Make Shrub Great Again, or How to Make Fruit Shrub

In all my 65 years, I never heard of a shrub until I found a recipe in a magazine. What is a shrub, you ask? A shrub is a fruit-and-vinegar syrup used to flavor drinks. Think of the flavorings for SodaStream, and you have the idea of what these are used for. One would put a couple spoonfuls into a glass, pour in some sparkling water, and top with ice. Voilà! You have a fruity, fizzy drink. Since I still don't have an acceptable (to my actual taste and sense of cheapness) peach flavoring for my sweet tea, I thought I would give a shrub a shot. Here, then, is the method for making a shrub with a few possible fruit/herb combinations. I am going to do the peach one.

As always, the recipe card above is a 4x6 JPG. You can download it and print it on 4x6 photo paper to keep in your recipe box.

For equipment, you will need:

1. Three 1-pint, wide-mouth, Mason-style jars with lids. I thought I had these, but mine are the wrong size. I had to go to Blain's Farm & Fleet to pick up the Anchor-Hocking version (the least expensive I could find).
2. A stock pot large enough to boil two pint Mason-style jars with lids. I'll use my stainless steel stock pot from Target.
3. Canning tools, particularly a funnel, a jar tongs, and a magnet wand. I found an inexpensive canning tools set at Blain's Farm & Fleet.
4. A clean cooling rack on which to allow pint Mason-style jars with lids to dry in a sterile manner. I own cooling racks, so I'll just line it with a clean towel.
5. A mixing bowl in which to crush the fruit. My favorites are the milk glass mixing bowls my mother passed on to me.
6. A potato masher or something else to crush the fruit. I got mine from Dollar Tree when they still carried quality products.
7. A smallish kettle, preferably with a pour spout. A 1-quart should be large enough. I'll use the 1-quart from my GreenPan set.
8. A nut milk bag or other fine mesh straining device. I have some nut milk bags that I found on Amazon which I used for a previous project.
9. Since someone will troll me if I don't mention it, you will also need a heat source, such as a stove top.
10. In the same vein, you will also need a refrigerator.

For ingredients, you will need:

1. 1½ cups of fruit of your choice
2. Herbs and/or spices to match your fruit (see recommended combinations below)
3. 1 cup of cider vinegar (I got the organic because it was on sale!)
4. 3 cups of granulated sugar
5. 1 cup of water

Put a pint jar and its lid in a saucepan large enough that you can cover the jar with water. Cover the jar with water. Put the stock pot on the heat source, and bring the water to a boil. In the meantime, set up your cooling rack. After the water has boiled, use the tongs to remove the jar and lid from the water. Place them on the cooling rack.

While the jar is cooling, crush or cut up the fruit. (Blackberries crush; peaches don't.)

Place your seasonings into the jar. Now, place the prepared (crushed, chopped, etc.) fruit into the jar.

In the small saucepan, heat the vinegar on the heating source. Bring it to a boil. Pour this over the fruit in the jar, leaving about ¼" of air at the top of the jar. If your tool set included a bubble stick, you can use this to measure the ¼". Allow the jar to cool; you should be able to touch the jar without feeling heat. Put the lid on the jar, and place in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Put 2 pint jars and their lids in a saucepan large enough that you can cover the jars with water. Cover the jars with water. Put the stock pot on the heat source, and bring the water to a boil. In the meantime, set up your cooling rack. After the water has boiled, use the tongs to remove the jars and lids from the water. Place them on the cooling rack.

Put the canning funnel on the sterilized jar. Put the nut milk bag into the funnel. Pour the fruit mixture into the bag so the liquids drip into the jar. Squeeze the bag to get all of the juices out. Pour half of the juice into the other jar. Based on my test, there should be about 4 fl. oz. (or ½ cup US) in each jar.

Into the small saucepan, pour the sugar and the water. Place this on the heating source, and bring the water and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Allow this mixture to cool slightly. Pour half of the sugar syrup into each jar with the fruit juices. Allow the jars to become cool to the touch before proceeding. Cover the jars, and shake well. Store in the refrigerator. It should remain edible for at least 2 weeks.

Put a couple teaspoons into a glass and top with desired beverage. I am going to use sweet tea, but you can use whatever you like (sparkling water, bourbon, etc.).

Here are a few fruit/herb combinations. I'll start with the ones in the original recipe, but I'll add more as they are discovered.

1. Blackberries with a 3"-stick of cinnamon
2. Cherries with a strip of lime peel
3. Peaches (280g = 1½ c) with a 2" sprig of rosemary
4. This is the one I used for this Instructables
5. Blueberry with a strip of lemon peel
6. Strawberries with 4 large basil leaves

Cost-wise, this batch of flavoring cost me $3.67 to make. The full price of a bottle of Bubly flavoring costs $5.99. I use a capful per mug of tea. That comes to about 40 servings per bottle, or about 15¢ per serving. Comparatively, the peach shrub I made resulted in 2 full pints! That is 32 fl. oz. Using 1 tablespoon to flavor a drink, I would have 64 servings, dividing out to only 5.7¢ per serving. The Bubly would have to be $2.28 per bottle to match this pricing.

Taste-wise, on my first taste test, I got only a hint of peach and no hint of vinegar at all. I decided to go up to a full tablespoon of flavoring. That hit the spot! Since I also add whipping cream to my tea, it was like drinking peaches and cream. Not quite a foodgasm, but extremely pleasing.

Now, the recipe says this will last 2 weeks in the fridge. At 64 servings, it's going to take more than 9 weeks for me to go through this batch. Next time I make this, I'm going to cut the recipe in half. Also, I am going to put one of these pints in the freezer to see if that will help preserve it for down the road. I'll update this Instructables when I either make more flavors or thaw this pint.

All that said, this recipe is DEFINITELY worth it. It's a great way to make at-home beverage flavorings that save money over store-bought.

Don't throw away the fruit pulp! Pour on a little cream, and have yourself some fruit and cream. It tastes a little odd, as it is imbued with the vinegar and spices. If you can stand that flavor combination (and I can!), then have a little treat instead of creating more garbage.