Introduction
When people see the lovely little wax sealed bottles on the shelf at our café we are constantly being asked, “what’s a shrub?”
That’s to be expected, they aren’t terribly well known here in Australia outside of mixology circles. But they honestly should be and in this article we’ll tell you why. We’ll also get into exactly what a shrub is, how to use them as well as the interesting history of this tart, sweet, complex, intense, vibrant, fruity, refreshing, versatile, exciting preserve.
Well, what is a shrub?
At their core, shrubs are fruit‑infused vinegar syrups — usually equal parts fruit, sugar, and vinegar. They are also often called drinking vinegars, although that sounds a lot less appetising than these wonderful concoctions deserve.
The vinegar component of a shrub doesn’t just act as a natural preservative but it brings a sharp acidity to balance the sweetness of the fruit. Shrubs are often touted as being exceedingly refreshing and it is the acidity and sourness of the vinegar to which shrub-based beverages owe this quality.
The vinegar used in shrubs is usually apple-cider vinegar although many different vinegars can be used to bring different elements to the syrup. One of our favourite tricks for example is to add a splash of balsamic vinegar to any shrub made with intensely sweet fruit such as berries. Herein lies another wonderful aspect of shrubs, they are limited only by your imagination.
Shrubs can be as simple as you like, attempting to remain as true as possible to the fruit and preserve its natural flavour. Or you can get innovative and add spices, aromatics and herbs. For example our Spiced Riberry Shrub leans into the notes of cinnamon and cloves naturally present in the Riberry fruit, while our Blackberry & Native Basil Shrub deliciously blends the strongly aromatic herb flavour of Native Basil with the bold flavour profile of Blackberries.
OK, but what do you do with it?
Shrubs can be used in a range of ways:
As a refreshing non-alcoholic drink by mixing the shrub with sparkling or still water. Serve over ice and garnish if you’re feeling fancy. Think “cordial for grown-ups”; or,
As an element in mixed drinks and cocktails to add acidity to the flavour profile of the beverage; or,
As a dressing or an element to a dressing. For example shrubs can be drizzled over a salad as a dressing or even to add a tangy sour element to a desert. You can also try using a shrub to replace the vinegar in your favourite vinaigrette recipe to bring an extra element to your salads; or even,
In really interesting ways to marinate proteins and vegetables prior to cooking. The vinegar in a shrub is an acid and so it helps to break down and tenderise the food, whereas the sugar imparts sweetness but it also helps to prevent the food from absorbing too much vinegar which might overpower the other flavours.
Shrubs are typically intense and concentrated so while a little goes a long you should be guided by your own taste and creativity in using them to enhance both your beverages and culinary creations at home.
Where did Shrubs come from?
One of the great things about Shrubs is their history. When you use a shrub you feel like you are tapping into something nostalgic, timeless, real. The significance of shrubs in food culture is underscored by their referencing in the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity Ark of Taste.
Shrubs are very a very old-worldy kind of food. The word “shrub” even comes from the Arabic “sharab”, meaning “to drink,” which tells you how far back the concept goes. It sounds a bit like another word that is for more familiar to Australian foodies, “sorbet”. That’s not a coincidence. It’s because a popular treat in early modern Italy was to poor a shrub over crushed ice. This was the forerunner to modern sorbet.
In the 17th and 18th centuries Shrubs became popular in England and in Colonial America in a pre-refrigeration world to preserve seasonal fruit supplies in vinegar.
There are many little articles like this on the internet that claim Shrubs were used to fight scurvy at sea. We actually can’t find a lot of real evidence for that (disappointingly because it makes for a great story). It is likely that these stories come from trials involving drinking vinegars, ciders and fermented foods conducted by various people (including Captain Cook with his sauerkraut and malt remedy). Most famously by James Lindt in his “Treatise of the Scurvy” which was one of the first controlled clinical trials in medical science compared several of these remedies. However, Lindt as with all others found that patients receiving fresh citrus fruit recovered much faster from the effects of scurvy and it seems that at no time did the Admiralty issue orders for the distribution of shrubs, vinegars or other fermented products to combat scurvy.
Another great story that we couldn’t find a lot of evidence to back up was that Shrubs gained popularity in the UK due the rise of smuggling in the 1680’s after high taxes were levied on luxury imported goods. The story goes that cheap barrels of brandy, rum and gin purchased in mainland Europe were often ditched overboard when confronted by patrolling revenue men to be picked up later when the coast was clear. Shrubs were supposedly popularised as an effective way to mask the briny, salty flavour of spirits spoiled by contact with saltwater.
Again this is likely just a great story and the real value of Shrubs was as an accompaniment to the smuggled spirits, in its ability as a mixer to add depth and balance to drinks for which it is still celebrated today.
Up Next- Why Shrubs are back and some special recipes
Well we've covered what shrubs are and where they came, but why are they so old fashioned and nostalgic and so modern all at the same time? Well, that's because they fell out of favour for decades but if recent years have recently seen a huge resurgence in popularity. In our next blog we'll discuss the really interesting reasons behind why shrubs fell off the scene and why they are back. We'll also serve you up a few recipes to try with Lynch's Pantry Shrubs