Blackberry, Nectarine, Plum Shrub

Another way to use up end of summer fruit.  Make a shrub! These delightful syrups work well with soda water, or in mixed drinks or in a salad dressing or .... They are vinegar based, so you will taste the vinegar, but it is so much more than just flavored vinegar. Give it a try. It'll put hair on your chest, oops, did I write that out loud? I adapted a recipe from The Kitchn.


Blackberry, Nectarine, Plum Shrub

2 cups of crushed blackberries, finely chopped nectarine and plum (any proportion, I used one nectarine and plum and the rest was blackberry)
2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar

Place fruit in a clean jar. Heat the vinegar to just below boiling. Pour over the fruit. Let it cool and then store in the refrigerator for two weeks. You can store it for less time or up to four weeks. I found two weeks to be right for this fruit.

Strain the fruit. Several ways to do this: cheesecloth, fine mesh strainer, coffee filter, etc. Discard the fruit or use it in some other way (in chutney, over yogurt). Place the fruit infused vinegar in a pan with the sugar and bring it to a boil. Cook until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and bottle it. Keep refrigerated for up to six months.

Put about one tablespoon or to taste in a glass of ice, add sparkling water and enjoy.