Page 16 - Sonoma County Gazette May 2020
P. 16

By Peter Posert
Shrubs are BURTSTING this Spring!
    EZ Berry Slam
  (Possibly my personal favorite shrub. The tart cranberry and rosemary shine again the backdrop of honey and lavender. This one is easy to make, too. Just add the ingredients together and enjoy!
1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
 1/4 cup honey
1 sprig of Rosemary 1 sprig of Lavender
Pull the rosemary and lavender after soaking for 15 minutes for a light tone, or leave in longer for more herbal flavors.
Apple Ginger Delight
Another personal favorite and easy to make shrub.
1/2 cup Sonoma County Apple Cider 1/3 cup Vinegar mix
2/3 Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Balsamic (white)
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Tbls very finely chopped ginger.
Store chilled overnight for the flavors to marry.
Pineapple Sage Shrub
This is a spectacular tropical shrub that takes a bit of time. The pineapple, with wisps of ginger and sage, lingers like a bold tropical sunset over the crashing waves. Light pale sage tones in the background is a perfect foil for the sweetness of the fruit.
2 cups pineapple,
1 cup water, simmered 15 minutes and pulverized with a hand blender
or small cuisinart.
1/2 cup pineapple mix
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
Muddled fresh sage - tread very lightly
A touch of Sea Salt - tread even more lightly, just a few chunks. Dash of Cayanne to taste (optional)
1 tsp ginger (optional)
Citrus Zinger
The good old Zinger will pick you up any afternoon and get ya going with more pep than a $5.00 cappuccino. Any mixture of citrus circling around orange, mandarine and lemon, shooting for 1 cup of press juice.
Juice the citrus, reserving the skins.
Chop the skins roughly, then to the skins,
ADD 2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp honey.
Refrigerate overnight. Press off in the morning - I use an old clean
T-shirt and wring out (hard press) the juice from the skins. Add the press juice to the rest and blend in:
1/3 cup vinegar mix of
2/3 apple cider vinegar,
1/3 white balsamic
1/3 cup brown sugar and/or honey to taste
1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger.
   “What the heck do you want me to drink?”
I asked, incredulous, when the proprietor Laura asked me, “Try my SHRUB?” I’m usually game when it comes to new foods, so I thought, ok, I’ll try it. Do you try samples at the grocery or out tasting? I’m usually pretty curious, but a drink called “Shrub?” It sounded pretty weird. The gang, Anne, Mara, Lisa and I, were at the quirky and fun Sonoma Aperitif tasting room
in Penngrove on a sunny day last summer when the interchange took place.
It was explained to us that shrubs are old vinegar based drinks with a long history in the olden days of the 17th and 18th century. So we tried it and... we were spectacularly blown away with Lemon shrub! It was utterly delicious. We have all been making shrubs at home ever since. You should too. Here’s why.
There isn’t a better sipping drink around.
There isn’t a better elixir or ‘afternoon pick-me-up’ in your refrigerator, I’m sure, than a homemade shrub. You gotta try these things.
Shrubs, also known as “drinking vinegars,” are swiftly gaining in popularity in high-end bars as a base for fancy drinks or just mixed with a club soda or sparkling water. You can also just have them for a healthy and natural pick- me-up which is what I do with a spoonful most afternoons. Shrubs are a mix of vinegar, fruits, sugars and often an herb or some kind of tasty flavor. When they are in balance they carry savory, tart, sweet and complex tones that run across the palette with stronger flavors than the most brilliant local wine, but without the alcohol.
 There are three Shrub producers in Sonoma County if you want to explore them commercially. The incredible syrup producers down in Sonoma city, Sonoma Syrups, makes a dazzling lemon vanilla based drinking vinegar. Sonoma Aperitif in Penngrove was the original impetus for the story, but the business can be tricky to get a hold of these days - we wish them well though.
Then there is our loving favorites, Little Apple Treats of Sebastopol, producers of 15 or so utterly unique shrubs! Little Apple treats are the masters of the craft, shipping Sonoma County grown shrubs all over the country.
Few foods are as mouthwateringly delicious. They are
simple and fun to make, too. Here’s the deal:
The traditional shrub mixture is 1 part fruit, 1 part
By playing around with the proportions, it’s easy and fun to find your own sugar/vinegar (sweet/sour) balance.
 this or a little less of that to suit your taste.
and some leeway as
the strength of these ingredients can vary wildly from cupboard to cupboard. I’m encouraging you to add a little more of
Go have some fun! The base shrubs presented here will get you started.
vinegar, 1 part sugar.
Some of my recipes are below. The proportions below should be taken with a grain of salt
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