Shrub
Ingredients
- 2 cups fruit
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 2 cups vinegar
Preparation
- Chop fruit if needed
- Add fruit and sugar to a bowl; mix (bruising the fruit a bit to help it release its juices)
- Let bowl sit in the refrigerator overnight
- Squeeze fruit mixture through nut milk bag into a jar
- Add vinegar
- Seal jar and leave in the refrigerator for at least a week to mellow
Variations
Combinations tried:
- Nectarines and apple cider vinegar
- Strawberries and white wine vinegar
Notes
There are various claims about bacteria being active during the mellowing process. I'm skeptical of them because (1) while mellowing you store it in the fridge, which would slow down any bacteria, (2) I don't see any bubbles during the mellowing, so yeast probably aren't active, and (3) it's cut off from oxygen, so mother of vinegar probably isn't doing anything.
I suspect that there are instead various enzymatic reactions going on during the relaxation period that break down the fruit into simpler, sweeter compounds to counteract the vinegar.
More investigation needed though.