Fresh Fruit Shrub Recipe

This fresh fruit shrub recipe is a quick and easy way to add something tangy and delightful to your favorite drink or cocktail. Serve with sparkling water for a refreshing treat or add to your favorite cocktail for an unexpected twist!

Click on image to PIN to your board!

The first time I heard the word "shrub" it was in the ingredients of a delicious cocktail I had at this cool swanky bar in Portland. I asked the bartender what it was and she said "drinking vinegar!"I tried to pretend I knew what she was talking about and then immediately went home and asked Google. To my surprise, there were many recipes out there on how to make this delicious drink. Fast forward 10 years and shrubs are becoming more prevalent in the market. So now I feel like I was ahead of the curve...LOL! It's also been said that drinking vinegar on a regular basis is good for your health. I'm not a doctor or an expert, but it can't hurt, right?!?

My recipe is a "cold" recipe meaning there is no cooking needed to make this shrub. Some recipes are the "hot" or "cooked" version where you boil the fruit with sugar and water, basically making a syrup to add to the vinegar. I haven't tried this version yet, mostly because through trial and error I came up with my favorite recipe and have used it ever since.

You can choose what type of vinegar to use and that will, of course, change the taste of your finished product. I use white vinegar, but I have also seen recipes that call for apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, etc. Also, I would suggest trying this recipe for the first time with berries. I've made strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, peach and plum shrub so far.

Shrub Ingredients

4 cups of your favorite fresh fruit

2 cups white sugar

2-3 cups vinegar of your choice, I use white vinegar

Tools Needed

-masher

-large strainer

-funnel

-large glass bottle or jar that seals

-large measuring cup (at least 2 cups)

1. Add fresh fruit and sugar to a bowl, coverplace in fridge for 6-8 hours or overnight. If you do this step in the morning, you can give the fruit a stir after a few hours before placing back in the fridge overnight. If you create your mixture in the evening, keep in fridge overnight, stir in the morning and place back in fridge for a few more hours.

2. Remove mixture from the fridge, you will notice that the fruit has released it's juices naturally and you now have a syrup like mixture.

3. Mash up the fruit using a spoon or masher. Do this for a few minutes to get all those yummy juices out of the fruit. This is the masher I use and it work perfectly!

4. Over another large bowl, strain your syrup mixture. Be patient and after about 20 minutes, stir the mixture in your strainer to break up more juice. I also use the back of a spoon to push some of the syrup and fruit through my strainer. If you don't want any pieces of fruit or possible small seeds in your shrub, skip pushing with a spoon. I don't mind the extra fruit and feel like I get a little more syrup.

5. Now, take your syrup and pour into a large measuring cup to see how much liquid you have. I usually end up with about 2 cups. How ever much you have, that is how much vinegar you will add, so a 1:1 ratio.

6. Pour syrup and vinegar into your glass bottle or jar, add lid and shake.

That's it! Your fresh shrub will keep in the fridge for several weeks but it probably won't last that long 😃.

Sign up for my email alerts if you want more delicious recipes. I will be posting some cocktail recipes using shrub soon!