Shrubs

[Yellowbridge]

I posted this over in the thread in vinegar based drinks 'cos I did not see the shrub!

After making the elderberry drink I found out it is what Americans call a shrub. There have been so many elderberries around I have been experimenting. Have also made something that has something of the flavour and consistency of pomegranate molasses. 

 

This has been a great year for berries in general, and I have picked lots of elderberries. I crushed 2 litres lightly then covered with cider vinegar. Cooked them a little to remove any cyanide. After a week or so I strained them and added some honey. I now have a delicious refreshing drink, when diluted, and a great winter tonic.

[blue_dolphin]

I made 2 cranberry shrubs recently.  I chose this cranberry-lime shrub from Fine Cooking because I love the combination of citrus with cranberry and my lime tree is absolutely loaded with fruit.  Alas, the recipe only calls for the zest of one lime so it's not a big help in that department but it is very tasty stuff.  It's made with white wine (or champagne) vinegar so the cranberry flavor takes the lead.  I haven't tried it in any cocktails (maybe something with tequila and fresh lime juice??) but an ounce and a half in a tall glass of sparkling water and ice made a very refreshing drink that I'd be happy to drink any time of the year.  It was very pretty - too bad I slurped it down without taking a picture!   I think it would be great with tonic and a squeeze of fresh time, too. 

 

The other shrub is a little more similar to the one that David Lebowitz wrote up on his blog recently, using apple cider vinegar and flavoring the shrub with allspice.  I followed a recipe for pickled cranberries that included ginger, cinnamon, cloves and black peppercorns along with the allspice and the resulting shrub is full of holiday flavors.  I enjoyed this shrub in the cocktail that David had on his blog, sort of a bourbon sour.  Because of all the spices and the apple cider vinegar background, I don't think I'd want to drink it in the summer but I bet this shrub would be a great to punch up an apple cider vinaigrette. 

 

Cranberry shrub cocktail garnished with pickled cranberries.

[DavidSmith]

Hi everyone,

 

I just joined but thought id join in here. 

 

I have been making shrubs as part of my cocktail program for years now so if anyone wants any help or pointers I'm more than happy to help. I am over in the uk and find that tart fruits do work best but at min I'm using rhubarb. I use a sous vide to make mine but have used just an empty ice cream tub. I find cider vinegar works best http://www.ciderbrandy.co.uk/shop.html   if you look at the bottom this is the exact stuff i use and would highly recommend it. In fact all

Burrow Hill products are top quality. We should be making more shrubs as these add a really good and unique aspect to your cocktails. great talking point and make fantastic sours! 

[DavidSmith]

http://www.wearedistilled.co.uk/#!COTW-Blushing-Cow/c1rfl/552aac660cf21e26baf06e03

 

 

This is the recipe I'm using at min.  If you check out some of the other cocktails of the week I did another shrub for my Alice cocktail 

[blue_dolphin]

Two strawberry shrubs from some beautiful ripe Harry's Berries strawberries from the local farmers market. Using the ratio of 2 parts fruit + 1 part sugar + 1 part vinegar from Michael Dietsch's book, Shrubs.  I couldn't decide which vinegars to use so after macerating the berries with the sugar and straining the syrup, I divided it and made one with with white balsamic vinegar to preserve the pretty color and the other with red wine vinegar & balsamic vinegar. The strawberry-red wine vinegar was very nice by itself but I wanted to try some balsamic in there so I used 3/4 red wine vinegar and 1/4 balsamic vinegar.  

 

Strawberries after macerating with the sugar overnight in the fridge

 

Finished products with the vinegars I used.

 

Edited March 25, 2017 by blue_dolphin
to remove an errant k (log)

[Shelby]

We have sand hill plums that we planted along the driveway.  Some years they make, others they don't.  This year they did.  Ronnie wanted to pick some so I went and helped--he had visions of a pie, but that wasn't going to happen lol.  There is very little fruit left in a plum after peeling and pitting which is why most people just make jelly.  We aren't huge jelly eaters....soooooooo I was trying to think of something to do with them when I remembered shrubs!  My mom has been making them for a long time--which is what put the idea in my head-- using rhubarb and then mixing in what ever fruit she has around.  And ginger.  She loves some ginger in there.  Anyway, these plums are tart so I thought it would be a good start.  No where online could I find anyone ever making a sand hill plum shrub but I found a site that had a recipe using regular plums.

 

Plums after picking

 

 

The recipe used equal parts fruit, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar.  Put your fruit in the jar, then the sugar and muddle.  Heat the vinegar to a simmer and then pour over.

 

 

Took it out of the fridge after a week today

 

 

Strain

 

 

 

I had to test it--prosecco, ice and sand hill plum shrub

 

 

 

I'm impressed.  I'd like to experiment using different vinegars.  I think I'd like a champagne vinegar with this. 

 

Thanks @blue_dolphin and others for the ideas and recipes in this thread.  I have some strawberries that I need to use.  So, I'm thinking those with some more plums (ugh I have to pick and clean and cut more plums lol)

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Shelby (log)

[lemniscate]

On 7/2/2023 at 8:32 AM, Shelby said:

There is very little fruit left in a plum after peeling and pitting

 

I'm intrigued by these plums.  This site describes handling them but I found a couple of the comments at the bottom more interesting.  One commenter says steam juicing the whole plum yields good juice without the peeling/pitting work.  Another has made an umeboshi out of the plums.    That's cool.

[dureMmar]

"Shrubs: An Old-Fashioned Drink for Modern Times" by Michael Dietsch - this can help you)
I myself haven't tried anything from that book, but my sister did and had a nice experience

[blue_dolphin]

41 minutes ago, dureMmar said:

"Shrubs: An Old-Fashioned Drink for Modern Times" by Michael Dietsch - this can help you)
I myself haven't tried anything from that book, but my sister did and had a nice experience

 

As I mentioned just above in this thread, I've had good luck using the ratio he gives in the book: 2 parts fruit + 1 part sugar + 1 part vinegar.  I would recommend sense-checking that when using the actual book recipes. Particularly the recipes that give the amount of fruit only as the number of fruits.  I tried the Roasted Peach and Lemon Shrub on p 132, which calls for 5 peaches and I got a thick sludge that I couldn't pour at all.  It actually set up in the bottles like a jam and I couldn't even get it out in order to try diluting it.  Later, I noticed that the recipe for Peach, Ginger and Cinnamon Shrub on p 121 calls for 6 peaches (about 1 1/2 pounds), telling me that he was likely estimating 1/4 lb peaches while my big boy peaches were all over 8 oz each, so I'd probably used double the amount of fruit expected in that first recipe and I should have checked that the ratios made sense instead of following the recipe.