Drinks

Fruit Shrub

Drinks

Fruit Shrub

A shrub is a fruit syrup mixed with vinegar. Historically, shrubs were made as a way to preserve fruit to drink, mixed with soda or water. Today, with the addition of different vinegars, sugars, spices, and herbs, shrubs have become a way to preserve and enhance fruit flavor. Use the shrub traditionally with soda water over ice or mix creatively into cocktails. Each sip will be reminiscent of an era when ingenuity surpassed the simple desire to preserve a summer bounty.

Recipe excerpted from The All New Ball® Book of Canning and Preserving, published by Oxmoor House (2016).

Makes:

about 1 pint

Prep:

5 Minutes

Chill:

1 to 3 Days (or until sugar dissolves and fruit releases its juice)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup crushed fruit (such as strawberries, peaches, apricots, grapes, plums, berries, or cherries)

1 cup sugar

1 cup vinegar (such as unfiltered apple cider, balsamic, sherry, or red wine vinegar)

TOOLS & PRODUCTS USED

1-quart canning jar

1-pint canning jar

DIRECTIONS

LET'S MIX!

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Combine crushed fruit and sugar in a 1-quart canning jar. Cover and shake to combine. Chill 1 to 3 days or until sugar dissolves and fruit releases its juice.

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After 1 to 3 days, pour fruit mixture through a wire-mesh strainer into a 2-cup glass measuring cup, pressing with the back of a spoon to release as much juice as possible (about 3⁄4 cup); discard solids. Stir in vinegar. Transfer mixture to a 1-pint jar. Cover with lid and chill 2 weeks before serving.

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DID YOU KNOW?

To guarantee the most delicious preserved foods, always begin with the best-quality produce at its peak of ripeness.