Cold-Processed Shrub Recipe

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Makes 20 to 24 ounces

Recipe from Serious Eats (Michael Dietsch)

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This recipe makes about 20 to 24 ounces of shrub syrup, enough to make anywhere from 10 to 20 drinks, depending on how much syrup you use per drink. Store it for up to a year in your fridge. The acid and sugar will preserve the syrup and keep it tasting bright and fresh.

1 cup berries or other fruit, washed and quartered or lightly crushed

1 cup sugar (You can also use honey instead of the sugar.)

1 cup red wine vinegar or apple-cider vinegar

Place berries or fruit in bowl. Cover with sugar and stir.

Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator until juice exudes from fruit and starts to combine with sugar to form syrup. This may take only 5 or 6 hours, or it may need a couple of days. A longer maceration won't harm anything, so feel free to leave it in fridge longer than it might need.

Strain syrup from fruit. Press lightly on solids to express any remaining juice/syrup. Scrape remaining sugar into syrup. (The remaining fruit will have lost much of its flavor to the syrup, but it should be tasty enough to serve atop ice cream or cake.)

Add vinegar and whisk to combine.

Pour through funnel into clean bottle. Cap and shake vigorously, and mark date on bottle. Store in refrigerator.

Check periodically. Some sugar may remain undissolved for up to a few days. Shake to combine.

After about a week, acids in juice and vinegar should dissolve sugar entirely.

To serve, just add 1 oz. strawberry shrub to an 8 oz. glass.  Add 1 oz. vodka or gin (alcohol optional.) Top it off with club soda or sparkling water.  Stir and enjoy!

Here is a step-by-step photo guide to making a shrub...

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