Strawberry with spicy ginger is such a refreshing combination for a hot day. Shrubs can also be refreshing for a day on the mountain après ski. We like to take our shrubs to the snow and make snow cones out of them! Is that too much fun?
This recipe is a good example of how you can make a shrub by first extracting the juice from the fruit by macerating it overnight with sugar. You can do this for any bush berries or stone fruits and the syrup that you extract will be extremely condensed, pure, and powerful. You need to use a certain amount of sugar with this technique to extract the juice from the fruit.
- 4 pounds strawberries
- 1 pound organic cane sugar
- 3 cups apple cider vinegar
- 8 ounces fresh ginger, grated
Wash and dry the strawberries. Remove the leaves from the strawberries (but it is OK to leave the calyx on). Put the whole berries in a large nonreactive pot and sprinkle with the sugar. Let macerate at room temperature overnight or up to 24 hours. You can also let it sit for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Look at how much juice has been extracted from the fruit! Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain the syrup through a strainer. Set the macerated strawberries aside to use in a tart or milkshake!
Combine the strawberry syrup, apple cider vinegar, and grated ginger in a clean glass jar. Let the shrub infuse in your refrigerator for 3 days. The shrub is now ready to use.
If you would like to bottle and preserve the shrub, prepare six 8-ounce jars for storing the finished shrub. Add the shrub back to a nonreactive pot and bring to a boil. Remove it from the heat and fill the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace at the top. Wipe the rims, apply the lids, and process in a hot water bath canner for 10 minutes. Jars will keep for up to 1 year.
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