Strawberry shrub

A shrub is basically a vinegared fruit syrup. Sweet, tart and intensely refreshing, shrubs are enjoyed all around the world, and for good reason: they are delicious! You’ll find them in Southern USA, where the name ‘shrub’ originated, all the way through to steamy South-East Asia, where they are spiked with sweet tropical fruits for instant relief from the humidity.

You can try different fruits in this shrub recipe – strawberries as I have here, or plums, peaches, pineapples and mangoes. Use whatever is in season and make sure the fruit is really ripe. I use regular white sugar in my shrubs; you could substitute with raw sugar, but don’t venture further afield than that.

When you first make it, the vinegar can be a little dominant, so leave the shrub in the fridge for a few weeks and let the flavours balance out, or add a little more sugar if necessary.

Drink your shrub in a tall glass with lots of ice, soda water (club soda) and a jigger of gin.

MAKES: 1 x 800 ml (28 fl oz) bottle

INGREDIENTS

525 g (1 lb 2½ oz/3 cups) roughly chopped very ripe strawberries, stems removed

440 g (15½ oz/2 cups) granulated white sugar

500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) apple cider vinegar

EQUIPMENT

glass or ceramic bowl

another bowl, with a sieve set over it

wooden spoon

funnel

1 x 800 ml (28 fl oz) bottle and lid

ladle

STRAWBERRY SHRUB METHOD

1.

Mix the fruit and sugar: Put the strawberries in a glass or ceramic bowl. Pour the sugar over and leave for a few hours, or better still, overnight in the fridge. The sugar will slowly dissolve and draw out all the lovely juice in the berries. You’ll end up with a bowl full of soft strawberries surrounded by sweet syrup.

2.	Strain and squish: Pour the mixture into a large sieve that is sitting over a bowl, to catch the syrup. Squish the berries with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much juice as possible, then leave to strain for 30 minutes. Keep the sugared fruit pulp to serve over ice cream or Granola.

3.	Add vinegar and bottle: Stir the vinegar into the strained fruit syrup. It will have a very strong vinegar taste at this stage, which is normal.

4.

Pour and store: Fit a funnel into your bottle and ladle in the shrub. Seal and store in the fridge for a few weeks, after which the flavours will develop and the vinegar will mellow. You can of course drink it straight away, but you might want to add a little more sugar, as the vinegar will taste quite strong. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 months.

5.	Serve: To serve, one-quarter fill a glass with the syrup, top with soda water and garnish as you please.

HOW TO USE

• Amazing as a base for summer cocktails. Use berry shrubs with gin or vodka; try citrus shrubs with bourbon or rum. Try a peach shrub with a dash of bourbon and topped with sparkling water.
• Instead of strawberries, use raspberries, rhubarb, peaches, blood oranges, mangoes, nectarines or even tangelos.
• Add different herbs and spices such as rosemary, Thai basil, ginger or mint.
• Use Champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar instead of cider vinegar – but avoid using balsamic or sherry vinegar as they are too strongly flavoured and expensive for this recipe.
• Try these seasonal flavour ideas. Spring: strawberry, Thai basil and peppercorns. Summer: Cherry, rhubarb and vanilla bean. Autumn: Plum and rosemary. Winter: orange and ginger.