Raspberry shrub syrup drinking vinegar: drinks, cocktails, desserts

Raspberry shrub syrup drinking vinegar is a sweet and tart shrub syrup using fresh in season raspberries, lime, lemon balm and low GI cane sugar, preserved with apple cider vinegar. A shrub syrup is a form of quick pickle or refrigerator pickle that uses a cold maceration process with sugar, herbs and spices and vinegar to preserve fruit and vegetables. Shrub syrups can be kept in the fridge and will last for up to a week, or longer depending on the ingredients and recipe used.

Uses for shrub syrups: refreshing drinks, cocktails, desserts
Raspberry shrub syrup drinking vinegar is delicious with fizzy water as a refreshing cool drink: with lots of ice it is ambrosial and really speaks to the history of shrubs as related to the Arabic word sharab to drink and sherbet, being every bit like a pink sweet-tart ice confection. Raspberry shrub syrup drinking vinegar also makes a fantastic raspberry lime gin fix cocktail in a pickle twist on Jerry Thomas’ classic 1862 recipe and is yummy with prosecco or champagne with a dash of rhubarb bitters to add more complexity. The leftover raspberry seeds can be upcycled into a delicious ice cream while the shrub syrup can be used as a topping for ice cream, and fresh fruit such as raspberries and strawberries.

Method: how to make a shrub syrup using cold process maceration
I have used a cold process of slow maceration following Michael Dietsch (2016) in Shrubs. Making shrubs does take some time due to the slow cold process maceration but it is easy to do, it just takes some advance preparation to place the ingredients in the fridge to macerate overnight and then pour over the vinegar the next day to complete the process. Making a shrub is well worth the preparation involved though as you have a quality seasonal ingredient for cocktails such as the raspberry lime gin fix, refreshing drinks and desserts.

Preserving seasonal raspberries, limes, lemon balm
Shrubs are a fantastic way to preserve the best of the season in a vinegar based syrup. Raspberry shrub syrup drinking vinegar preserves in season Autumn raspberries with lemon balm from my cocktail garden and in season limes for a tart and refreshing base for drinks, cocktails and desserts.

What is the difference between a shrub syrup and a syrup?
Using a low GI cane sugar for flavour only, while relying on the apple cider vinegar for preservation allows for a lower sugar and more flavourful syrup. A shrub is more versatile than a syrup as it is preserved with vinegar, thus the sugar is there for flavour only and can be reduced to taste. Shrubs can be used as both a souring agent in cocktails in place of lemon or lime juice and as a flavouring agent adding intense and complex flavours due to flavour pairing of fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, sweeteners and vinegars.

Upcycle the leftover raspberry seeds into ice cream
The leftover strained raspberry seeds from making the shrub can be reserved and upcycled into a lovely tart ice cream when combined with coconut cream, fresh raspberries, banana and the juice of a lime. I have included the recipe for the ice cream below. It’s delicious in an ice cream sandwich with ice cream wafers or served solo drizzled with a little of the shrub syrup and some fresh raspberries.

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