Recipe
Spiced Pear Shrub
This Spiced Pear Shrub recipe is made with what I call Method 4: the fruit hangs out for a few days with the vinegar and the spices before being strained and adding the sugar
Overview
Ripe pears are very soft, so handle them carefully. Don’t muddle them, and don’t press them when straining the liquid at the end.
Ingredients
3 cups fresh ripe pears, cored and chopped
3-4 cups apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
¼ cup fresh peeled and chopped ginger root
3 pods star anise
¾ cup white or golden sugar
Instructions
Process:
Fruit + spices + vinegar + time + sugar
Step 1
Wash the pears, core them, chop them, and put in a large jar (I recommend a 2-quart jar or splitting them between two 1-quart jars.
Step 2
Add the spices, then cover the mixture with apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or a mixture of the two. Fill the jar to the top leaving very little headspace. You want the fruit to stay submerged in the vinegar. If you need to add a little filtered water you can. No more than about 25% of the amount of the vinegar
Step 3
Put the top on, shake it gently, and set aside for 2-3 days. Shake the jar a couple of times a day if you like.
Step 4
After 2-3 days, the mixture should be ready. Place a sieve over a large bowl and strain it. Don’t press the fruit the way you usually do; the pears (if ripe) are too soft for this and will drip large amounts of sediment into your shrub. Don’t even shake the sieve. (I did and managed to get a lot of sediment in the bowl, so I had to strain three times instead of twice!)
Step 5
Measure or eyeball the vinegar mixture and to it, add about a third as much sugar. Stir to dissolve. You might want to taste and adjust the sugar; my pears were very sweet and did not need a lot of sugar.
Step 6
Strain through a cocktail sieve into a jar or bottle; cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use. You can try it now, but the flavors will meld, marry, and get happy over the next weeks.
Cocktail Suggestion
This shrub pairs beautifully with bourbon and soda. It also makes a lovely mocktail with just soda garnished with mint.
Spiced Pear Shrub
Equipment
- Large clean jar with tight fitting lid (2-quarts or two 1-quart jars)
- Knife
- Canning funnel
- measuring cup
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh ripe pears cored and chopped
- 3-4 cups apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ cup fresh peeled and chopped ginger root
- 3 pods star anise
- ¾ cup white or golden sugar
Instructions
- Fruit + spices + vinegar + time + sugar
- Wash the pears, core them, chop them, and put in a large jar (I recommend a 2-quart jar or splitting them between two 1-quart jars.
- Add the spices, then cover the mixture with apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or a mixture of the two. Fill the jar to the top leaving very little headspace. You want the fruit to stay submerged in the vinegar.
- Put the top on, shake it gently, and set aside for 2-3 days. Shake the jar a couple of times a day if you like.
- After 2-3 days, the mixture should be ready. Place a sieve over a large bowl and strain it. Don’t press the fruit the way you usually do; the pears (if ripe) are too soft for this and will drip large amounts of sediment into your shrub. Don’t even shake the sieve. (I did and managed to get a lot of sediment in the bowl, so I had to strain three times instead of twice!)
- Measure or eyeball the vinegar mixture and to it, add about half as much sugar. Stir to dissolve.
- Strain through a cocktail sieve into a jar or bottle; cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use. You can try it now, but the flavors will meld, marry, and get happy over the next weeks.