SHRUBS

If you check out my content, it is fairly clear that I love shrubs. If you aren’t familiar with shrubs (no, we’re not talking about the plant variety), you aren’t alone; it is actually an old (re: colonial) style of vinegar syrup that has made a big comeback in bar scene in recent years. The basic building blocks of a shrub are sugar + vinegar + ingredient. While that may sound strange at first, I can assure you they are some of the most flavorful and versatile ingredients I’ve come across—and you can easily make them in your own kitchen.

I will not give an exhaustive rundown of shrubs here because that’s already been done. I highly recommend Shrubs by Michael Dietsch (found here). It provides a great overview and has numerous wonderful recipes and was an essential starting point for me. While most shrubs aren’t difficult to make, there are several different approaches and knowing which path to take sometimes requires a bit of experience (and/or luck).

Shrubs were originally made as a preserving technique prior to the days where fresh produce magically makes it to the grocery store shelves even during the snowiest months—and preserve it does! The shelf-life of shrubs is much longer than syrups and while I still recommend the same rule of thumb as syrups (look, smell, taste prior to use), I have yet to have a shrub spoil.

If you’ve never made one, I highly recommend you give it a try!