Berry Shrub (Cold Process)

Before you start

A shrub is a sweet-sour syrup made from fruit, sugar and vinegar, diluted with water or soda to drink. The cold method skips the stove. Sugar draws juice out of the berries over a day or two in the refrigerator, and the result tastes like fresh fruit rather than jam. It takes longer than a cooked shrub, but the flavor is brighter and more aromatic.

The template here is equal parts fruit, sugar and vinegar by weight and volume, which is easy to remember and scales up or down cleanly. Use ripe berries, a vinegar you would happily put on a salad, and patience: the vinegar tastes sharp on day one and softens noticeably after several days in the refrigerator. A small pour of shrub goes a long way in a tall glass of soda water.

Ingredients

• 300 g (2 cups) mixed berries — raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or hulled strawberries
• 300 g (1½ cups) granulated sugar
• 300 ml (1¼ cups) apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar — at least 5% acidity
• 150 ml (5 oz) per glass cold soda water — for serving
• 1 cup (about 150 g) per glass ice cubes — for serving

Method

1. Rinse the berries and drain them well. Hull and halve strawberries if using. Put the fruit in a glass or ceramic bowl.
2. Pour the sugar over the berries and mash lightly so every berry is broken and coated. Some whole pieces are fine.
3. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours, stirring once or twice. The sugar will dissolve into a deep red syrup surrounding softened fruit.
4. Set a fine strainer over a clean bowl and pour in the fruit. Let it drip for 10 minutes, then press gently with a spoon. Scrape any undissolved sugar into the syrup.
5. Stir the vinegar into the berry syrup until any remaining sugar dissolves. Funnel it into a clean bottle and close it with a nonreactive lid.
6. Refrigerate. Shake the bottle every day or two; the sharp vinegar edge mellows over the first week.
7. To serve, pour 30 ml (1 oz) of shrub over ice and top with about 150 ml (5 oz) of soda water. Stir and taste, adding more shrub for a bolder glass.

Tips for success

• Avoid metal lids that touch the liquid. Vinegar corrodes bare metal and the shrub picks up an off taste; use glass, plastic or a coated lid.
• Save the strained berry pulp for yogurt or oatmeal within a day or two. It is sweet and lightly tangy.
• A darker vinegar such as red wine or balsamic adds depth. Try replacing 30 ml of the cider vinegar with balsamic for blackberry shrub.

Substitutions

Granulated sugar

Demerara or light brown sugar adds caramel notes and darkens the color. Honey works but draws juice more slowly, so stir it more often.

Apple cider vinegar

White wine or champagne vinegar keeps the berry flavor in front. Distilled white vinegar is very harsh and not recommended.

Fresh berries

Frozen berries work well; thawing breaks their cells, so they release juice quickly. Weigh them frozen and include any liquid in the bowl.

Variations

Blackberry sage

Use all blackberries and add 4 fresh sage leaves to the sugar. Remove them when you strain.

Strawberry black pepper

Use strawberries and add ½ tsp coarsely cracked black pepper during maceration. Strain it out with the fruit.

Troubleshooting

Sugar is still gritty at the bottom

Not enough maceration time or the fruit was dry. Stir the vinegar in thoroughly and let it sit a day, shaking occasionally; it will dissolve.

The shrub tastes too sharp

It is young. Give it several more days in the refrigerator, or serve it with more soda. Next time try 250 ml vinegar instead of 300 ml.

The drink tastes flat and dull

Underripe or out-of-season berries lack aroma. Use the ripest fruit you can find, or switch to good frozen berries.

Storage

Keep the bottled shrub in the refrigerator and use it within about 1 month. Discard it if you see mold, fuzzy spots or a slimy film, or if it smells yeasty or off. Always pour with a clean spoon or straight from the bottle.