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Shrubs, or drinking vinegars (they taste better than they sound!), are acidulated fruit syrups. Back in the day, there were no refrigerators to help preserve fresh fruit for longer than a day or two. Adding the sugar draws out the juices of the fruit via osmosis, and traditionally, the mixture would be left to ferment into alcohol, then vinegar. Adding vinegar to the fruit syrup is a much quicker and easier way to produce the same thing. Store the shrub in the fridge indefinitely. After a few weeks, you’ll find that the flavour of the shrub changes, as the remaining sugar ferments with natural yeasts in the air or on the fruit and turns into alcohol, which in turn ferments into vinegar. Since the advent of refrigeration, though, shrubs all but disappeared.
You don’t have to use perfect fruits for this: they can be a bit bruised and battered, just make sure there is no mold. I used some of the perfect raspberries that I picked at Whittamore’s Farm earlier in the weekend.
Add a splash of this shrub to sparkling water, rum, or any other cocktail to add a raspberry tang. It’s also a great way to offer fancy drinks to people abstaining from alcohol. I added a splash to some plain iced tea, and I could really taste the raspberry and the vinegar added some much-needed sour kick. Delicious!
- 450g (1 lb) raspberries
- 450g (1 lb) sugar
- 500 mL (2 cups) white wine vinegar (or a mix of white wine and apple cider vinegars)
- Rinse and drain the raspberries. Place in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle the sugar over the raspberries and toss together. Cover tightly and let macerate for 4 hours or overnight.
- Line a colander or sieve with a few layers of cheesecloth, and place over another bowl. Pour the berry mixture into the sieve and strain out the solids. Press the fruit mixture to squeeze out as much juice as possible.
- Mix the vinegar into the juice. Pour into a glass bottle or jar, and store in the fridge. This mixture should keep for several months in the fridge. You can save the fruit pulp and add to yogurt, muffins.
Gee! Learn something new everyday! I did not know the fruit vinegars were called shrubs. I have had them though. Looks so pretty!
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