4 days ago

Shrubs of the non-bushy kind

"It starts with a syrup that’s a combination of vinegar, fruit, and sugar. The fruit tastes like its truest self and the vinegar cuts right through it. Add it to a glass, then bubbles to make it bright. The alcohol is optional, but awfully good." Caroline Lange/Food 52

And probably I should not, can't, say very much more. Well maybe a few words on actually how to do it - and you can do no better than read the same lady's (Caroline Lange) article on the subject of shrubs on the Food 52 website.

This is a kind of postscript to yesterday's article on pickled fruits. I almost continued on with shrubs then, but was feeling somewhat desultory as the blog probably showed. Sort of an end of year ennui and lassitude. Anyway since it is sort of topical because of that blog, today I have decided to finish it off.

As I said, you can probably do no better than read Caroline Langhe's article, but of course I could not resist rambling and meandering, so here are a few random thoughts.

I was very attracted by the name, which sounded very olde English to me. But no it isn't. The word comes from the Arabic word 'sharāb' which means 'to drink' and which also provides the origin of the words sherbet and syrup. And more than that, there is a Persian drink called Sharabat sekanjebeen (Vinegar and mint syrup sharbat) shown here in the version on the Caspian Chef website. And one author said that it could be used to dunk your salad leaves in as well.

There are many other versions of course, and it probably needs a post all to itself. Well sherbet does anyway. Sherbet means something else to us British doesn't it? Australians too - but of a quite different kind.

As well as the Persians the Romans and the Greeks also had vinegar based drinks - good for you unless drunk neat. So this is an ancient thing.

I also came across another rather lovely tale, about which Wikipedia rather dismissively wrote in brackets (unreliable source?). In the late 1680s smugglers in Cornwall, to avoid the import taxes, would sink barrels of rum and brandy in the sea to be collected at a safer time. However, the seawater tainted the spirits somewhat and so they added fruit to make it palatable.

There are actually two, more pedestrian origin stories. The first is British and is from the vinegar based medicinal cordials that were prescribed for various ills in the 15th century. Somebody said the sharp taste of the vinegar made them seem more like medicine. And then there is the American colonial version, which again originates from Britain - the custom of using vinegar to preserve fruits - which I wrote about yesterday. The Americans did the same but then the liquid strained from the fruit would be made into a syrup with sweetener and then mixed with water or fizzy or plain or mixed with alcohol. Sometimes this is known as drinking vinegar. Surely the British would have done this too?

And speaking of names there is also 'switchel' the name of which has origins unknown. But it is also known as haymaker's punch because:

"this drink was favoured by farm workers during hay harvest and baling season, arduous work that takes place in the heat of summer." Sandra Loofbourow/Royal Coffee

The picture above is from The Spruce Eats where Colleen Graham tells us that this particular drink - Honey ginger switchel - comes from the Caribbean and that :

"a switchel skips over the fermentation stage of shrub making and simply combines vinegar, water, and a sweetener like molasses."

Ginger too seems to be a common component. And it seems that the Americans often use molasses in their shrub, switchel, drinking vinegar variations, although:

"Molasses is the old school option, but it’s also the messiest and most flavourful one – it can easily overpower delicate fruit flavours. Honey, maple syrup, or any variety of sugar are all great options." Sandra Loofbourow/Royal Coffee

The British seem to agree with at least one writer saying not to use molasses ever.

There are two different methods here - as with the pickled fruit. The first is the hot method - the fastest one. Make a syrup with sugar and water, add your fruit, cook it "until the syrup has become the colour of the fruit and the fruit looks tired." Add vinegar, simmer, strain and keep in the fridge.

The second is the cold method, which involves a bit of fermentation. Toss your fruit with sugar, cover with a tea towel and leave for a couple of days. Strain, discard the fruit, add vinegar to the syrup that remains. Done.

A couple more tips that I saw. The first is a suggestion not a decree - if you don't know which vinegar to choose to match your fruit, go by colour - red berries - red wine vinegar; yellow fruit - white wine vinegar ... Verjuice is a possibility too and sometimes a touch, just a touch of balsamic vinegar. And if you are using harder fruit, such as apples it was recommended that you grate or chop them first.

But it doesn't end there. Your fruity remains, can also be utilised:

“and even once the rhubarb is spent, there’s still lots of flavour in the fruit, so I turn that into chutney to go with cheese.” Tom Hill (chef)/Guardian

"The leftover steeped fruit makes a lovely addition to yoghurt or ice-cream; alternatively, blitz it into a quick coulis." Yotam Ottolenghi

Or you can boil the syrup down to make gastrique - the posh little colourful bits that decorate your haute cuisine plate of food, which I wrote about some time ago: A new word - gastrique

Since 2011 shrubs have become extremely popular, either as canned or bottled drinks, or as part of a cocktail. And we all have somehow absorbed the fact that cocktails are much more of a thing these days. Even Aldi had some cocktail syrups in their Christmas offerings. But I have been very vague in giving you instructions. I am sure it's a wonderful thing to play around with once you have the technique and the proportions down. delicious. has several suggestions as does reddit in a completely different tone of voice. And I'm sure that TikTok and Instagram would also have thousands. But to finish here are three actual recipes: Watermelon, mint and cider vinegar tonic - Louisa Shafia/Food52 (never cook watermelon); Blackberry and black pepper shrub - Tom Hunt/The Guardian; Strawberry and basil shrub - Tracey Rutherford/Taste - a pretty common option often with just a dash of balsamic vinegar. And finally Mandarin basil shrub - Colonial Cravings/The Guardian, which simultaneously managed to look repulsive and tempting. I think you strain out the green stuff - the basil - in the jug.

And did I say, that your finished shrub can be mixed with wine both flat or fizzy, or indeed with stronger alcohol such as gin and vodka and brandy?

Last word - some even pretend it's healthy. Well it did start out as a medicinal cordial:

"Some of the health benefits include enhancing weight loss. stabilizing blood sugars and lowering cholesterol. While these are not fully substantiated, it certainly doesn’t hurt to incorporate shrubs into your drinking routine." Sandra Loofbourow/Royal Coffee

It seems like the perfect thing to do on a hot day when you have some fruit that needs using in the fridge. Work out the basics - which vinegar, which sweetener, check the proportions and go for it. Then you have something to offer as a refreshing drink as you sit in your garden or by the pool.

Have you been getting emails from Wix telling you of the day's post? David doesn't seem to be getting them any more. Is it him or Wix? If you haven't been getting them please let me know.

YEARS GONE BY.

December 31 - New Year's Eve - the end of the year.

Just wanted to show two different approaches to the end of the year. The first is Van Gogh's Irises, from the Met's desk calendar - painted near the end of his life - yet full of life and colour; and a page from one of the Babar the elephant books. The poem beneath is rather joyful and hopeful in a wistful kind of way but they are looking out on to a rather dark and forbidding sky albeit absolutely full of stars. Translation - a rough one

"The party is over

Night has fallen

The stars have risen

King Babar and Queen Celeste,

Happy,

Dream of their contentment."

(maybe happiness - difficult to translate that last word - but you know 'bonheur' - literally 'good hour'.)