 100 g — USDA FoodData Central 171946.
Acid
Acid not measured yet.
Unusual pairings
Pairs the library can cite that almost nobody makes.
- Hibiscus + Coffee
both carry 5-methylfurfural, caramel (29 of 338 carry it)
- Hibiscus + Burdock root
both carry 5-methylfurfural, caramel (29 of 338 carry it)
- Hibiscus + Banana
both carry 1-hexanol, fatty fruity (75 of 338 carry it)
15 of 49 compounds on file carry a paper the library can cite.
benzaldehydearomaaldehydereads as burning aromatic taste (PubChem)Measured in 54 of 338 ingredients.cite
53,396 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; it survives drying better than most, at 49,355 after sun drying — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Benzaldehyde')hexanalaromaaldehydereads as sharp, aldehyde odor (PubChem)Measured in 85 of 338 ingredients.cite
100,121 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 59,056 after commercial-oven drying — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Hexanal')linaloolaromaalcoholreads as spicy, citrus taste (PubChem)Measured in 91 of 338 ingredients.cite
548,431 in the fresh calyx, by far the largest fresh-calyx value; falls to 5,819-22,827 across all five drying methods — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Linalool')butanonearomaketonereads as sweet, pleasant, pungent (PubChem)Measured in 8 of 338 ingredients.cite
100,594 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 2,816-13,176 across the dried samples — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '2-Butanone')methyl acetatearomaesterreads as pleasant odor (PubChem)Measured in 9 of 338 ingredients.cite
14,252 in the fresh calyx, rising to 442,728 after vacuum drying (290,587 sun, 243,853 commercial oven) — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Methyl acetate')furfuralaromafuranreads as almond-like odor (PubChem)Measured in 33 of 338 ingredients.cite
5,093 in the fresh calyx, rising to 565,607 in the commercial-oven-dried calyx — the largest single value anywhere in the table; also 442,585 laboratory oven, 380,159 sun, 379,572 vacuum — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2 (Volatile compounds (peak areas relative to dry matter content) identified in the fresh and dried roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) calyx), row 'Furfural')isoamyl butyratearomaesterMeasured in 4 of 338 ingredients.cite
40,922 in the fresh calyx; it does not survive drying — 1,709 after commercial-oven drying and zero in the other four dried samples — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '3-Methylbutyl butanoate')pentanalaromaaldehydereads as it has sharp, penetrating flavor (PubChem)Measured in 15 of 338 ingredients.cite
46,310 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 29,236 after laboratory-oven drying — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Pentanal')1-hexanolaromaalcoholreads as fatty, fruity (PubChem)Measured in 48 of 338 ingredients.cite
118,601 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 72,258 after sun drying and 1,663-3,238 after the others — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '1-Hexanol')ethyl acetatearomaesterreads as fragrant odor (PubChem)Measured in 42 of 338 ingredients.cite
164,108 in the fresh calyx and 188,847 after laboratory-oven drying, its maximum — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Ethyl acetate')5-methylfurfuralaromafuranMeasured in 10 of 338 ingredients.cite
1,710 in the fresh calyx, rising to 53,826 after commercial-oven drying — a compound this profile carries only because of what drying does — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '5-Methyl-2-furfural')2-amylfuranaromafuranMeasured in 23 of 338 ingredients.cite
6,330 in the fresh calyx, rising to 53,767 after sun drying and 31,274 after commercial-oven drying — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '2-Pentylfuran')limonenearomaterpenoidreads as pleasant lemon-like (PubChem)Measured in 91 of 338 ingredients.cite
39,828 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 4,057-11,478 across the dried samples — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Limonene')isoamyl alcoholaromaalcoholMeasured in 43 of 338 ingredients.cite
50,370 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 33,726 after sun drying — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row '3-methylbutanol')nonanalaromaaldehydereads as orange-rose odor (PubChem)Measured in 59 of 338 ingredients.cite
75,446 in the fresh calyx, its maximum; 23,189 after commercial-oven drying — Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2, row 'Nonanal')
On file, no cited source yet ✳
These molecules are on record for it from the library's earlier sources. We are buying and requesting the papers; each one that lands moves its molecule up into the cited list.
- arachidic acidacid
- hydroxycitric acidacid
- myristic acidacid
- palmitic acidacidreads as slight characteristic taste (PubChem)
- stearic acidacidreads as taste suggesting tallow (PubChem)
- hibiscetinflavonoid
- (3S,8S,9R,10R,13S,14S,17S)-10,13-dimethyl-17-[(2R)-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
- (3R,5S,9S,10R,13S,14R,17S)-17-[(E,2S,5S)-5-ethyl-6-methylhept-3-en-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,5,6,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
- (3R,8R,9R,10S,13R,14R,17S)-17-[(2R,5R)-5-ethyl-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
- (3S,9R,10S,13R,14S,17R)-17-[(E,2S,5R)-5,6-dimethylhept-3-en-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
- (3S,8S,9R,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-[(2R,5R)-5,6-dimethylheptan-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
- 5,7,8-trihydroxy-3-[(2S,3R,4R,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-2-(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)chromen-4-oneflavonoid
- (3S,8S,9R,10R,13S,14S,17S)-17-[(E,2S,5S)-5-ethyl-6-methylhept-3-en-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-olterpenoid
- beta-Sitosterol 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranosideterpenoid
- citric acidacidreads as strongly acidic taste (PubChem)
- eugenolphenolreads as odor of cloves (PubChem)
- gossypolterpenoid
- lauric acidacidreads as characteristic, like oil of bay (PubChem)
- α-maltosesugar
- oleic acidacidreads as peculiar lard-like odor (PubChem)
- quercetinflavonoid
- linoleic acidacid
- gossypetinflavonoid
- myricetinflavonoid
- potassium
- magnesiumreads as none (PubChem)
- trigonellinenitrogen compound
- gossypitrinflavonoid
- allo-hydroxycitric acid lactoneacid
- protocatechuic acidacid
- Delphinidin 3-O-sambubiosideflavonoid
- potassium cation
- magnesium(2+)
- Hibiscus acid 6-methyl ester
Sources
- Juhari et al. 2021, Molecules