The Perfect Shrub Mocktail
How is your Dry January going? I am finding that sparkling water with lime is very refreshing with dinner. On the weekends I am enjoying some delicious “mocktails” made with fruit and vinegar. The sweet, slightly acidic and pungent flavors feel celebratory while still being mostly virtuous for my health (hello sugar, I’m still watching you.)
Drinking vinegars are often called “shrubs.” The word "shrub" refers to a cocktail or soft drink made by mixing a vinegar syrup with spirits, water or carbonated water. The history of shrubs dates back to medicinal cordials in the middle ages. In colonial America, shrubs were created as a way to preserve berries and other fruits for the off-season.
Shrubs are incredibly easy to make. They can be made by infusing vinegar with fruits, herbs or spices or by simply mixing fruit juice with vinegar.
How to make a shrub
There are two strategies for making shrubs, a hot process and a cold process. The cold process can be used with any fruit, but is ideal for fruits that you rarely cook, like melons or citrus. The hot process involves making a simple syrup while helping the fruit breakdown with heat. The heat process is ideal for fruits that you would simmer to make jam, think berries, peaches or rhubarb.
Hot Processed Shrub:
Make a simple syrup by combining equal parts sweetener and water in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir the mixture until the sweetener is completely dissolved.
Add your clean and sliced fruit to the simple syrup. Bring the syrup-fruit mixture to a low simmer until the syrup has started to thicken and the fruit has started to lose it’s shape.
Combine the fruit mixture with an approximately equal amount of vinegar. Start with ½ of the estimated vinegar needed and slowly add it to the fruit syrup. Taste the mixture as you go so that you get a shrub that is just sharp enough for you.
Strain the mixture and discard the fruit (or use it as a base for a vinaigrette or marinade).
Store the shrub in a jar in the fridge.
Cold Processed Shrub:
Place your clean and sliced fruit in a bowl. Toss it with the sweetener. Gently mash the fruit.
Let this mixture sit for 2 days in the refrigerator to macerate. Stir the mixture periodically.
After 2 days, strain the mixture into a measuring cup and discard the fruit (or use it as a base for a vinaigrette or marinade).
Combine the syrup with an approximately equal amount of vinegar. Start with ½ of the estimated vinegar needed and slowly add it to the fruit syrup. Taste the mixture as you go so that you get a shrub that is just sharp enough for you.
Store the shrub in a jar in the fridge.
Choosing your ingredients
Shrubs are a matter of ratio. Finding the balance between sweet and tart is often a 1:1:1 ratio of fruit, sugar, and vinegar, however, feel free to let your palate fine tune this ratio. Here is a good place to start:
For the heated process:
1 pound chopped fruit
1 cup sweetener
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
For the cold process:
1 pound chopped fruit
2 cups sweetener
2 cups vinegar
Each method should yield about 3 cups of shrub syrup, which will keep in the fridge for weeks. Feel free to adjust the recipe dependent upon the amount of fruit you have. I find shrubs are a great way to use up the bits of fruit I have on hand that may be past their prime.
Shrubs are incredibly versatile. They are a great way to embrace seasonal fruits like strawberries in the spring; peaches, fennel, berries, and watermelon in the summer, or apples, citrus, and pomegranates in the fall/winter. You are not limited to fruit in your shrub. Grated fresh ginger, fresh herbs, like rosemary or thyme, or spices, like cardamom pods, bay leaves, cinnamon or star anise, can be added to either the simple syrup (hot process) or the sugar-fruit mixture (cold process).
Choosing your vinegar
There is a dizzying number of vinegars available in the groceries these days. Most vinegars will work in shrubs but think about how your fruit will pair with the flavor of the vinegar you select. I prefer to use vinegars that are more “delicate” in flavor rather than plain white vinegar, which is too intensely sharp in my opinion. Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is the one I use most, but white or red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or Champagne vinegar also work well. Balsamic vinegar is slightly sweet and adds an amazing depth of flavor, but you only need a splash. It mixes well with cider or wine vinegar for balance in a recipe.
The Sweetener
White sugar is the traditional choice for making a shrub. It’s neutral flavor is ideal to pair with the fruit. Brown sugar, honey or maple syrup can be used, but will add another element of flavor. I personally like to use a natural, non-nutritive sweetener like monk fruit or erythritol. These are not traditional ingredients to use in a shrub, but they do allow me to minimize my sugar intake and keep control of my blood sugars without significantly changing the flavor.
Below is a list of fruit, spice and vinegar flavor combinations to consider using for your next shrub complements of food52.com:
Pomegranate + peppercorn + white sugar + red wine vinegar
Pear + star anise + brown sugar + white wine vinegar
Red plum + cardamom + brown sugar + white wine vinegar
Peach + cardamom pods + honey + cider vinegar
Strawberries + white sugar + red wine vinegar and a splash of balsamic vinegar
Blueberries + thinly sliced ginger + cider vinegar
Nectarine + peppercorn + brown sugar + white wine vinegar
Cheers! Using your shrub
Now that you have your shrub prepared you can make mocktails, vinaigrettes or even marinades with this culinary wonder.
Mocktail: Fill a tall glass with ice, pour in a splash of shrub, and top it off with sparkling water. Give it a gentle stir to incorporate the shrub. Garnish as desired.
Vinaigrette: A vinaigrette is traditionally 2 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar. Substitute part of your go-to vinegar with the shrub when making your next dressing. Add a pinch of salt, a few turns of fresh ground pepper and a small dollop of Dijon mustard for an amazing way to elevate your next salad.
Marinade: Mix the shrub with avocado oil, salt, pepper and additional herbs and spices (think garlic, onions, rosemary, etc.) and allow your fish, chicken or beef to tenderize while soaking up the shrub flavor.
Fennel shrub mocktail
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fennel juice
1.5 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1-2 tablespoons sweetener (I use monk fruit but sugar is traditional.)
8 oz sparkling water
Directions:
Juice the stems and bulb of a fennel using a juicer machine.
Mix the juice, vinegar and sweetener until the sweetener is dissolved.
Top with sparkling water and ice.
Garnish with fennel fronds and enjoy.
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