Welcome to the First Ever Entry for Jennifer’s Home Journal!

My friend Karen Heid, an amazing artist in Augusta, GA, got me to try knitting last spring. I’m officially hooked. Or needled. Or possibly unraveled. She also came up with the idea of Jennifer’s Home Journal. (So thank my friend if you like this!)

So far in my knitting inquiry, I have spent a considerable amount of money on yarn at my new favorite store, Isadora Popper in Clayton, GA, and another considerable amount at Michael’s and Marshall’s on needles and baskets to keep it all organized.

Of course, Karen convinced me to work on more than one project at a time, because apparently, that is what knitters do. Who knew?

Fast forward to this summer, when I showed up at her cabin in the mountains with a jar of my homemade Blueberry Lemon Sage Jam, She commented that it sounded like it would make a good shrub. Having absolutely no idea what she was talking about, I did a bit of research and embarked on a journey that took me spiraling down the Rabbithole of Shrubdom, A Wonderland of Discovery!

So come along on this first journal entry—an end-of-the-month Brain Drain if you will—as I share everything I have learned (so far) about making and drinking shrubs…and a bit about knitting.

Spoiler Alert: Shrubs are pretty tasty! (And easy to drink while you knit if you are so inclined!)

What are Shrubs?

So began my inquiry. Fortunately, our trusty source for all things esoteric–Wikipedia–gave me a nice first introduction.

Shrubs, also known as drinking vinegars, are concentrated syrups made with roughly equal amounts of vinegar, sugar, and fruit. They were popular in Colonial America and 17th century England. As I would soon discover, however, they go back much farther than that in history, and were made and used around the world…but I’ll tell you about that in a bit.

The vinegar-based shrub syrups we will be exploring can be added to water or sparkling water to make refreshing nonalcoholic mocktails, or can they be mixed with alcohol to make a wide range of libations.

Three Main Ingredients

Shrubs have three main ingredients: vinegar, sugar, and fruit. To these, you can add herbs, spices, and citrus.

VINEGAR. While there is a wide array of vinegars apple cider vinegar is most commonly used as the base vinegar in shrubs. Red wine vinegar and white wine vinegar are also sometimes used as the base vinegars. Other vinegars are often added to achieve different flavor profiles; for example, the addition of a bit of white vinegar can add brightness, while a bit of balsamic adds richness and depth. Rice vinegar adds character, and Champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, and white balsamic tend to add sweetness. In addition to vinegars, you can also add citrus juices and the zest of citrus to add acidic flavor and interest.

SUGAR. Plain, white cane sugar is most often used in shrub recipes. But I have also used recipes calling for brown sugar and Demerara sugar and have seen recipes that call for honey, agave, and maple syrup as well.

FRUIT. Use your imagination! Almost any fruit can be used. Make shrubs using whatever is in season, whatever is on sale, or whatever you spot at the farmer’s market or Costco.  This month I have been going a just little bit nuts for apples because…well, October.

Keep in mind that shrub fruit doesn’t have to be pretty, so don’t hesitate to pick up the discounted stuff. This summer, when I told the sisters at the berry farm that I was making Black Pepper Strawberry Balsamic Jam (which they had never ever heard of in their whole entire lives) they asked if I didn’t want jam berries (which I had never ever heard of in my whole entire life.) What, I asked, are Jam Berries? (Notice I am not afraid to appear clueless.) Jam berries, they told me, are the berries they picked a day or two earlier and didn’t sell; they hold them in the fridge for people like me. Who buy them at a discount. And go home and make delicious stuff. Thanks, ladies! I didn’t know that seconds were a berries thing too!

When I go to McBee each year to buy peaches at McLeod Farms, I always pick up boxes of seconds to make Jalapeño Peach Jam and Bourbon Peach Jam and Peach Chutney. (Next year I’ll be making peach shrub as well!)

So, discounted fruit is a win for shrubs! Look for it.

Making Shrub Syrups

I did say it’s simple. And it is. But I also told you we’re officially down the rabbit hole, and here in Wonderland there is no point not finding out what’s hiding behind every single tree.

So let’s start with the basics and then I’ll tell you about some of the variations I have found.

