With our salt-free Tangerine Hibiscus Rub, we explore the concept of range. The first taste from this rub is sweet tangerine and sour hibiscus, which scoots right around the tip of the tongue and before being held aloft by coriander’s citrus boost and ginger’s spark of heat and lemon. The deeper, raisin-like fruit of Sandia chile pepper holds down the low notes with earthy cumin, maintaining a solid middle ground. The flavor pendulum eventually swings to the opposite of sweet and tart as the flavor of strong, aromatic garlic rises amid the peppery heat, which has some staying power once it hits the back of the throat. Though there is some heat this is definitely not considered a spicy blend. We blend our Tangerine-Hibiscus Rub in small batches in our facility to safeguard its freshness and flavor.

The yellow hibiscus is the state flower of Hawai’i. Hibiscus flowers have a long history of symbolic meaning in Hawai’i; their elegant, delicate beauty symbolizes femininity, and if plucked and tucked behind a woman’s right ear, means she is unmarried and interested in finding a partner. In 1988 Hawai’i officially declared the yellow hibiscus to be the state flower. Prior to that the hibiscus was considered the state flower but it could be any color. Officials decided the sunny yellow flower, endemic to the islands, was the best flower to represent the inherent natural beauty of Hawai’i.

Tips From Our Kitchen

Use our salt-free Tangerine Hibiscus Rub on grilled chicken or fish—it makes an excellent fish taco! Dust over scallops before searing. Rub into the top of cedar-plank salmon. Mix into the coating for popcorn shrimp, or stir into mayonnaise with some lemon juice for not-your-average tartar sauce. Wonderful dusted over chicken or zucchini and summer squash kebabs. Use as a grilling blend on asparagus, peaches, or papayas. Make a tropical appetizer and dust on fresh jicama. Mix with a touch of sugar and rim a glass for a sweet and spicy margarita.

Use 1 tablespoon of seasoning per pound of meat. For fish and seafood about half that amount to start.

Blended with hibiscus tea, tangerine peel, garlic, chile powder, coriander, black pepper, ginger and cumin.

Hungry for more information?

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Hawai'i: Native Yellow Hibiscus