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| Shrubs: blackberry, mango and raspberry |
In an earlier post on Infused Spirits and Shrubs (
Part 1) I wrote about the history of shrubs. I never did get around to the strawberry or lemon, but decided to add mango, instead. This morning, I was crouched down in front of my lower pantry cupboard swirling seven one-quart mason jars filled with various fruits and vodka (still infusing) and decided it was high-time to strain and bottle my shrubs. I made three shrubs: blackberry, mango and raspberry. Each was a combination of fruit, sugar and apple cider vinegar in (near) equal amounts. The resulting syrup should be both sweet and tart, but neither of those characteristics should overpower the fruit. The thing that I really like about drinks made with a fruit shrub is that the vinegar gives drinks you make a quality of effervescence without bubbles - if that makes any sense. I am not a fan of sweet drinks so the tart quality of this syrup makes me very happy. Of the three that I made, the blackberry has the least fruity character, but it is still very good. The mango and raspberry are absolute flavor home runs.
I didn't strain any of the three to be crystal clear (especially the mango, which is quite fibrous anyway), but I put each mixture through a fine mesh strainer and then through a double-layer of cheese cloth before bottling.
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| Straining the raspberry shrub: the remaining solids, while a wee bit seed-y, tasted good mixed into yogurt. | | |
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| blackberry shrub, basil and lime cooler |
Recipes: Fruit Shrub Syrup &
Blackberry Shrub, Lime and Basil Cooler