There are two processes commonly used for shrubs: HOT and COLD.

Hot Process Shrubbing

The hot method makes a shrub that is ready to drink the same day. It is accomplished by boiling all of the ingredients, then straining them and bottling them. Some feel that the flavor of shrubs made this way is changed by cooking the fruit. Perhaps it is more important to consider how cooking changes the textures and flavors of particular fruits? Perhaps it isn’t the process (hot or cold) but rather matching the process to the fruit and the flavor profile you wish to achieve. I am hypothesizing here, as I have yet to try the hot process. But there is a box of pears ripening and waiting…

I came across three slightly different methods for hot shrubs. As with all shrubs, the longer they sit after you make them, the more the flavors marry and meld.

Method 1: Put fruit, sugar, and water into a saucepan. Heat and stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit juice blends well into the syrup. Let the mixture cool, then strain and gently and press out the solids. Add an equal amount of vinegar, bottle and store in the fridge.

Method 2: Combine all the ingredients in a pan. Heat and then simmer for three minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, strain, then bottle and refrigerate.

Method 3: Put sugar and half of the vinegar in a saucepan and heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the fruit and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool, strain, and add the rest of the vinegar. Pour into clean bottles and store in the fridge.

Cold Process Shrubbing

The cold method uses time rather than heat to extract the juice from the fruit. These shrubs are ready to drink after a few days, and again, the longer the final mixture sits in the fridge, the more the flavors marry.

Method 1:  Fruit + Sugar + Time + Vinegar. Put the fruit into a clean jar or bowl and macerate with a cocktail muddler or a potato masher. Don’t get overly zealous; you just want to bruise the fruit enough to get the juices flowing. Add an equal amount of sugar stir, cover, and let it sit for a few days before straining and adding the vinegar. Bottle it and store it in the fridge.

Method 2:  Fruit + Vinegar + Time + Sugar. Macerate the fruit in a large jar, add the vinegar and pop it into the fridge. Wait a few days, then strain it, add the sugar, shake it and bottle it.

Method 3: Fruit + Vinegar + Time + Fruit + Vinegar + Time + Sugar. These instructions were published in an 1890 Good Housekeeping magazine. This recipe calls for covering the macerated fruit with vinegar, waiting 24 hour hours, straining out the fruit and reserving the liquid, then adding a second batch of fruit to the reserved vinegar and waiting another 24 hours. At this point, the liquid is again strained, then measured, and finally, heated on the stove with a pound of sugar added for each pint of liquid. I believe the heating is intended to pasteurize the mixture for longer term storage. Pasteurized shrubs can be processed in a water bath canner for 10 minutes and are shelf-stable for a year or more. Maybe we could call this Method 2 on 1890 steroids?

As the month ends and we head into November, I have been really interested in shrub methods as they relate specifically to cranberries. I researched and tested five methods for making shrubs with cranberries and wrote that up on the Cranberry Shrub Methods page, linked below with the recipes. That page also has a pretty long list of cranberry flavor combinations that you might want to check out.

A Little Shrub History

I love poking around down here! True to my nerdy nature, I had to research to learn about shrubs, how to make them, and their history, I have included a full bibliography below for all of my fellow nerds.

Vinegar Shrubs

Drinking vinegars have been around for thousands of years, probably originating as a result of ancient food preservation techniques. Before the age of refrigeration, people in ancient cultures stored fruit in vinegar and sugar which were both natural preservatives. After the fruit was eaten, what was left was a fruit-infused, sweet-tart vinegar. When mixed with water and drunk, it was found to be refreshing and to have some health benefits, as well.

The word shrub comes from the Arabic word, sharab, which means, “to drink.” Because of its natural preservative qualities, shrubs stay fresh longer than water, making it the perfect drink on long marches or ocean voyages. The Roman army drank a concoction of vinegar and water flavored with herbs called Posca. The Byzantine army drank a similar mixture known as Phouska, and Samurai warriors drank a rice vinegar blend.

