No, it’s not a bush (obviously). A shrub is a vinegar and fruit syrup, sometimes known as drinking vinegar. Sounds weird, doesn’t it. So weird that I just had to try it.

You begin your shrubbery by mashing together equal parts fruit and sugar. The sugar draws out the juice from the fruit and sweetens it. You let the fruit sit for at least a day (I usually go several days, cause I get lazy or busy or both), then strain out the solids. I usually have a solid layer of sugar at the bottom of my jar at this point. I just give it good stir before straining it. Once you’ve strained your fruit, you add vinegar. How much? Well, it all depends on how vinegary you want your shrub to be. Most recipes I’ve seen call for equal amounts fruit and vinegar. I tried that ratio, but the resulting shrub was, uh, cough, cough, a little too strong for me.

Bryan, on the other hand, was drinking it like water.

I’m finding that about 1 part vinegar to three or four parts fruit works well for me. I get the vinegary tang, but not the vinegary burn, and the fruit flavor comes through nicely.

What kind of vinegar? Whatever you want. Again, most recipes call for apple cider vinegar, but I’ve seen white wine vinegar recipes as well as sherry vinegar recipes. Just not balsamic vinegar.

Once you’ve added the vinegar, let the shrub sit for a couple of days. This will mellow out the vinegar. Kind of. What next? Well, if you are like Bryan, you drink it straight. If you’d like your taste buds to not go into shock, like me, you mix the shrub with sparkling water or lemon-lime soda for a refreshing drink. Or, you make a vinaigrette with it. Or you sprinkle it on grilled chicken. Or on a pasta salad. I’m sure there are other uses, but that’s what I’ve done with it so far. Keep the shrub refrigerated, and it should last for a couple of months. More, probably, if you use more vinegar.

I’ve made a cherry shrub, a raspberry shrub and a strawberry shrub. I have big plans for a peach shrub and maybe a plum shrub. The strawberry shrub has been my favorite so far for drinking, but the cherry shrub was really good on the chicken and pasta salad. I’m on the fence with the raspberry shrub because I used more vinegar (almost equal amounts vinegar to fruit) and I can’t get past the vinegar smell. It tastes okay, but the smell kills me. I’m hoping that as I let it sit, it mellows. Alot.

If you do an internet search for “fruit shrubs” or “drinking vinegar,” you’ll find lots of other recipes. I first saw them here and here. There are even some shrubs where you cook the fruit, sugar and vinegar. I haven’t tried those. I was lazy, so if you try, tell me how it worked.