I miss trader Joe’s dried chili mango and candied hibiscus, their entire dried fruit section really.

candied hibiscus? like the flower is candied?

Hibiscus flowers are full of vitamin c, and taste like cranberries!

I had no idea. that sounds delicious.

but the flower petals are so thin, how thick is the candy coating?

It’s actually made with the calyx rather than the petals, same as with hibiscus tea.

are you sure? a lot of the ones I looked up look like they dehydrate the petals. the recipes call for the flower rather than the calyx.

Yup, those are calices, it’s the bottom part of the flower, that holds the petals together.

I thought the calyx was the green part that holds the flower by its base.

like this?

and the flavor they’re talking about sounds like hibiscus petals, which are supposed to be citrusy.

You can also eat the petals, but the stuff you’ll find commercially are calices tyrantfarms.com/hibiscus-a-tasty-addition-to-your…

no, apparently the petals are much thicker than I thought they were, which is funny because I grew up with them.

but all of these candied snacks and hibiscus tea and everything calls for the petals.

Suit yourself I guess, it’s a common misunderstanding.

green and pink?

every source I could find says the pink calyx with the seeds removed is used as candied snacks, not the green part of the stem holding the flower.

you have the name right, but you’re mixing up your plant parts.

The calyx is red (and the petals are yellow/white) on hibiscus sabdariffa, which is the species they use commercially.

correct, the calyx is the small red “petal holder” inside the green stem leaves called the epicalyx.

The red part is what is used to make the snacks, not that green outer covering.

although apparently you can eat every part of the hibiscus plant.

i’m sure some people do eat the green part also, but those green leaves are not turned into a pink candied hibiscus like in the example pictures I posted.

The picture you posted is of the wrong species, which I assume is why you were confused.

no, calyces are located on the same spot (that “pedal holder” area I mentioned) in every hibiscus species, so that made sense.

I’m not sure what got you turned around.