Because fresh water on long ocean voyages was not available, sailors typically drank alcoholic beverages, making them prone to both scurvy and drunkenness. In Benjamin Morrel’s 1832 book entitled A Narrative of Four Voyages: To the South Sea, North and South Pacific Ocean, Chinese Sea, Ethiopic and Southern Atlantic Ocean, Indian and Antarctic Ocean, he recommended that sailors be given drinking vinegars several times a day: to rinse their mouths in the morning, to drink at meals, and to drink after exertion rather than imbibing strong “spirits.”

Vinegar has germ-fighting qualities and has long been used as a cleaner and disinfectant and to fight odors. (My plumber recommends putting white vinegar and salt down my drains every week.) In Ancient Greece, Hippocrates was known to use a potion of water, vinegar and honey called Oxycrate, applying it topically to treat wounds and drinking it to address some forms of illnesses including respiratory problems.

According to WebMD, recent research on the possible health benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar (ACV) indicate that it “may” help with weight loss and lower blood sugar. Some studies show that drinking apple cider vinegar lowers overall cholesterol and triglyceride levels and boosts HDL (“good” cholesterol). It is also a good source of magnesium, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus. Some people claim that it helps with indigestion and heartburn, as well.

But before you start glugging ACV, realize that more research is needed, especially on the amount of vinegar you might drink to obtain health benefits. Like anything, too much of anything is no good!

Alcohol Shrubs

The word shrub first appeared in an English dictionary in 1747, where it was defined as “any of various acidulated beverages made from the juice of fruit, sugar and other ingredients often alcohol.”

Which brings up alcoholic shrubs which were popular in the 1700s and 1800s in Europe and North America. These beverages were direct descendants of early medicinal cordials containing alcohol infused with herbs and spices. Medicinal shrubs were administered “in small doses to invigorate and revitalize the heart, body and spirit as well as cure diseases.” Medicinal cordials eventually would evolve into liqueurs.

One example of a shrub cordidal was printed in John Davies’s 1808 book, The Innkeeper and Butlers guide, or, a Directory in the making and managing of British Wines, He gives a recipe for a Shrub Cordial of brandy, lemon, and nutmeg with white wine and sugar. He comments, “Tis a pretty wine and a cordial, for each tot of Rum add a double tot of Shrub. At the end of the evening, everyone was cordial.”  Well yes. That would quite do the trick.

Benjamin Franklin’s Orange Shrub Recipe was also an alcohol-based shrub. It called for a gallon of rum, 2 quarts of orange juice, and 2 pounds of sugar. To obtain a stronger orange flavor, he recommended peeling a few oranges and adding the peels to the mixture. Store it in a cask for 3-4 weeks, then filter and bottle. He claimed that it made a great party punch (and I’m sure he was right…let me know if you try this!).

Alcoholic shrubs fell out of fashion in Europe in the late 1800s when gin became popular. Because gin was cheap and shrubs were harder and more expensive to make, they became more of a holiday drink rather than a staple. Similarly, vinegar-based shrubs in the US fell by the wayside when home refrigeration became common.

We can thank the resurgence of shrubs over the past 13 or so years to mixologists and bartenders who began experimenting with their own concoctions starting in about 2009 or so. Shrubs: An Old Fashioned Drink for Modern Times, originally published in 2014 by Michael Dietsch (a freelance writer and writer for SeriousEats) is now in its second edition. (And it’s on my wish list!)

My very favorite shrub recipe (not that I have tried it, it’s just that it is so cool) is from an 1890 article in Good Housekeeping, which you can actually see here. It is made with black-cap raspberries, which are what we call black raspberries, those delicious berries that grow wild along roadsides:

Old Fashioned Raspberry Shrub: Cover 6 quarts of black-cap raspberries with good cider vinegar. Let them stand for 24 hours. At the end of this time, squeeze the vinegar and fruit through a cloth, and add six more quarts of berries to the liquor. Let it then stand 24 hours more; squeeze it through a cloth and measure the liquid, allowing a pound of sugar for each pint. Let the sugar, vinegar and fruit boil up 10 minutes, then bottle it and set away.

There is much more interesting stuff out there about the history of shrubs. If you are interested in staying down here in Rabbithole Wondershrubland a bit longer, check out the searchable bibliography below. 🙂