I am always amazed why it takes me so long to get around to trying something that I have known about for so long. I have read about “shrub”drinks over the years, but had no idea how easy they are to make and how zesty & wonderful they taste, especially if you are a fan of vinegar drinks.
Before bottled colas & other sugary drinks became a ubiquitous part of our cultural landscape people made vinegar based fruit drinks commonly called “shrubs”. Mixed with carbonated water, Prosecco or even a Belgium Lambic beer results in one perfect warm weather cooler. I tried all three and found each deliciously appealing.
A few simple ingredients are all you need to make your own bottle(s) of shrub to keep in the refrigerator chilled and ready to enjoy. Fresh berries or other fruit, sugar, white wine, red wine & balsamic vinegars….simple and inexpensive.
If you are a fan of kombucha, then I think you will find this recipe for strawberry shrub a new and interesting way to get your vinegar based drink fix. It truly is as “easy as this”! Give it a try, let me know what you think.
Strawberry Shrub Drink
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs fresh, sweet strawberries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches), wash, hulled & chopped
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, dark or white
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- 2 cups red wine vinegar
Directions:
- Mix fruit and sugar in a bowl. Crush berries with a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon. Cover for 1 hour or chilled overnight allowing fruit and sugar to meld and juices to be released from the fruit.
- Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth, pressing the fruit to get out all the flavorful juice.
- Add balsamic, white wine and red wine vinegars to the strained juice. Store “shrub” in a lidded glass jar chilled until ready to use.
- For Mocktails put some of the shrub in a glass with ice and top with fizzy water. For Cocktails mix with Prosecco or a Peach Lambic Beer. Add a squeeze of lime or orange if desired. Adjust the amount of the shrub depending on your particular taste. I enjoy a very zesty drink with lots of that full-bodied fruit vinegar flavor. Experiment to come up with you own combinations.
Teresa Blackburn Food Styling
Yum! Have everything I need to try this today! this ‘camellia bush’ is going to try a ‘shrub’ !
Would there be a huge taste difference in using plain white vinegar instead of white wine vinegar? Can’t wait till my strawberries ripen! 🙂
Oh wow Teresa, these “shrubs” sound so intriguing! Personally I have never heard of them, but I do like zesty and zippy!
I too am late to catch on to this trend. Thank you for the educationa nd tutorial Teresa! Your shrub looks refreshing and I loved the funny title.
My husband and I were having a drink at a hotel this week as we were celebrating his birthday. There was a lazy susan on the bar filled with bottles of bitters and shrub mix. Evidently, shrubs are very popular in Florida as well. Now I have a recipe, thanks.
Sounds and looks delicious😋👌😆