Have you been invited to the Easter brunch and are you still missing an original souvenir? Perfect: why not give away a bottle of delicious Shrubs! The fruity vinegar syrup tastes great in drinks such as spritzers or cocktails, in chutneys or desserts, and as a salad dressing. In this do-it-yourself guide, we will tell you how to make your own scrub.
This is scrub
Ever heard of Shrub? It doesn’t matter, because the fruity vinegar syrup is just on the rise. The Arabic word “shrub” means “to drink” and that’s exactly what you do with the vinegar-based syrup: Mix the scrub with sparkling mineral water to make refreshing spritzers or mix it with alcohol to make exotic cocktails.
But the fruit vinegar is also ideal as a dressing for salads, chutneys, or desserts. When making your own scrub, personal taste decides whether you want your vinegar syrup to be a little sweeter or a little sourer. Of course, the variation can be based on your favorite fruits – either pure or in combination with other fruits or spices.
Make your own scrub
You only need three ingredients to make your own scrub: fruit, vinegar, and sugar. The fruits and vinegar can be varied according to personal preference. Rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries, oranges, plums, quinces, or apples can be chosen as fruit ingredients and poured with apple or white wine vinegar.
Rhubarb scrub
The ingredients for one bottle (0.5 liters):
- 200 g rhubarb (prefer red-fleshed varieties)
- 200 grams of sugar
- 240 ml apple cider vinegar (or other vinegar)
The preparation:
- Wash and trim the rhubarb and cut it into small pieces. Then place in a large bowl, sprinkle with sugar, stir and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
- Leave the rhubarb must to stand at room temperature for at least two hours (preferably overnight) and stir in between.
- Pass the rhubarb through a fine sieve and collect the finished syrup.
- Pour the rhubarb syrup and apple cider vinegar into a clean bottle and store tightly sealed in the fridge. In this way, Shrub can be kept for several weeks.
