Three Berry Shrub with Lavender

I am relatively new to the whole Shrub comeback. Perhaps I have just put so much time into the Jam World that all else has gone astray. I happen to have a beautiful Lavender bush or two in the yard and beside having it to scatter around the house for the smell and drying it out for recipes I never gave Shrub a second thought.

I did purchase a book all about Shrub and it's history and it is great. It is called Shrub (DUH) the author is Michael Dietsch.
It is great and the recipes are so scrumptious.





Ingredients

1 cup mixed berries
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup champagne vinegar
4 springs lavender





I adapted the recipe from one in the book. It is different ingredients but the same principle.

First place all your berries into a bowl and add the sugar. Stir to combine and smash a bit to get the process going. Make sure the sugar dissolves prior to covering for the berry nap time.

Place the Berries and sugar in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Put your vinegar into a small separate bowl. Add your lavender sprigs to it and let it sit in a cool dark place for up to 2 days. Cover with a plastic wrap or cheese cloth either will do.

The point of the two bowls and the sitting is so the flavors join together prior to making a party out of them both.

It is pretty amazing how much of the vinegar the lavender soaks up. It is thirsty. After one day a full 24 hours you can add the vinegar to the berries. Let this sit an additional 24 hours n the refrigerator.



 I find that every time I open the refrigerator I try stirring and smashing the berries to get more juice.

Now is the time for you to strain your mixture.  Pour all your mixture into a strainer or a double layer of cheese cloth. You can even use a fine strainer. I have found that using a strainer like I use for my jelly is quite time consuming. It takes a couple of hours to strain through without help.

I encourage everyone to experiment with the process that works best for you. I have done my Shrubs several different way's.

When I used the jelly strainer I took it off when it was close to drained out and squeezed the dickens out of it. I then took the macerated fruit mixture and put it into a mason jar and froze it to use with another recipe.

I do not waste. I always try to find new way's to use stuff. Put your shrub into a bottle that has a secured top. I use a bottle that I use to keep vinegar in or what not. It has a small rubber gasket on the top to keep air out. Your shrub should be kept in the refrigerator and will stay good for up to 6 month's





Here you see a beautiful drink of soda water and shrub I added some Dehydrated Lemons and Blood Oranges. Oh yes and the snap pea's I made a Quick Pickled Snap Pea's fresh out of the garden.

Life is good!