DO YOU EVEN SHRUB, BRO?
While most of the internet is going gaga over the Olympic Village Chocolate Muffins and French pole vaulters (😳), we are obsessing over our favorite summer hat trick—shrubbin’! Don’t know what a shrub is? Don’t worry—we’re breaking it all down in this week’s newsletter…
SUMMER SHRUBS TWO WAYS
Whether you make it cool and slow, or hot and fast, summer shrubs will up your drinking game…
EK: I love a good shrub and have been making them with in-season fruit for years, but I have never made a summer peach shrub until now.
A shrub is a “drinking vinegar.” It is most often made from fruit, but can also be made from vegetables and herbs (see AU). If that sounds weird to you, rest assured that it doesn’t taste weird.
AU: Not at all! In fact, I once thought shrubs were too vinegary… little did I know that I just hadn’t let is sit long enough. The vinegar flavor dissipates and you’re left with a well-preserved, sweet-tart syrup that is the perfect addition to cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, vinaigrettes and more…
EK: When making a drink, you only use a little of the potent flavored “drinking vinegar” and top it off with sparkling water for a homemade soft drink that is refreshing and not-too-sweet. It also makes a nice sweet-tart fruit base for a cocktail.
I am a big fan of fruit shrubs and usually make one in the fall and winter with fresh cranberries. But summer is really the time to make them because you can use any stone fruit or berry—I also really love a spring rhubarb shrub!
There are two popular methods for making a shrub: A cold method that can take days, if not weeks, and a hot-cooked method that takes from 1-4 hours, depending on the fruit. My preferred method is the hot-cooked method because I like the instant gratification, and this recipe also leaves behind the added bonus of a lovely “pickled” peach compote.
AU: And I like the cold method because it’s very hands-off. Plus, some say that it imbues a purer flavor of the fruit to the final product. The drawback of the cold method is that it takes a few days.
EK: I can see that. The high heat probably does change the flavor a bit, which works with fruit that you typically cook like peaches, cranberries and rhubarb but I can see that it might ruin tomatoes!
EK: There are very few ingredients—it’s little more than the essentials of fruit, sugar, water and vinegar. Because few things beat a peach pie with a crumble topping, I added the spices that I use in my topping: cinnamon and ginger. As I cooked the fruit down with sugar and water, a cinnamon stick, and fat round slices of fresh ginger, my kitchen smelled delicious. Just like a pie baking!
Once you gather all your ingredients, all you have to do is bring everything to a gentle boil before reducing it to a simmer for about 20 minutes. I stir it occasionally to help the peach halves break into smaller pieces as it simmers and lightly cooks.
EK: There are only 20 minutes of active cooking time, and the rest of the time making this shrub is letting the fruit steep in the juicy vinegar, sugar, and spices. I let it steep for about 3 hours, then I pour it into a fine-mesh strainer and let it slowly drain. You don’t want to mash the fruit or skim the fruit off the bottom of the strainer because it will make the shrub cloudy. After it sat for about 30 minutes, I got exactly 2 cups of shrub from my recipe.
Not surprisingly, the shrub tastes like the essence of a peach pie. The tart fruit mixed with the warm spices and just enough sugar to bring out the sweetness of the peaches will remind you of the summer classic, and if you prefer cobbler to pie, it also tastes like cobbler!
The resulting syrup extracts a golden brown color and a delicate but intense peachy flavor from the fruit. And, the added bonus is the leftover fruit which tastes like pickled peaches. I saved it and will be serving it with a grilled pork tenderloin this week!
AU: I mean, that’s a real twofer!! Dinner and a drink!!
EK: Drinks first! Most of the time, I like to drink shrubs mixed with sparkling water as a festive non-alcoholic drink. But the peach-ginger flavor begs for Bourbon!
I made the shrub this week as all of Charleston was shut down because of Hurricane Debby. There was a lull in the rain and I took that opportunity to sit on my porch as the breeze from the rain cooled the summer night and the golden-hour light made everything glisten, thus the name of the cocktail, “Porch Life.”
I poured equal parts bourbon and shrub over a big ice cube and added a lime wedge. It was the perfect balance of sweet, tart, peach, and rich Bourbon notes. You may want to pour it over crushed ice and top it off with sparkling water for a milder cocktail—or add an extra shot for a stronger one.
EK: The sweet hints of caramel and vanilla and spicy finish in one of my favorite Bourbon’s, 2XO The Innkeeper’s Blend, were a match made in barrel heaven for the cinnamon and gingered peach shrub. This is definitely my new favorite drink and I will be making for as long as the summer peaches last!
TOMATO-BASIL SHRUB & A MUST-MAKE TOMATOTINI 🍅🍸
AU: As Elizabeth mentioned above, I’m using the cold method of shrub making. Basically, you throw everything into a bowl and let it sit until the sugar dissolves, and the flavors meld. Since this is a shrub using tomatoes as the “fruit” (yes, I know tomatoes are a fruit, but like… c’mon let’s be real—we all know they’re a vegetable), I’m using a combo of white wine vinegar and sweet rice wine vinegar. I find it sweetens the final shrub without being too sweet to use in a savory cocktail.
But like Elizabeth explained earlier, use whatever vinegar you have on hand! Apple Cider Vinegar and Red Wine Vinegar seem to be the staples in the shrub-making landscape.
EK: I love ACV with fruit and warm spices but I especially love your idea of using sweet rice wine vinegar for a more savory shrub.
AU: On the first day, the shrub tasted like vinegar. On the second, it was sweeter, but still had a super-tart aftertaste. By the third day, the tannic vinegar had mellowed and you could really taste the tomatoes and basil. I strained it on the fourth day and it was like an incredibly flavorful tomato syrup—like pure summer in liquid form!
I think this Tomato-Basil Shrub would be fabulous mixed into a vinaigrette for a salad, splashed onto an heirloom tomatoes with burrata, or a little dash to brighten up some store-bought marinara… but I also think it’s the perfect backbone to this summer’s most popular cocktail, the Tomatotini.
EK: Oh yes!! I’m already making it in my mind!
AU: FULL DISCLOSURE: The first few rounds of these I made were stinkers. Lots of R&D (it’s a tough job—drinking all these martinis—but someone’s gotta do it!). I originally was also making tomato water (aka blending tomatoes and straining them through a coffee filter or paper towel). It was too much tomato and not enough of the martini-like booze.
After some early-morning taste tests (🥴) and consultation with my co-author, I landed on a simple cocktail: 2 1/2 ounces of your spirit of choice (vodka, gin, or tequila), 3/4 ounce tomato-basil shrub, and 3/4 ounce of dry vermouth. Drop a few drops of your very best EVOO as a garnish (and for flavor!). That’s all you need for a perfect tomatotini cocktail! I guess some mozz sticks to snack on wouldn’t hurt… cheers!
*Exact Tomato-Basil Shrub and Tomatotini recipes in the PDF below!
