This photo shows a pink, fizzy drink in a bubbled clear glass, which is set upon a wooden coffee table. The drink is a strawberry shrub made from strawberry vinegar syrup and club soda. In the background, there's a leather sofa and a decorative pillow.

Meet Me by the Shrub

This photo shows a pink, fizzy drink in a bubbled clear glass, which is set upon a wooden coffee table. The drink is a strawberry shrub made from strawberry vinegar syrup and club soda. In the background, there's a leather sofa and a decorative pillow.

Woot! Woot! We’re shrubbin’ and clubbin’ here at the Fixin’ Leaks ‘n Leeks Headquarters—which potentially sounds really bad according to some random online dictionaries/searches I’ve just done, but this is what I mean: I’ve just cranked up the Yacht Rock station on Pandora, and I’m making a shrub of strawberries, sugar, and vinegar. And yes, this is the first time I’ve heard of the word shrub used this way, but now I want to use it like this all the time:

  • It’s been a day. I NEED a shrub.
  • Pass me the shrub.
  • It’s girls’ night out! Shrub shots!

In any case, I heard that a shrub is a great way for people to “get their vinegar down” because some people drink vinegar for health reasons, though doctors do warn that drinking straight vinegar could cause tooth enamel and esophagus erosion. I’ve never felt compelled to drink vinegar, but in shrub form? Now that sounds interesting!

Someone at the hair salon the other day said it was refreshing—so incredibly refreshing. And it was a hot day, so I was sold.

Here’s what I did:

I put equal parts of chopped up strawberries, sugar (granulated), and apple cider vinegar into a re-sealable jar—one cup each. Next, I gave the concoction a nice stir until the sugar dissolved. Then, I tasted it with a spoon—and whoa! It was spicy—in the acidic sense—but very fruity.

Eventually, I put the jar into the refrigerator for 1-2 days, strained the strawberries and seeds out, and then used just a tablespoon or two to flavor some club soda.

And now, I want more. But maybe my dentist would rather I didn’t. So for the dentist’s sake, I will control myself.

I’m not sure how long this mixture stays fresh. Some sources say you can store a homemade shrub in the fridge for months, but I think you might need a sterilized jar for that. I just used a random clean jar in my cupboard, so I think my shrub is single-day use only.

Serve your shrub with:

  • A charm of hummingbirds in the backyard
  • A bucket of strawberry scones, kissed by glittered dolphins
  • Buttered bagels laced with hot honey
  • Two bricks of quiche
  • Troughs of hummus and pita bread
  • Slivers of moonlight on fields of fireflies, dancing to serenading Keebler elves
  • Strawberry Shortcake’s berry ruined house

Your Turn: What’s your favorite, weird-sounding food or drink?

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Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

22 thoughts on “Meet Me by the Shrub”

  1. I have heard of drinking vinegar but didn’t know it’s called a shrub! Interesting name. Does this mean that you may become rounded and leafy after consumption? 😉 Can’t say that I have a favourite but I like averna, a very herby digestif from Italy. Cheers!

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  2. “Kissed by glittered dolphins”?? Any other additives in that summer refresher you had? I’ve had drinks with vinegar scrubs in it. My parents always keep a bottle of the stuff in the fridge. it really is very refreshing in a glass of seltzer or a little bit in a gin and ginger.
    most of the foods my dad craves from Northeast Pennsylvania have weird names — scrapple, shoofly pie, schnitz un knepp, chow chow — pretty much everything he likes has a kind of bizarre name. Even Birch Beer, a kind of root beer that it turns out is actually made from birch trees.

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    1. It’s a magical secret how the dolphins stay still long enough to endure the glittering. I see that people have added herbs to some of their refreshers–along with fruit–and some spices. I’ve heard of most of those things from Northeast Pennsylvania–but not all of them! Cheers!

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  3. Thanks for enlightening me on a new meaning for “shrub.”
    I only knew shrub to mean a woody plant, smaller than a tree, with several main stems arising at or near the ground.

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  4. Oh wow. That does sound good. Does it have to be strawberries, or some other fruit will do? I’ll have to look up the health benefits of vinegar. I know I’ve come across them a lot, but haven’t yet taken the leap. I’ve also been told I MUST drink a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil every day, so maybe I should mix the two and make fruity salad dressing in my mouth–kissed by glittered dolphins, of course.

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    1. It can be any fruit, really. And it doesn’t always have to be apple cider vinegar, though regular vinegar might be too harsh. You can mix different kinds of vinegars too. And…a teaspoon of olive oil every day? Yum! I want your doctor!

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      2. My dad’s a chemist, and when I was growing up, diet drinks were all the rage, and I brought home Diet Coke a lot when I was a teen, and he was like, “Just drink the sugar. We know what it is. The rest of the stuff…we don’t know what it is!”–and so, I really, really love sugar, though as I age, I find that my body can’t handle that much sugar anymore, so I guess I’ll just eat stuff and see what happens. (lol)

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    1. You don’t notice the vinegar with the shrub, but it’s a lot of work just to drink vinegar, so it won’t be a daily thing with me. Glad you enjoyed the serving suggestions! 🙂

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    1. The shrub is a mixture of apple cider vinegar and any kind of chopped fruit that’s strained together-and you only need a tablespoon of it or two. You can put it in non-alcoholic or alcoholic drinks. It makes a really nice syrup.

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