By now most of you know what a crazy nut I am when it come to herbs. I love everything about them – I love finding wild ones, planting and growing herbs, eating herbs and cooking with herbs. I love making teas and even medicinals; but I've found something new – well something old but something new for me!
This past year quite by accident I began reading about shrubs and another way to use herbs. I'm really big in trying to do things not only naturally and organically but I also love doing things the way they “used” to be done and came across some really old-fashioned interesting information.
But first you're probably wondering, what is a shrub?
Basically, it's an acidulated beverage made of fruit juice, sugar and other ingredients. In other, more ordinary words – a drinking vinegar.
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Shrub – the word is derived from the Arabic sharbah meaning “a drink”. Sherbert and syrup are also derived from this Arabic root. Drinking vinegars have a long history. The Babylonians added date vinegar to water to make it safe to drink. The Romans mixed vinegar and water to make a beverage called posca. Colonial era sailors carried shrubs rich with Vitamin C aboard boats to prevent scurvy. During the temperance movement shrubs gained popularity as well.
The English Version of shrubs arose from smugglers in the 1680's. To avoid paying import taxes for goods shipped from mainland Europe they would sometimes sink their barrels of spirits off shore to be retrieved later. They would then add fruit flavors to mask alcohol fouled by sea water. This actually ends up being related to what we now call “punch”.
The American Version had its origins in 17th Century England where vinegar was used to preserve fruits for the off season and that practice carried over to Colonial America where they would take fruit and/or berries and infuse for several days, strain and make a syrup to be used with water or soda water and served as a soft drink. Colonists would preserve leftover, old or bruised fruits this way, thereby enabling them to have fruits for baking and a thirst quencher for their families. Many families would send their men to the fields with vinegar water. Sometimes they would send them with switchel which is a close relative of the shrub. It was brought from the Caribbean to America. It is a ginger molasses vinegar brew.
In 2011 and 2012 there was another resurgence of the use of a shrub by restaurants and bars in the making of cocktails and the like.
I would now like for you to look at the papers I've given you.
MY SHRUBS
Strawberry-Basil Shrub
1 Cup Strawberries
1 Cup White Wine Vinegar
1 Cup White Sugar
Basil
Strawberry-Balsamic Shrub
1 Cup Strawberries
½ Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 Cup Apple Cider
1/3 Cup Raw Cane Sugar
Peppercorns/crushed
Blackberry-Lemon Verbena Shrub
1 Cup Blackberries
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup White Wine Vinegar
Lemon Verbena
Blueberry-Lavender & Cinnamon Shrub
1 Cup Blueberries
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup White Wine Vinegar
Lavender and Cinnamon
Peaches-Rosemary Shrub
1 Cup Peaches
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Cup Raw Cane Sugar
Rosemary
Pineapple-Tarragon Shrub
1 Cup Pineapple
1 Cup Coconut Vinegar
1 Cup White Sugar
Tarragon
Basic Shrub-Making Directions (Cold Process)
Combine the fruit and sugar in a wide-mouth glass jar. Use a muddler or wooden spoon to apply gentle yet firm pressure, enough to break up the fruit. Cover the jar with a lid or plastic wrap and let it sit in a cool, dark place for at least 5 or 6 hours, or up to 24 hours. (You can do all this in a glass or ceramic bowl too.)
After 24 hours, add the vinegar and aromatics (herbs or spices), stir until the sugar has dissolved and return, covered, to a cool, dark spot(or the refrigerator) for a week or slightly longer, until the flavor is fully realized.
After a week, or when the flavor is to your liking, press and strain the contents of the jar through cheesecloth, or a fine-mesh sieve, pressing lightly to release all of the liquid from the fruit. Store in a clean container in the refrigerator or a cool, dark spot, for another week, or until the flavor of the vinegar mellows and fades into the background.
Serve it with club soda, sparkling water, or still water, over ice, or create your own cocktail by mixing the shrub with a spirit(gin, rum, or vodka), complementary liqueur, and bitters.
Quickie Shrub-Making Directions (Hot Process)
Add equal parts of sugar and water to a saucepan, heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add berries or fruit and simmer until the fruit's juice blends well into the syrup. Let that mixture cool. Strain out the solids. Add vinegar to the syrup, bottle it all up, and store in fridge.
Possible Flavor Combinations
Blackberries: white wine or champagne vinegar, lemon verbena or thyme; apple cider vinegar, peppercorns
Blueberries: white wine vinegar, bay leaves or lemon verbena or lavender
Carrots: rice vinegar, ginger or toasted coriander seed
Citrus: white wine vinegar, rosemary
Cranberries: red wine vinegar, orange zest; apple cider vinegar, cloves and cinnamon sticks
Peaches: red wine vinegar, cinnamon basil or lavender
Pineapple: coconut or rice vinegar, hot peppers
Raspberries: red wine vinegar, pink peppercorns; champagne vinegar, rose geranium
Cucumber: white wine vinegar, mint, honey
Cherry: champagne vinegar, vanilla bean, maple syrup
Strawberries: white wine vinegar, basil
The possibilities are endless!
Ways to Use Your Shrub
- Can't enjoy an alcoholic drink due to use of medication, etc? Enjoy a shrub.
- Have a beautiful bowl of fruit and need a little zing? Pour a little shrub over the fruit. Yummy!!
- Shrubs make wonderful marinades for meats.
- Shrubs are also excellent used in preparing salad dressings.
- Use the fruit strained from the shrub in breads, cakes and muffins.
- Can make a cocktail a one-of-a kind!
(information from - imbibemagazine.com; thekitchen.com; drinks.seriouseats.com; buzzfeed.com; wikipedia.org; ultimatehistoryproject.com and drunkenbotonist.com)
WISH ME LUCK THIS EVENING. SEE YA!!