Recipe
Blackberry & Raspberry Shrubs
The very first shrubs I ever made when I started this crazy inquiry were blackberry and raspberry shrubs made with fruit I picked up at Costco. It was so easy!
Since making those first concoctions, I have made blackberry shrubs infused with fresh mint and used white wine vinegar rather than cider vinegar. This makes a really smooth and refreshing drink for spring and summer.
Overview
My first shrubs. Long gone but oh so good!
Ingredients
Fresh blackberries or raspberries
Apple cider vinegar
White or golden sugar
Instructions
Step 1
Wash the berries and measure them by weight of package or by putting them into a measuring cup.
Step 2
Place them in a large jar or a bowl you can cover later.
Step 3
Add sugar: I generally add about ¾ cup to 1 cup of sugar for each 2 cups of berries.
Step 4
Muddle the fruit and sugar mixture with a muddler or potato masher.
Step 5
Stir well, cover tightly, and set aside for 2-3 days. You can stir the bowl or shake the jar a couple of times a day if you like.
Step 6
After 2-3 days, the mixture should be juicy. Strain it into a bowl, gently pressing the fruit to extract as much juice as possible without pressing the fruit through the sieve.
Step 9
Measure it and add an equal amount of apple cider vinegar (or other vinegar). I added a bit more vinegar than I had juice.
Step 9
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.
Blackberry & Raspberry Shrubs
Equipment
- Jar with lid
- Measuring cups
- Muddler or masher
- Funnel
- Small saucepan
- Large bowl
- Large strainer
- cocktail strainer
Ingredients
- Blackberries and/or raspbeerries
- White or golden sugar
- Cider vinegar
Instructions
- Wash the fruit, put in a jar and mash it up with your muddler. You don’t want to mash it fine…just enough to get the juices moving in the fruit.
- Heat the sugar and the vinegar just long enough to dissolve the sugar. Then, pour it over the fruit.
- Cover it tightly, then put it in the fridge for a couple of days. This allows the flavors from the fruits to seep into the vinegar and make it super tasty
- After 2-3 days, strain the fruit out of the shrub mixture. Use a big spoon to squeeze as much juice out of the berries as you can without pushing the fruit through the sieve.
- Put the cocktail strainer over the funnel to strain it a second time as you pour it into clean jars or bottles and store it in the fridge.
- You can try it now, but the flavor will improve if you let the flavors marry for a few days before using your shrub.