"One type of shrub is a fruit liqueur that was popular in 17th and 18th century England, typically made with rum or brandy mixed with sugar and the juice or rinds of citrus fruit.[1][2][3]
The word "shrub" can also refer to a cocktail or soft drink that was popular during America's colonial era, made by mixing a vinegared syrup with spirits, water, or carbonated water.[1][4][5]The term "shrub" can also be applied to the sweetened vinegar-based syrup, from which the cocktail is made; the syrup is also known as drinking vinegar.[3][6][7] Drinking vinegar is often infused with fruit juice, herbs and spices for use in mixed drinks.[6][8][9]"
Sorry, but wikipedia is helpful sometimes to save me time in explaining things, and it provides helpful links if you want to learn more. I'm more interested in the vinegar kinds that were popular in America before refrigeration left them all lonely and forgotten (until modern times, yay) and love the utilitarian nature of them. Plus, the leftover fruits make a wonderful topping for yogurt, granola, and ice cream type things.
I'm working on an elderberry shrub that I plan to toy around with and mix some interesting syrups and sodas and tinctured flowers I have lying around. Maybe just a simple elder vinegar with a ginger syrup or hibiscus syrup or liqueur to give it a nice zest.
There are a couple ways you could go about this. Wikipedia says that it was made by pouring the vinegar over the fruit and letting it sit overnight or for a few days, straining, and then mixing with the sugar or syrup. A more modern resource recommends sugaring the berries for a few days and THEN mixing in the vinegar. I, being a firm believer in playing around with all the things, did both! I have elderberries mixed with sugar, and elderberries steeped in vinegar.
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| I'm working on getting better pics but my phone is the sucks. |
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