August brings camping, trips to the beach, staying out late to enjoy the warm summer nights and a chance to take in all the magical beauty of the gardens this time of year. I particularly love to sit out on my deck and take in the gardens in my back yard while sipping on a shrub. What is a shrub you ask? New to me as well. A friend introduced this delightful drink to me last week when she came for a visit. Rhubarb shrub. I enjoyed it so much I had to investigate how to make it myself. Turns out Shrubs were popular around the 15th century before refrigeration existed. Sugar added to fruit was set out for a few days to ferment, strained and then apple cider vinegar is added. The shrub is then kept in the fridge and added to a glass of sparkling water or sparkling wine. Whatever your pleasure. It makes for a light refreshing drink, that is actually somewhat good for you due to the apple cider vinegar which has numerous health benefits, one being to ward off colds and flu. I say add a little gin, rum or vodka and get a germ killing boost! Have fun creating your own concoctions, such as rose rhubard, blueberry mint,. Blackberry basil, etc. It's easy. Read on to see rhubarb shrub recipe and a link to more shrub recipes.
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Rhubarb Shrub
1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar- unpasteurized. I used Braggs brand. 2 cups of rhubarb cut into 1/4 size pieces-1 cup of sugar- mix the sugar with cut up rhubarb in a medium size glass bowl. Do not add the vinegar yet. Cover bowl. Let this set for 4-5 days, but stir every 12 hours. Can leave on counter or put in fridge, will set faster if left out. Strain out syrup into a clean dish and squeeze any excess from fruit. I saved left over fruit and used in a sweet bread loaf. Now add one cup of apple cider vinegar. Set again for a few days to allow the vinegar to mellow a bit. That's it. You have shrub. Depending on how sweet you would like your drink add 2-3 Tbs to a glass with sparkling water. add more if you would like sweeter. I added fresh mint leaves to the drinks as well. Gin and Vodka are nice if you want to add alcohol as they will not impede the flavour of the shrub.
for more recipes check out this web-site.
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