If you love including apple cider vinegar in your food and beverages, there are a few fun herbal preparations that you can accessibly make at home. Vinegars are a great way to work with herbs and can be very customizable depending on your own palate and what’s in season. One of my favorite methods of working with herbal vinegars is by making herbal shrubs.
Herbal shrubs were originally known as a drinking vinegar. They are tart with a hint of sweetness and are a very refreshing as a sipping beverage. Historically, the word shrub is derived from the Arabic word sharab, which means “to drink.” Vinegar was a common preservation method and during time period where water wasn’t always safe to drink, these drinkable preserves were incredibly important.
Shrubs are made by infusing fruits, herbs, vinegar, and sugar of choice. A current standard is to make them about equal parts sugar to vinegar. Although in the past shrubs could be made with a 5:1 ratio (5 parts honey to 1 part vinegar), I personally like to do a little less than a 1:1 ratio, so that when I strain it, I can add more honey to my own taste preference. It offers a little more leeway for using this as a cooking ingredient as well. It’s good to keep in mind that the higher the sugar content, the more shelf stable it will be.
As always, I encourage you to bring your own spark of magic and intuition into the kitchen as you prepare your own concoctions. You don’t have to use an exact recipe— you can add the ingredients that call to you or what’s in hand or in season. Get in there, have fun. And don’t forget to shake those extracts on the daily!
For this herbal shrub recipe, I used some organic blueberries and lavender flowers. Blueberries add a sweet and slightly tart flavor to the preparation. They also contain antioxidants and are supportive of heart health.
Lavender is a gentle floral herb and is personally one of my favorite flavors to add to beverages, desserts, and ice cream. It’s well known to be relaxing for the mind and calms our senses. What a wonderful preparation to incorporate into your routine when feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Sip on this on a hot summer day, as a nightcap before bed, or impress company when they arrive!
Ingredients
Directions
Makes 1 Serving
Ingredients
Directions
If you enjoyed this recipe, go check out another combination with strawberry and elderflowers.
Contraindications
Honey is not safe for children under the age of 1.
You may also be interested in:
Topics: Culinary, Recipes, Herbalism, Tea & Herbal Drinks
Alex Queathem Payne is a clinical herbalist and educator. She and her husband co-founded Tending the Wildflowers, a botanical sanctuary offering various herbal programs and classes on-site including an herbal immersion program and a beginner botany and ecology program. The sanctuary is recognized through the United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary Network. They grow a myriad of medicinal herbs and native at-risk plants. They also keep bees. Alex attended the three-year program through the Columbines School of Botanical Studies. She is the administrator and an instructor for the school, proceeded through teaching training, and is an instructor at the school. She is currently enrolled in the Clinical Foundations Mentorship with Sovereignty Herbs and has a small clinical practice.
If you love including apple cider vinegar in your food and beverages, there are a few fun herbal preparations that you can accessibly make at home. Vinegars are a great way to work with herbs and can be very customizable depending on your own palate and what’s in season. One of my favorite methods of working with herbal vinegars is by making herbal shrubs.
Herbal shrubs were originally known as a drinking vinegar. They are tart with a hint of sweetness and are a very refreshing as a sipping beverage. Historically, the word shrub is derived from the Arabic word sharab, which means “to drink.” Vinegar was a common preservation method and during time period where water wasn’t always safe to drink, these drinkable preserves were incredibly important.
Shrubs are made by infusing fruits, herbs, vinegar, and sugar of choice. A current standard is to make them about equal parts sugar to vinegar. Although in the past shrubs could be made with a 5:1 ratio (5 parts honey to 1 part vinegar), I personally like to do a little less than a 1:1 ratio, so that when I strain it, I can add more honey to my own taste preference. It offers a little more leeway for using this as a cooking ingredient as well. It’s good to keep in mind that the higher the sugar content, the more shelf stable it will be.
As always, I encourage you to bring your own spark of magic and intuition into the kitchen as you prepare your own concoctions. You don’t have to use an exact recipe— you can add the ingredients that call to you or what’s in hand or in season. Get in there, have fun. And don’t forget to shake those extracts on the daily!
For this herbal shrub recipe, I used some organic blueberries and lavender flowers. Blueberries add a sweet and slightly tart flavor to the preparation. They also contain antioxidants and are supportive of heart health.
Lavender is a gentle floral herb and is personally one of my favorite flavors to add to beverages, desserts, and ice cream. It’s well known to be relaxing for the mind and calms our senses. What a wonderful preparation to incorporate into your routine when feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Sip on this on a hot summer day, as a nightcap before bed, or impress company when they arrive!
Ingredients
Directions
Makes 1 Serving
Ingredients
Directions
If you enjoyed this recipe, go check out another combination with strawberry and elderflowers.
Contraindications
Honey is not safe for children under the age of 1.
You may also be interested in:
Topics: Culinary, Recipes, Herbalism, Tea & Herbal Drinks
Alex Queathem Payne is a clinical herbalist and educator. She and her husband co-founded Tending the Wildflowers, a botanical sanctuary offering various herbal programs and classes on-site including an herbal immersion program and a beginner botany and ecology program. The sanctuary is recognized through the United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary Network. They grow a myriad of medicinal herbs and native at-risk plants. They also keep bees. Alex attended the three-year program through the Columbines School of Botanical Studies. She is the administrator and an instructor for the school, proceeded through teaching training, and is an instructor at the school. She is currently enrolled in the Clinical Foundations Mentorship with Sovereignty Herbs and has a small clinical practice.
