Last year, I bought some dried flower petals from a shop in Whitby. The red one isn't a problem, because I know it's Hibiscus. The other one (I've forgotten what it is) is yellow and has long, very thin petals. It's more yellow than orange, but I wouldn't know if that's because of the drying or not. I spent quite some time happily smelling various bits of their stock (they were very obliging ) because I wanted the stuff for winemaking. So this stuff smells nice (as opposed to dried marigolds, which smell appaling).
So any ideas on such little information? The shop is, basically, a healthfood and wholefood shop, so these things weren't merely for decoration. I feel sure that if someone gives me the right answer, it'll click.
Go on - have a go
Mike
The secret of life is to aim below the head (With thanks to MMM)
Hmmm ... don't think so. The name doesn't ring bells and, having googled around for images, I think the petals are thinner in relation to their length than those of Gerbera. But that's one out of the way - thanks, Susie.
Mike
The secret of life is to aim below the head (With thanks to MMM)
So much for my wonderful memory ... OH tells me it was the Shepherd's Purse on Church Street, which is shown on the interactive Whitby map as a Boutique Gift Shop - I could have sworn it was Health Foods??? OH, however, swears it was Marigold I bought, but I'm not at all convinced of that.
I assume you live in Whitby, then, Graye? Lucky bugger - I love that place.
Mike
The secret of life is to aim below the head (With thanks to MMM)
As an aside Mike the shepherds purse isn't really a gift shop (although I think they sell some "knitwear" there), but lots of the things that they do sell you would want to receive as a gift! I would definitely describe it as more of a healthfood store the herbs and spices are amazing as are their selection of teas!
I would have suggested marigold which I haven't always found to smell that bad.
For the time being Mike, off to Wales soon though. No problem, I'll have a look in the Shepherd's Purse and see if I can locate what you want. It's easier for me, it's on "our" side of the river. I'll see what I can do tomorrow. Can you give me a clue about the packaging etc. though?
You mean the overgrown garden photo? No that's the banks of the River Dulas in Powys. The Esk is about 20 yards from where I'm sitting right now but not a tree in sight, just some rather oily water unfortunately...
How do these compare? It's marigold and smells quite nice, slightly sweet and musty. The £1 coin is there as a size indication. I couldn't see anything else which would fit in with your description but I'm quite happy to have another poke around in there. I invested in 5p worth, this is about a third of that so NOT expensive are they? They will mail to you if you want to order from them (or I assume youcould get them somewhere nearer to you?)
Yep - that's it. Marigold. So the other thing I sniffed which had similar petals and smelled awful was something else. Ah well - put it down to age . At least I can now label the wine.
Thanks, Graye - you're a gem.
I wonder if there are any other sites where you can ask a Gollum-type riddle and get an accurate answer within 24 hours? Isn't Ish wonderful
Mike
EDIT: And if anyone is wondering, an ounce of those (with the Hibiscus) makes a gallon of wine, although you'll certainly need some yeast nutrient. Or a quarter of an ounce added to any white wine gives a pretty good bouquet. The Hibiscus is mainly for colour - it gives a fairly deep red almost as soon as you add water.
EDIT2: Which reminds me - I forgot to add the strong tea. Off to the shed ...
The secret of life is to aim below the head (With thanks to MMM)
The result ... thanks to Graye I at least know what to call it, and it's actually rather gorgeous.
So ... Marigold and Hibiscus wine, if anyone wants to try it.
1 ounce each of dried hibiscus and marigold petals
1 banana, peeled and sliced
2 teabags
Juice of half a lemon.
1 kilo of sugar
1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient
General purpose wine yeast
(and the optional additives ... 1 teaspoon pectic enzyme, 1 crushed 10 mg Vit. B1 tablet)
Put the sugar and teabags into a pan and pour over a kettleful of boiling water. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then cover and leave to one side. In another (small) pan, simmer the banana in a cupful of water for 10 minutes, remove from the heat and allow to stand for half an hour. After this time, remove the teabags from the main pan, strain in the liquid from the bananas (don't press or squeeze) and then chuck in the hibiscus and marigold petals. The whole lot will immediately turn a very attractive red.
Measure your liquid, make up to one gallon with cold water, and put it into a bucket (you can use a demijohn, but it makes getting the petals out later a bit awkward). When everything has cooled (hand warm is OK, but nothing which could be described as anywhere near hot), add the lemon juice, yeast nutrient and yeast (and any additives you may have decided to use). Give it all a good stir, cover the bucket (or put an airlock in the demijohn) and allow to ferment for 4 days. After that time, strain off the petals and transfer the liquid into a demijohn, cover with an airlock and allow to ferment to a finish.
The wine was immediately drinkable, but had a very slight bitter aftertaste, easily disguised with the tiniest splash of lemonade. Only a week later, the aftertaste had gone. This lot isn't going to make it so far, but I'd imagine it would be brilliant after three to six months. Because it's a flower wine, if you are going to allow it to mature, it needs to be kept in a cool place out of direct sunlight.
Mike
The secret of life is to aim below the head (With thanks to MMM)
) because I wanted the stuff for winemaking. So this stuff smells nice (as opposed to dried marigolds, which smell appaling).
. At least I can now label the wine.